I'm back after the long break, how is everyone?

Ok, I'm back for good. Hope you are ready for all the news, juicy gist and gossip? :)

Keep your fingers crossed and enjoy this blog now till infinity...

Quote of the Week

Mahatma Gandhi (October 02, 1869 - January 30, 1948)

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”- Mahatma Gandhi

Nigeria: NECO, UTME, Others Not Scrapped, Says FG

The Federal Government of Nigeria has denied plans to scrap National Examinations Council (NECO), Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and other similar bodies as reported earlier.

Speaking in Abuja, while briefing the Senate Committee on Education, the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Nyeson Wike, said the federal government was shocked to read reports that it would scrap the examinations.

He insisted that till date, the government has not taken any decision to scrap the examinations. He explained that what informed the rumour was the report of a committee headed by former Head of Service, Steve Oronsaye, which made the recommendation, adding that what the government did was to set up another committee to review and examine the recommendation.

UPDATE: Dzhozkar Tsarnaev Caught In Watertown

Dzhozkar Tsarnaev

  
Dzhozkar Tsarnaev, 19, is a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing. Tsarnaev and his older brother, Tamerlan, 26, were involved in an overnight shootout with police. The older brother died in the shootout. Report says the brothers came from a Russian region near Chechnya, lived together in Cambridge. 

UPDATE: "We got him," Boston Mayor Tom Menino tweeted.

 Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhozkar Tsarnaev is in custody after a manhunt that shut down the city of Boston. He was found hiding in a boat in the suburb of Watertown.

"CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won," the Boston Police Department said on its Twitter account.

Photo: Surveillance Video Pinpoints Boston Marathon Bomb Suspect

My heart goes to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. God have mercy on we humans, it's so heart breaking there isn't regards for human life and I am sure it has been like this since human existence.

In other report, Investigators examining the Boston Marathon bombings were reported to have made a "significant breakthough" after surveillance video helped them pinpoint suspects at the scene of the second blast in video footage.

Reports from China says bird flu (H7N9 virus) in humans reach 51

I didn't want to talk about this, I have been kind of shying away from this but it seems the number of humans infected is increasing according to media report on Sunday. It has reported 11 new cases of humans infected with bird flu, bringing the total to 60.

The virus is normally found in
birds and has killed atleast 11 people.

What do you know about the H7N9 virus?

Accept My Apology

I am really sorry for the long break, I have been very busy working with some great minds to unveil streetparrot.com soon.

Would rename this (my) blog soon because there would be a similar official blog for streetparrot.com (blog.streetparrot.com)...Watch Out!

Quote for the week

Mae West

"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." - Mae West

Hilarious: Bovi threatens Basketmouth

Watch the video here

Air France Fined For Racial Discrimination

A French court has ordered Airfrance to pay 13,000 euros (£11,000; $17,000) in fines and damages for removing a pro-Palestinian activist from a flight to Israel because she was not Jewish.

The incident happened at Nice airport in April 2012. Nice airport is located in Paris, France.

U.S. Offers $5M Bounty For Uganda Warlord, Kony

Joseph Rao Kony

U.S. offers $5million bounty for Uganda warlord Joseph Kony, 51. The announcement came as the Ugandan army suspended a search for Kony in the Central African Republic (CAR), blaming hostility from its new government.

<sup>Joseph Kony is the head of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), guerrilla group in Uganda and has been accused by government entities of ordering the abduction of children to become child-sex slaves and child soldiers. An estimated 66,000 children became soldiers and two million people have been internally displaced since 1986.  

Kony was indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, in 2005 but has evaded capture. The LRA operates in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and South Sudan.</sup>

FG Approves Scrapping Of UTME, NECO, Others?

 

Stephen Osagiede Oronsaye

Now there won't be NECO (National Examination Council), UTME (Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination), NAPEP (National Poverty Eradication Programme) among others, as The Federal Government of Nigeria resolved to scrap some of its agencies in line with the recommendations of the Stephen Oronsaye-led Presidential Committee on the Rationalization and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies following its completion of study of its White Paper Committee.

According to reliable news agencies, the committee had recommended the abolition of 38 agencies, the merger of 52 and the reversion of 14 to departments  in the ministries from  which they were carved out, a move the committee argued would save more than N862 billion between 2012 and 2015 if the government carried out what the panel has proposed.

The Public Complaints Commission is to be merged with the Human Rights Commission just as NAPEP will also be scrapped to be replaced with National Agency for Job Creation and Empowerment.

JAMB will however not be scrapped but serve as a clearing house, setting the standard alongside the schools' authorities, sources revealed.

With the scrapping of the UTME, individual universities in the country would conduct their own admission examinations and admit students while the Joint Admission and Matriculation and Board will set and ensure compliance to standards as it acts as the clearing house. 

The Oronsaye-led Presidential Committee on the Rationalization made far-reaching recommendations which it explained were aimed at helping the government to effect a drastic reduction in  the size of its bloated bureaucracy, eliminating  duplication of functions and bringing down  the cost of governance. 

Culled

Snoop Lion Due In SA This May

Snoop Lion

Snoop Lion, the rapper formerly known as Snoop Dogg, will be in South Africa this May to headline the MTV Africa All Stars concert.

Chris Brown Insist He Is Still With Rihanna

Chris & Rihanna at the NBA game in Los Angeles (Getty Images)

Speaking on the NBC's Today, Chris who is still on probation for beating Rihanna up in 2009 told host Matt Lauer: "Yeah, everything's good, we're fine. Knowing that what I did was wrong, and never doing it again. So as far as me and Rihanna are concerned, she knows my heart, and I know her heart. So I'm not really focused on the negative."

See details and video here

Michael Jackson's Family Launches Bid For £31.1 Billion In Compensation For His Death

Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine, 82, and his three children are suing the company behind the star’s long awaited This Is It comeback concerts, AEGLive, for negligence.

His children - Prince Michael, 16, Paris, 14 and Blanket, 10, along with their grandmother are demanding the compensation accusing the promoter of being negligent in hiring Dr. Conrad Murray, 59 who was reportedly paid £100,000 a month to help the singer get enough rest to perform at the O2 in London.

‘My Oga at the top,’ Obafaiye, replaced?

Mr. Obafaiye Shem performing ‘My Oga at the Top’. Screenshot

Shem Obafaiye became a popular figure in Nigeria after a famous interview aired on Channels Television.

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has replaced Shem Obafaiye as the Lagos State Commandant of the outfit.

The Commandant General, Olu Abolurin, made this known during a visit in Lagos at the weekend.
Clement Adesuyi, from the Oyo State Command, takes over from Mr. Obafaiye as the new Commandant.

No reasons were given for Mr. Obafaiye’s removal, barely a year after he was appointed; but observers point at his recent interview in a Channels Television live programme.

Quote For The Week

J. K. Rowling (Novelist)

“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
 - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I Will Enjoy Being A Single Parent – Omawumi

Omawumi Megbele

The 2007 West African idol runner-up, Omawumi told Ebuka on this week's edition of Rubbin' Mind she will enjoy being a single parent until God sends the next man to come.

In her words  “I will enjoy being a single parent until God sends the next man to come.”

She also revealed that she was willing to let go her singing career in place of raising of her daughter because “her life means everything to me” she said.

Watch video here

(Photos) VW Golf, World Car Of The Year

Walter de Silva, 
Volkswagen Group Chief Designer, with the winning MkVII Golf on 28 March. (Jeffrey Jablansky)

Volkswagen seventh-generation Golf has been named 2013 World Car of the Year during the New York International Auto Show in New York, March 28, 2013. The Golf is not scheduled to go on sale in the US until 2014 as 2015 models.

“We reward a clear global vision,” said jury co-chair and Autoblog European Editor Matt Davis, who joined fellow jurors and directors on stage for award presentation.

This is the second consecutive year that Volkswagen has won the prestigious World Car of the Year title and the fourth time since 2009. The Volkswagen Up! won in 2012, the Volkswagen Polo in 2010, and the Volkswagen Golf VI in 2009.
 

Johannesburg: Nelson Mandela Spent A "Restful" Easter In The Hospital

 Nelson Mandela

According to some news agency, Anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela spent a "restful" Easter in the hospital, where doctors continued to see further improvement in his condition after being treated for a recurrence of pneumonia, South Africa's presidency said on Sunday.

"Nelson Mandela had a restful day," the presidency said in a statement, adding doctors treating him had reported "a further improvement in his condition".

"Government is satisfied that the doctors are providing the former president with the best medical care possible to enable his recovery and comfort," the statement said.