Meet 'the oldest man in the world' (who lives off lizards and skunk meat)

AT 123-years-old, Carmelo Flores Laura is set to be named the oldest man on the planet.
                                                    Carmelo flores was born in 1890, according to his baptism certificate

According to the birth date on his bapstism certificate, Mr Laura was born in Bolivia on July 16, 1890.

His astonishing age has been put down to a diet that consists of quinoa and skunk meat, and not being lazy.

He said: "I've never been lazy.

Premier League predictions 2013/14: Our reporters have their say on winners and losers

STARSPORT’S top writers give their verdict on who is headed for glory – and who is headed for a fall – this season...

Manchester City could be on their way to stealing back the title from their neighbours

DAVE ARMITAGE

CHAMPIONS: Manchester City

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFIERS: Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham

RELEGATED: Crystal Palace, Hull, Sunderland

FA CUP: Chelsea

CAPITAL ONE CUP: Arsenal

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Barcelona

WHAT I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST: Seeing if Aston Villa’s young side can make inroads and provide a much-needed antidote to the obscene spenders.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger hints at Luis Suarez and Wayne Rooney bids

ARSENE WENGER dropped a massive hint that Arsenal are ready to make another bid for Liverpool's Luis Suarez.

Wenger told the press they were 'well informed' after he was quizzed over claims the north London outfit were planning another swoop for the Uruguayan international, and an opening bid for Wayne Rooney.

The long serving manager has come under renewed pressure from fans to bring in fresh recruits, after suffering yet another frustrating summer transfer window.

Wilshere backs Arsenal to end trophy drought

Jack Wilshere insists Arsenal are desperate to put another dispiriting pre-season behind them and finally end the club’s eight-year trophy drought.

Last season finished promisingly as Arsenal claimed fourth place on the final day ahead of rivals Tottenham.

But the Gunners remain without silverware since 2005 and boss Arsene Wenger’s failure to land any major signings has added to the growing sense of unease ahead of Saturday’s Premier League opener against Aston Villa.

Report: Arsenal plan final Luis Suarez bid

Arsenal are reportedly considering making a final £49m offer for Liverpool striker Luis Suarez.

The Gunners have previously had two bids turned down for the controversial forward this summer, the latter of which was £1 over the reported £40m that triggered a clause meaning the Reds were obligated to inform Suarez of the bid.

Both offers were rejected by the Reds, but Gunners manager Arsene Wenger will sanction one last bid of £49m, according to The Telegraph.

Obama invites Jonathan for meeting in New York

Abuja — President Barack Obama has invited President Goodluck Jonathan for a meeting in New York next month, the  United States’ Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Ms Wendy Sherman, has said.

Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan, Ms Sherman said Nigeria is a very important country, not only in Africa but in the world, which cannot be ignored.

 

                                    File photo: United States President Barack Obama and President Goodluck Jonathan

Reacting to a question on whether the failure of Barack Obama to visit Nigeria during his last trip to Africa was a snub on Nigeria, the American official parried the question while emphasising the importance of Nigerian/USA relations.

44 massacred in Borno mosque

LAGOS—About 44 people praying at a mosque in Konduga town, some 22 miles outside Maiduguri, Borno state, have been gunned down by suspected Islamic militants, security agents said.

A Department of State Service, DSS, agent and a member of a civilian vigilante group working with the military said, yesterday, they counted the bodies at the mosque after last Sunday morning’s attack.

Also yesterday, embattled leader of the Boko Haram sect, Abubakar Shekau made a video appearance and claimed series of recent deadly attacks on security forces in the North-East. Shekau also insisted that he was in “good health” despite an on-going military offensive aimed at crushing the Islamist insurgent group he heads.

 

A handout picture released by the Nigerian army showing Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) medical officers treating civilians injured by suspected members of the Boko Haram Islamist sect in the village of Dawashe, in the Kukawa,  Borno recently. AFP PHOTO

He also challenged US President, Barack Obama; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French leader, Francois Hollande, saying they were not his match.
“You have not killed Shekau,” he said in the video distributed through a local intermediary in a manner similar to previous Boko Haram messages.
On the massacred 44, the DSS agent spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters. But agency reports quoted one Usman Musa of the civilian group as saying that four of its vigilantes were also killed when they responded to calls for help.
Another report said12 people were killed in Ngom of Mafa Local Government Area of the state between Saturday and early Sunday morning. The armed men, suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect reportedly invaded the two council areas during the Muslim Asba prayers.
Residents who fled to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, yesterday for safety, disclosed that the gunmen killed an unspecified number of people. A source from the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) said they received 26 victims of the attacks who are currently receiving treatment in the hospital.
Also a member representing Konduga at the state house of assembly, Ali Bukar Dalori told newsmen at Government House, Maiduguri that he received news of attacks on members of his constituency with shock. He said although he did not know the casualty figure, he was informed that many people lost their lives and some who were injured were brought to UMTH for treatment.
“I was told that many people were killed. I will be going to the hospital to see the victims; I think the governor would be going there either today or tomorrow to see for himself. But whatever it is, many people were killed yesterday,” he said.
In the Shekau video, seated on a short stool with a Kalashnikov rested on his right shoulder, the Islamic sect’s boss said Boko Haram was “responsible” for several deadly raids over the past months.
These include attacks on the police and military in the towns of Malam Fatori and Bama, which sparked clashes that killed at least 35 people, according to the military.
The video contained what Shekau claimed was footage of Boko Haram gunmen opening fire on the military in Bama, using heavy weapons mounted on flat-bed trucks.
Shekau also referred to fighting in the towns of Baga and Gamboru Ngala near the border with Cameroon.
The Boko Haram leader has been declared a global terrorist by the United States, which in March put a $7 million (5.3 million euros) bounty on his head.
“I’m challenging Obama,” Shekau said in the video. He voiced similar challenges to French President Francois Hollande and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”They are no match for me,” he proclaimed.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/08/44-massacred-in-borno-mosque/#sthash.7GrG4p6v.dpuf

 A handout picture released by the Nigerian army showing Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) medical officers treating civilians injured by suspected members of the Boko Haram Islamist sect in the village of Dawashe, in the Kukawa,  Borno recently. AFP PHOTO

Suicide attempt: What I need now is your prayers – Tosin Adamolekun, the guy with the feminine look cries out (READ)

 

by Akan Ido

Tosin Adamolekun, a 23-year-old man who supposedly has a feminine look as called on his critics to be less caustic and try to understand his predicament.
Adamolekun who came into limelight after writing popular blogger, Linda Ikeji over his experience and releasing pictures off himself taking poses which many believe portray him as an homosexual.
In the letter, Adamolekun wrote: “Even men approach me to ask me out on a date, I mean gay men. I do get anonymous calls and text messages asking me out on a date. I have been through so many sexual harassment growing up from homosexuals. It is really frustrating, not all guys that behaves like a girl or look like a girl are gay..”
The student has, however, said the criticisms have led him to the point of depression and almost committing suicide by ingesting shaving powder.

Read excerpts from his statement below and tell what you think.

Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau dares the U.S in video

 

 Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the militant Islamic group has released a video challenging the United States of America saying they are no match for him.

The U.S government had declared the group a global terrorist organisation and placed a $7 million bounty on Shekau.

Shekau, in a video yesterday, dared US President Barack Obama, French President Francois Hollande and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to come for him, saying: “They are no match for me.”

In the video obtained by Agence France Presse (AFP), Shekau, claimed responsibility for the recent killings in some parts of the North, saying: “I’m challenging Obama.”

Popularity contest: Genevieve floors Omotola again!

For quite sometime now the criteria for measuring popularity,especially among entertainment stars have been all about the social media. And the best way to go these days have been to see who has the highest number of fans or followers on Twitter.

 

                             Genevieve, Omotola

Genevieve, Omotola

Tuface urges Nigerians to shun pirated materials

Nigeria music icon, Innocent Idibia, popularly known as Tuface, has urged Nigerians to shun pirated intellectual materials, just like adulterated drugs.

“If pirated copyright materials do not have people to buy them, they will stay on the shop shelves and the shops will eventually close.

“But if we continue to patronise them, the pirates will continue to sell,’’ Idibia told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

He also implored the government and agencies saddled with the enforcement of anti-piracy laws, to be decisive in the clamp down on culprits.

“They are criminals, just like the thieves we catch on the streets,” he said.

Anti-Poor Policies Of Governor Fashola Of Lagos State

Press Statement By Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) ] – In view of the above, it is the position of the CLO that developments without human faces and which overlook human rights are undesirable projects. In the same manner, Yoruba citizens are said to have been deported to their states of origin while Yoruba communities like Makoko, Badiya and Isefun etc have also been willfully evicted from their God-given residences without alternative options.  The war against okada riders, taxi drivers, traders and now keke riders in the state has only multiplied social crisis and hardship for the citizens instead of solving them as government had falsely made us to understand. Car, laptop and phone snatching has returned to town while kidnapping experiences which were never entertained here has begun to obtain. We no longer understand what security and social crises these anti-people policies are meant to resolve while, in the opposite, increased hunger, poverty, prostitution and frustration mount.

ASUU STRIKE: Student unions differ, as JAF plans mass protest

The strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on July 1, 2013 has indeed tested the boundaries of student unionism. From the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) to other realms of student activism, conflicting perceptions reflect students’ reaction to the ASUU strike. This report brings the different voices to the 
fore.


It would be recalled that last executive members of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, led by the National Assistant Secretary, Mr. Ali Mohammed disowned the national president, Mr. Yinka Gbadebo, on what they referred to as “his support for the Federal Government in the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.” Some members of the executive told newsmen that students were largely unbiased in the crisis and the inclination of Mr. Gbadebo to support the government was a deviation from the students’ collective goal of resolving the crisis.

Winnie Mandela releases journal on prison life

JOHANNESBURG  (AFP) – Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife Winnie on Thursday released a book about her detention by the apartheid regime, a time she described as the darkest part of her life.

The book “491 Days: Prisoner number 1323/69″ is based on a journal Winnie Madikizela-Mandela kept in prison during her detention.

“In my mind I felt that we needed to tell the story to the future generations, so that what happened there never happens again,” she said at the launch in Johannesburg.

In the book Winnie shares some of her journal entries as well as letters between her husband and herself.                                                                        


“Solitary confinement is worst than hard labour,” she said.

“When you stretch your hands you touch the walls, you are reduced to a nobody.”

Bad result

16 years after exit, Fela Kuti’s legacy lives on

Since the death of  Afro-beat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti about 16 years ago,  his musical influence and activism have  continued to grow in the conscience of millions of his fans  who are scattered all over the world.

This fact comes alive once again  as the world remembers the undying contributions of the late Afro-beat legend to the world music  with the flagging of the week-long annual ‘Felabration’ to mark his 75th birthday soon.

Crisis looms in APC over presidential ticket

ABUJA— There were indications, yesterday, that the newly-registered All Progressives Congress, APC, might have run into a political storm over who to field as its presidential candidate in the 2015 election.
Vanguard gathered that while the party is seriously considering a younger but popular northern politician to fly its presidential flag, one of the founding leaders of APC, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), has said that he would not step down for any other.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/08/crisis-looms-in-apc-over-presidential-ticket/#sthash.cT0fiTkw.dpuf

ABUJA— There were indications, yesterday, that the newly-registered All Progressives Congress, APC, might have run into a political storm over who to field as its presidential candidate in the 2015 election.

Vanguard gathered that while the party is seriously considering a younger but popular northern politician to fly its presidential flag, one of the founding leaders of APC, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), has said that he would not step down for any other.

 

 The decision by Buhari to contest again in 2015 is said to have unsettled key leaders of the party, who are reported to have agreed in principle to concede the presidential slot to younger members of the party.

A Senator, on the platform of APC, told Vanguard in Abuja that the new party was taken aback by the former Congress for Progressive Change, CPC’s presidential candidate’s decision to jettison a gentleman agreement and run in 2015.

AWFUL: Landlord sets 6 youth ablaze for smoking Indian hemp (GRAPHIC IMAGES)

 

what is this world turning into???

Six young men got more than they bargained for when they were set ablaze by a neighbor for incessant gambling and smoking of Indian Hemp. The incident occurred in Ago-Oko area, Abeokuta, Ogun State late on Tuesday night when the man identified as Agba got fed up with their habit after warning countless times to desist fell on deaf ears.

The landlord reportedly threw a keg of petrol from his window on them which quickly caught fire from the lighted Indian hemp completely dousing them in flames.

Artiste, Burna Boy drops new single ‘Yawa Dey’, unveils debut album tracklist [DOWNLOAD]

 

Aristokrat Records artiste, Burna Boy drops new single leading to the launch of his debut album ‘L.I.F.E- Living an Impact For Eternity’. The new dance hall track titled ‘Yawa Dey’ is the 4th single off the album slated to drop on the 12th August 2013.

DOWNLOAD: #YawaDey (Produced By LeriQ)

He unveils the album track-list for both regular and deluxe edition, in which the deluxe version will feature four extra tracks – “Always Love You”, “My Cry” featuring M.I; “Guilty” & “Dem No Know”

Wenger provides transfer update as Arsenal’s pursuit of Liverpool star drags on

 

 Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger. Picture

 Manager Arsene Wenger has reassured Arsenal fans the club are “ready to spend the money” on the right players - and will look elsewhere if they cannot push through a deal for Liverpool’s wantaway striker Luis Suarez.

Despite chief executive Ivan Gazidis having talked up the club’s new “financial firepower” at the end of last season, so far the free transfer of France Under-21 forward Yaya Sanogo from Auxerre remains the only confirmed summer signing at the Emirates Stadium.
After failing to deliver Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain, given the Argentinian striker eventually opted for Napoli instead, Wenger does appear to have several other players on the radar apart from Suarez, with reports in Romania suggesting a free transfer deal for forward Ciprian Marica was close following his release by Schalke.
The Arsenal manager admitted it had not been as easy to do business as he had hoped, but remains determined to bolster his squad, which faces a crucial Champions League play-off later this month.
“We try and get what we want; if that doesn’t work we will look somewhere else,” Wenger said in an interview with Al Jazeera Sport.

Arsenal set to bid £51m for Liverpool’s Luis Suarez after Reds freeze out striker [Star]

The Star have splashed their Thursday paper with a whopping great transfer update in the Luis Suarez saga.
According to David Woods, Arsenal are ready to launch a massive £51m bid for Liverpool’s centre-forward. The red-top continued:
Arsenal are set to smash the English transfer record by offering up to £51m for Luis Suarez.
Liverpool yesterday took a hardline approach with the Uruguay hitman, ordering him to train away from the first team.
They are furious at Suarez for his public outburst where he claimed the Anfield side had broken their word – and breached his contract – by not letting him go. 
Whilst the screaming headline grabs readers attentions, it doesn’t take long to realise that Arsenal have yet to actually make the rumoured £51m bid for the Liverpool striker.
Whether that bid does actually materialises remains to be seen, however the underlying assumption is that if the Gunners were to table such an offer that the Anfielders would have little option but to sell their troublemaking attacker.

A copy of the backpage of Thursday’s Star is below.

 

Wednesday Transfer News: Latest on Suarez to Arsenal, Bale to Real and Rooney to Chelsea

THIS MORNING'S transfer news sees the Tottenham board admit for the first time that Gareth Bale could be set to join Real Madrid this summer. Meanwhile, Luis Suarez's transfer saga takes another twist with the Uruguayan demanding to leave Anfield and Wayne Rooney was absent against as Manchester United drew with AIK in Stockholm.

With last season a fading memory, clubs are making their moves in the summer transfer market with the next campaign in mind. Here is a roundup of all the latest news, rumours and gossip...
The Tottenham board have shown their first public sign of wilting in the face of Real Madrid’s interest in Gareth Bale after Sir Keith Mills admitted “player power” was likely to win the day.
But only Alvaro Morata can seal Bale's move to Madrid, with Spurs picking out the 20-year-old forward as their designated makeweight in the first £100m transfer.
Real Betis winger Alvaro Vadillo, 18, is the latest name on Andre Villas Boas' list of possible replacements for Bale.

Luis Suarez has stepped up his bid to force a move from Liverpool by attacking the club's hierarchy and accusing them of "broken promises".
And as Arsenal target Suarez visited a specialist to undergo scans on a foot injury, his Reds team-mates were stranded on the runway at John Lennon International Airport for an hour when technical problems delayed their flight to Oslo.

Man Utd Reject Chelsea's Second Rooney Bid

 
Manchester United have rejected a second bid from Chelsea for striker Wayne Rooney.
Chelsea made an offer for the England striker but it was rejected straight away.
A United spokesman said: "A bid was received on Sunday and immediately rejected. Our position remains that he is not for sale."

Nigeria: Sambo - Nigeria Needs $450 Million From IDB to Generate 20,000mw of Electricity

Vice-President Namadi Sambo has said Nigeria needs about $450 million from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to expand its electricity generation capacity to reach 20,000 megawatts.
A statement issued in Abuja by the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice-President on Media, Malam Umar Sani, said Sambo disclosed this Sunday when he received the President of the IDB, Dr Ahmed Mohammed Ali, in Makkah.

Arsenal transfers: Wilshere would ‘love’ to see Suárez join Gunners

Wilshere would ‘love’ to see Suárez join Gunners

Jack Wilshere admits that he would "love to see the Gunners sign Luis Suárez from Liverpool this summer

Jack Wilshere admits he would “love” to see Arsenal sign Luis Suárez from Liverpool this summer.

 

Arsène Wenger confirmed on Saturday that the Gunners have made a bid for the want-away Reds striker but refused to be drawn any further on the north London club’s pursuit of the forward.
The 26-year-old’s future has been a source of constant speculation since he made public his desire to quit Anfield after the end of last season.