Tuesday 30 December 2014

Cameroon bombs Boko Haram, kills 41

ABUJA — Nigeria’s neighbour, Cameroon, has launched air strikes against Boko Haram terrorists for the first time, killing no fewer than 41 Islamist militants after the large force of jihadists crossed the border and seized a military camp at Ashigashiya, the government said.

Cameroon’s Minister of Information, Issa Tchiroma in a statement in Yaounde, yesterday, said the coordinated assaults on five towns and villages showed a change in tactics by Boko Haram fighters, who have focused on hit-and-run raids on individual settlements in the past.He said: “Boko Haram’s campaign to carve out an Islamist caliphate has spread from its stronghold in North-East Nigeria to neighbouring Cameroon, raising fears for an already unstable region also threatened by Islamist militants in the Sahel.

He added that Cameroon has sent thousands of soldiers to its Far North region to fight off the militants and said it launched air attacks on the movement for the first time on Sunday.According to him, “Units of the Boko Haram group attacked Makari, Amchide, Limani and Achigachia in a change of strategy which consists of distracting Cameroonian troops on different fronts, making them more vulnerable in the face of the mobility and unpredictability of their attacks. “No fewer than 34 militants were killed after the army laid siege to a base used by the militants in Chogori while seven others, and one soldier were killed near the town of Waza.”Army spokesman, Lt.-Col. Didier Badjeck, told newsmen that the Islamists briefly occupied an army camp in Achigachia after a fierce fight, but withdrew after air attacks.“All the militants had now pulled back into Nigeria,” Badjeck said.Both Tchiroma and Badjeck said it was too early to give full details of casualties.

Biya orders deployment of war planesIn another statement, Cameroon’s Communications Minister, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, said the country’s president, Paul Biya, personally ordered deployment of war planes on Sunday which forced the insurgents to flee the camp.According to Bakary, “Fighter planes went into action for the first time since the start of the conflict on the Cameroonian side of the frontier, after several months of deadly cross-border Boko Haram raids.File: Cameroonian soldiers patrol on November 12, 2014 in Amchide, northern Cameroon, 1 km from Nigeria.“After two strikes and heavy fire, the assailants fled the Assighasia camp losing several fighters”.

He added that military operations were still under way and that “the toll from combat will be released once the operational evaluation is complete”.The extremists have made frequent raids into neighbouring Cameroon since they began their insurgency in northern Nigeria in 2009.Boko Haram tactics include massacres of civilians on both sides of the frontier, bomb attacks on state institutions and schools, and the razing of villages and mass kidnappings.

Since early in 2014, the movement has sent growing numbers of fighters into Cameroon, prepared to battle the army head-on as well as attacking and intimidating villagers.On October 15, Boko Haram forces equipped with a captured tank and an armoured vehicle attacked a military base at Amchide, near the border, in a raid that killed several dozen civilians and eight soldiers, according to officials.Cameroon’s neighbours, with former colonial power France, have long criticised the authorities for what they considered a passive response to the actions of the jihadist movement even as its members used Cameroonian territory to rest and buy food and weapons.When a French family was kidnapped in 2013, alongside two Italian priests and a Canadian nun, President Biya sent major army reinforcements to confront the Islamists in “Operation Alpha.”

The hostages were freed this year in Nigeria.Some 2,000 Cameroonian troops patrol the far-north region, but security sources say that many more are needed because the area is so remote with a very porous border.Military sources accuse Nigeria’s army of failing to do enough against jihadist forces who have taken control of large swathes of the northeast of the country.“Attacks on our territory come from a neighbouring country that calls itself sovereign and does nothing,” a defence ministry official in Yaounde recently told AFP, asking not to be named.Backed by France, Nigeria and three nations on its northern border — Cameroon, Chad and Niger — agreed on measures in May to help tackle the Islamist threat, including pooling intelligence, joint border surveillance and an intervention force.Each of the four countries agreed to send 700 soldiers to the Lake Chad region where their frontiers meet.

An army officer told AFP late in November that, “Cameroon has already sent 300 men from the navy to the region, Chad and Niger are well placed to send troops, but that’s less certain where Nigeria is concerned.”
Vanguard

Obasanjo, Buhari planning interim govt —FG

The Minister of Police Affairs, Jelili Adesiyan, on Monday, said a plot by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) to form an interim government has been uncovered.
 
The minister said this in Lagos at the launch of a book titled, ‘Watch the Watcher,’ written by an activist, Yinka Odumakin, in reaction to Obasanjo’s controversial book, ‘My Watch’.
Adesiyan said he had already directed the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba; and the Department of State Service to arrest anybody that made inflammatory statements ahead of the 2015 elections.
 
He said, “Many of those in the APC are disgruntled PDP members who are no longer relevant and because they could not have their way, they have started to heat up the polity. They have said they will form a parallel government if they lose.
“I have already told the IG and the DSS to arrest anybody making such mutinous and inflammatory statements.”
 
Adesiyan said his suspicion was fuelled by a threat by the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, that the APC would form a parallel government if the 2015 general elections were rigged.
He added, “Obasanjo is already planning to install an interim government with Buhari. But we will vote and we will work with whoever wins the election.”
Adesiyan, who was detained in 2003 for the murder of the Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, said the former President was vindictive and was fighting Jonathan because he (Jonathan) had refused to be used by him.
 
The minister, who was later freed over Ige’s murder, said Obasanjo picked Jonathan as the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s running mate because he felt he could control him but his plans backfired.
The minister said, “He picked a President that was sick and while we were campaigning for the President, he (Yar’Adua) was always in Germany receiving treatment. While many were lobbying for the VP slot, Obasanjo picked a gentleman, Goodluck Jonathan, who had no strong political base so that he could control him.
 
“Unfortunately for Obasanjo, God had a better plan and Jonathan refused to be used. Obasanjo, being the man that he is, has now teamed up with Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar to snatch power but Tinubu will outsmart him because we Osun people are smart. Ask Tinubu, he is my brother, from my state. He is from Iragbiji while I am from Ode-Omu.”
 
The Director of Communications, Buhari Campaign Organisations, Dele Alake, said it was silly for anyone to say that Buhari was plotting the emergence of an interim government when Buhari was also participating in the presidential election.
He said, “It must have dawned on Nigerians that the PDP don’t have any answer to the multifarious problems plaguing Nigeria and that is why they have resorted to mudslinging and character assassination.
 
“If Buhari was planning an interim government, why would he be running for President in the first place? I think sanity has taken leave from them.
“Buhari remains the only viable solution to the quagmire that Nigeria has fallen into and it will take a disciplined person like Buhari to straighten things out.”
 
When contacted, a source close to Obasanjo, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was only the ex-president that could react to the allegation.
The source told our correspondent on the telephone, “It is only Baba that can react to the matter.”
Punch

US woman accidentally shot dead by son, two, in Idaho Wal-Mart

Hayden Idaho

A woman in the US state of Idaho has been killed after her two-year-old son accidentally shot her with a gun he found when reaching into her handbag.

The woman was shot in a Wal-Mart in Hayden, a town in Idaho's northern panhandle.

A sheriff's spokesman said the woman was shopping with several children at the time of the incident.

Officials said she had a concealed weapons permit but her identity has not been released.

The woman and children were in the rear of the store near the electronics area when the shooting occurred, officials said.

The Wal-Mart closed after the shooting and is not expected to reopen until Wednesday.

Local media reported the woman was visiting the area and died at the scene.

Witnesses and video surveillance from the store helped officials determine the shooting was accidental, said broadcaster KREM
BBC News

First Ebola boy likely infected by playing in bat tree

Bat being captured to be tested for Ebola Other researchers have been testing bats in West Africa for Ebola virus


The Ebola victim who is believed to have triggered the current outbreak - a two-year-old boy called Emile Ouamouno from Guinea - may have been infected by playing in a hollow tree housing a colony of bats, say scientists.

They made the connection on an expedition to the boy's village, Meliandou.

They took samples and chatted to locals to find out more about Ebola's source.

The team's findings are published in EMBO Molecular Medicine.
Ebola trail
Meliandou Meliandou is a small village surrounded by farmland and large trees

Meliandou is a small village of 31 houses.

It sits deep within the Guinean forest region, surrounded by towering reeds and oil palm cultivations - these are believed to have attracted the fruit bats carrying the virus passed on to Emile.

During their four-week field trip in April 2014, Dr Fabian Leendertz and colleagues found a large tree stump situated about 50m from Emile's home.

Villagers reported that children used to play frequently in the hollow tree.

Emile - who died of Ebola in December 2013 - used to play there, according to his friends.

The villagers said that the tree burned on March 24, 2014 and that once the tree caught fire, there issued a "rain of bats".

the tree Children from the village used to play in and around the tree

A large number of these insectivorous free-tailed bats - Mops condylurus in Latin - were collected by the villagers for food, but disposed of the next day after a government-led ban on bushmeat consumption was announced.

While bushmeat is thought to be a possible source of Ebola, the scientists believe it didn't trigger the outbreak.

Instead, it was Emile's exposure to the bats and their droppings as he played with his friends in the hollowed tree.
Pest control
The scientists took and tested ash samples from the tree and found DNA traces that were a match for the animals.

While they were unable to test any of the bushmeat that the villagers had disposed of, they captured and tested any living bats they could find in and around Meliandou.

No Ebola could be detected in any of these hundred or so animals, however.

But previous tests show this species of bat can carry Ebola.

Dr Leendertz, from the Robert Koch Institute in Germany, and his colleagues say this must be a pretty rare occurrence though.

The expedition team

Dr Leendertz said: "That is also obvious when you think about how many tonnes of bat meat is consumed every year.

"If more bats carried the virus, we would see outbreaks all the time."

He says it is vital to find out more about the bats.

"They have moved into human settlements. They do not just live in the trees but also under the roofs of houses in the villages.

"The Ebola virus must jump through colonies from bat to bat, so we need to know more."

But culling the animals is not the answer.

"We need to find ways to live together with the wildlife. These bats catch insects and pests, such as mosquitoes. They can eat about a quarter of their body weight in insects a day.

"Killing them would not be a solution. You would have more malaria."
BBC

'Coup attempt foiled' in Gambia

Military source says three plotters killed after presidential palace came under attack

 An attempted coup by a group of Gambian soldiers while the country's longstanding president was abroad has been foiled, military and diplomatic sources have said.

The AFP news agency, quoting military sources, on Tuesday said three coup plotters, including the alleged ringleader, had been killed.

A Gambian diplomat said the presidential palace in the heart of the small city on the Gambia river was attacked at about 03:00 GMT by armed men including members of the presidential guard.
"They wanted to overthrow the regime," the military source said.
The pre-dawn assault triggered panic in the tropical city, while national radio went off air for several hours and state television was suspended.
Gambia is ruled by President Yahya Jammeh, who took power at the age of 29 following a coup in 1994.

Former vice president of the country, Bakary Darbo, told Al Jazeera it was too early to say for sure if it had been a coup attempt.
"I hold on to the view that there have been two incidents of gunfire, whether it amounts to a coup we will have to see," he said.

"[President] Jammeh wields considerable powers, many of it unconstitutionally. There are supposed to be checks and balances, but in reality all of these have been encroached upon.
"Gambia now is very much a one-man dictatorship."
Gambia is a tiny former British colony surrounded by Senegal on both its northern and southern borders.

Human rights activists say Jammeh's regime is repressive and has targeted political dissidents, journalists, and gays and lesbians.
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Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies

FG DECLARES JANUARY 2ND 2015 AS PUBLIC HOLIDAY

The Federal Government has declared January 2nd 2015 as public holiday to mark Eid el Maloud celebration. In a statement released today by the Minister of Interior affairs, Abba Moro, the Federal government asked Muslim faithfuls to offer prayers to God for the peace and Unity of Nigeria. Of Course you know about New Year Day Already

Welcome To Year 2015.
Before people begin to circulate pirated, Cheap & Unauthorised NEW YEAR greetings, let me wish you and your family an original HAPPY NEW YEAR greetings with NAFDAC registration number 01-01-2015.

Conjoined twins celebrate their 63rd birthday at Disney World

Ronnie and Donnie Galyon may be the world's oldest conjoined twins, but when they celebrated their 63rd birthday recently, they decided to keep it young — with a trip to Florida's amusement parks.
 
The Galyon twins, of Ohio, unofficially reached the milestone the day after they turned 63 on Oct. 28.
 
They beat out the previous record held for more than seven decades by Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci, who were born in Italy in 1877 and lived to be 63.
Scroll down for video 
Meet Ronnie and Donnie Galyon, the world's unofficial oldest-living conjoined twins. They celebrated their 63rd birthday in October
Meet Ronnie and Donnie Galyon, the world's unofficial oldest-living conjoined twins. They celebrated their 63rd birthday in October
The Galyons (pictured above in July) beat out the previous record holders,  Italian twins Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci, who were born in 1877 and lived to be 63. The Toccis held the record for more than 70 years
Months earlier, on July 5, they lived one day longer than Chang and Eng Bunker, another set of conjoined twins who claimed the world's second-place spot in longevity.
They celebrated that milestone with a block party in their hometown of Beavercreek, just outside of Dayton.
Credit: DailyMail

Assassins killed Akure doctor, set body ablaze — Family

The family of Dr. David Akintayo Oguntuase, Head of Paediatrics at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, who was found dead on his clinic in Akure, Ondo State, after it was razed by fire in the eve of Christmas, has said the medical practitioner was murdered.

The Universal Medical Clinic owned by Oguntuase was in flames when residents were in festive mood and by the time the bellows of fire and smoke died down, Dr. Oguntuase was found dead.
While the police in Ondo are still examining the different theories to unravelling the cause of the fire, the deceased’s family has concluded that the medical practitioner was killed by assassins and burnt to give a semblance of a fire accident.
 
The older brother of the deceased, Ben Oguntuase, in a statement made available to our correspondent on Friday, said, a thorough examination of the debris of the hospital and the site of the incident revealed trails left behind by the murderers and how they accomplished the dastardly act.
“They shot him in the main clinic area and carried his body to the room in the back area where they left him face down. Not done, they severed his hands and legs before proceeding to douse the body with petrol.
 
“The rest of the building on the inside was sprinkled with petrol before it was all set ablaze. It inferno made the building implode as the roof caved in,” the senior Oguntuase said.
He noted that the fire did not affect other surrounding buildings, suggesting that the killing was professionally plotted and executed.
Explaining the premise on which his theory was based, Oguntuase said the walls of the clinic were stained with blood showing that his brother was attacked and dragged to the place where he was eventually burnt.
 
He also explained that the walls of the fence showed marks of the feet of the assailants as they climbed to escape through the fence, and that the keg with which they brought petrol was left behind at their exit point.
 
“This case has gone beyond mere speculation into the realm of reality as to where the police should focus their searchlight to unearth the criminals and their sponsor,” he said.
Oguntuase also rejected the theories of suicide or fire accident caused by a gas explosion, saying the doctor’s body was dismembered before it was set ablaze. He added that there was enough evidence at the crime scene to assist the investigation of the police.
 
He said the family called on the police to investigate the matter.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Wole Ogodo, said although the command had yet to get a full briefing on the development, the family would be required to come up with substantial evidences supporting their position.
“The family will come up with the evidences they have and we can assure you that we will bring the fellow involved to book. Once we get the necessary information, we will not hesitate to do our part,” Ogodo said.
Punch 

Bodies found in AirAsia Missing Plane Search

Members of the search team during a search and rescue (SAR) mission over the waters of the Java Sea near Pangkalan Bun, Kalimantan on December 30, 2014 in Surabaya, Indonesia© Getty Images Members of the search team during a search and rescue (SAR) mission over the waters of the Java Sea near Pangkalan Bun, Kalimantan on December 30, 2014 in Surabaya, Indonesia At least 40 bodies and wreckage including a plane door and oxygen tanks have been recovered in the search for missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501.
The bodies - which were not wearing life jackets - have been brought on board a navy ship, said Indonesia's search and rescue director SB Supriyadi.
Local television showed pictures of the bodies floating in the sea.
"The warship Bung Tomo has retrieved 40 bodies and the number is growing. They are very busy now," said a navy spokesman.
They were found in the Java Sea southwest of Borneo, about six miles (10km) from where the plane last communicated with air traffic control.
Search chief SB Supriyadi also said the air force had "found an object described as a shadow at the bottom of the sea in the form of a plane".
An expert from the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch is heading to the area with equipment to help detect the signal from the plane's black box

Objects spotted earlier have also been confirmed as wreckage from the plane and some have been taken away for testing.

AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes tweeted that his "heart is filled with sadness" and rushed to Surabaya airport to meet distraught relatives.
"It's an experience I never dreamt of happening and it's probably an airline CEO's worst nightmare," said Mr Fernandes.
"The passengers were on my aircraft and I have to take responsibility for that,"
The Airbus A320-200 disappeared from radar on Sunday morning on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-biggest city, to Singapore.
There were 162 people on board, including one British man, Hull-born Chi Man Choi, and his two-year-old daughter.

The aircraft's last request - to climb higher to avoid a storm - was turned down.

Minutes later it fell off the radar without giving any distress call.
Pilots say the area is often referred to as the "thunderstorm factory".
Geoffrey Thomas, editor of AirlineRatings.com, told Sky News the plane may have stalled after struggling to maintain speed.
"We have a radar plot which shows the plane actually climbing through 36,300ft - it wasn't given permission to do that.
© Provided by Sky News "It also shows that its speed had decayed by 134mph and dropped dramatically to a level where it couldn't sustain flight."
Some 30 ships and 21 aircraft from South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and Indonesia have been involved in searching 10,000 nautical miles of ocean.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo told a news conference a "massive" operation to retrieve the remaining bodies would start at first light.
It is hoped the black box, which records cockpit voices and crucial flight data, will be easy to find as the plane is believed to have crashed in shallow seas.
Sky News

Monday 29 December 2014

Cameroonian Soldiers Chase Nigerians Out Of Bakassi

The Cameroonian military has begun cracking down on Nigerians in the Bakassi peninsula suspected of evading taxes.

Cameroon gained total control of the peninsula in August 2013, but most inhabitants in the oil-rich area are Nigerians

“We don’t understand Cameroon’s tax laws,” a provisions store owner, Stanley Obi, told the Hausa service of the Voice of America (VOA), adding that he has seen an array of people seeking payments.
“At times, you see the council come to collect theirs. After, the tax officers will come, police will come; we are just confused with the whole system,” Obi said.
Obi also said a curfew was imposed on the peninsula last week following disputes between businessmen and groups of tax collectors.

Fresh fish retailer, Na Eric, said that ever since Cameroon gained sovereignty over the peninsula, Nigerians in Bakassi have frequently been harassed by Cameroonian soldiers.
“It is a means of killing our businesses,” he said.
The governor of the southwest region in which Bokassi is located, Bernard Okalia Bilai, confirmed that his administration had imposed a night curfew in the area, saying the decision is to halt people coming from Nigeria’s Cross River State following a meeting held at which peninsula residents complained that others were disrespecting maritime borders, attacking the locals and refusing to pay taxes.

“Nigerians must understand that Bakassi is now a Cameroonian territory and whoever lives there must submit to all national rules and regulations, including paying taxes,” the governor said.
Immediately after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling, tax collection in Bakassi was suspended, but as of mid-August 2013, residents had to start paying their share.
The governor accused Nigerians of disrespecting the ICJ ruling’s terms by refusing to pay taxes.
In 2002, the ICJ ruling had awarded control of the disputed Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon, and Nigeria eventually decided not to appeal the ruling, sparking protests from many Bakassi residents. And other Nigerians.

In 2008, the ICJ gave Nigeria five years to transition and cede control. As of August 2013, Nigerians – who constitute 90 percent of the peninsula’s population – had to obtain residence permits and be treated as foreign nationals.
Those who decided to become Cameroonians had to acquire national identity cards and respect Cameroon laws
The United Nations-backed Green Tree Agreement of 2006 set terms of the handover and one of the articles states that there shall be no indiscriminate collection of taxes within the Bakassi peninsula.

Cameroonian embassy keeps mum
Meanwhile, efforts by LEADERSHIP to get the Cameroon Embassy in Abuja to comment on the issue were fruitless as officials of the Commission failed to reply to the e-mail sent to the Commission’s official e-mail address, info@cameroonhighcomabuja.com.

Boko Haram slaughters 30 in Cameroon village
Suspected Boko Haram insurgents have reportedly killed over 30 Cameroonian villagers, a security official disclosed yesterday.
A regional governor, Mijiyawa Bakary, told the local by phone that the estimated 30 people killed were civilians.
“We do not yet have all the facts, but our divisional officers and security officials are filling us in,” Bakary said.

The attack took place at Mbaljuel village in northern Cameroon, just a few kilometres from Cameroon’s border with Nigeria, L’Oeil du Sahel newspaper said.
The insurgents also carried out a similar attack along the Waza-Mora highway on Friday, killing one Cameroonian soldier.

A soldier serving near the border who did not want to be named said the dead soldier was a corporal, adding that three soldiers also were wounded in the attack.
The attackers also confiscated a vehicle belonging to the Cameroon military.
Meanwhile, the Cameroon military says it killed 53 Boko Haram militants at Soueram about 17 kilometres from Fotokol, another border village in northern Cameroon.
The militants died when Cameroon’s air force battalion bombarded a Boko Haram camp at that location. The report could not be independently verified.
Soldiers also launched rockets across the border at the Boko Haram stronghold of Banki in Nigeria on Friday.

The violence comes about a week after the Cameroonian army destroyed an Islamic school believed to have served as a training ground for Boko Haram.
An army officer had disclosed that Boko Haram was recruiting children aged between 5 and 12 years and teaching them radical Islam at the school.

Cameroon has positioned soldiers and special military units to the far North this year to stop Boko Haram from infiltrating into Cameroon from Nigeria.
Leadership

Bank of England to monitor social networks

What you search for on Google and post on Facebook could soon influence what happens to interest rates.
 
According to Sky News, the Bank of England has set up a special taskforce to monitor the internet and social networks for early signs of Britain’s economic ups and downs.
 
The special team, set up by the Bank’s chief economist, Andy Haldane, has been charged with exploring how new unconventional sources of data could improve its picture of Britain’s recovery.
In an interview with Sky News, Mr Haldane said that the Bank had started to explore using unconventional data, including data gleaned from analysing internet activity, after it found that it could be more timely than the official data.
 
For instance, analysis of the frequency of internet job searches, or of prices online, can give one an insight into the prospects for unemployment and inflation.
“Official statistics tend to be lagging and tend to be revised. And what this scraping of the web can do is give us a better today read on what’s going on,” he said.
He added that these and other “informal sources” of data “have been somewhat more reliable in picking up the uptick in the fortunes of the economy”.
 
Haldane told Sky News that the Bank was already using new data sources, including a massive “big data” database on mortgages, which helped them decide to impose their new constraints on the housing market earlier this year.
 
“Some of those interventions were calibrated by analysing this big database on mortgage borrowing by pretty much everyone in the UK,” he said.
 
“We have a new advanced analytics team who are constructing little models, algorithms and methods for extracting this data. We have a data lab. This is quite a big strategic change for the bank.
“This is going to be quite a big shift from the past.
Punch

Funeral attack leaves 21 dead in Iraq

A suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest blew himself up among mourners inside a funeral tent on a farm about 12 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq, on Monday, according to police.
 
At least 21 people were killed and 35 others injured at the funeral in al Taji, a mostly Sunni district, officials said.
 
The funeral was for a member of the local Awakening Council, a group also known as the Sons of Iraq and Sahawat, made up of Sunni Arab fighters who turned against al Qaeda.
 
Iraqi security forces believe that ISIS militants were behind the attack.
Awakening Councils are U.S.-backed groups that have been active in Iraq since 2006. A few years ago, the councils were credited as being a major factor in a drop in violence across Iraq, but council members have also become targets for jihadists.
Vanguard

My certificates consumed by fire, Sambo tells INEC

Ahead of the 2015 general elections, Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo has told the Independent National Electoral Commission that his Bachelors and Masters degrees certificates in Architecture from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, have been consumed by fire.
Sambo, who is the Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, made the declaration in the documents he filed with INEC and displayed on the commission’s office in Abuja although the details of the fire that consumed the certificates were not given.
Sambo’s papers were received and stamped in INEC headquarters between December 10 and 18, 2014.
 
The VP’s declaration was validated by two letters from the ABU, a copy of which was obtained by The PUNCH on Sunday.
 
The first letter, signed by one Alhassan Garba for the institution’s registrar under the title, “To Whom it may Concern: Mohammed Namani Sambo,” read, “I certify that the above-named person having completed an approved course of study and passed the prescribed examinations was awarded the Bachelor of Science (Architecture) with Second Class Honours (Lower Division) in 1976 by the Senate of this University. His original certificate got burnt. Please treat his case in view of this certification. Thank you.”
 
The second letter, also signed by Garba for the ABU registrar, read, “I certify that the above-named person having completed an approved course of study and passed the prescribed examinations was awarded the Master of Science (Architecture) on May 25, 1978 by the Senate of this University. His original certificate got burnt. Please treat his case in view of this certification. Thank you.”
Meanwhile, indications have emerged that only 13 political parties would field presidential candidates in the 2015 elections.
 
The parties and their candidates are the People Democratic Party, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan; the All Progressives Congress, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.); Action Alliance, Tunde Anifowose-Kelani; Kowa Party, Prof. Oluremi Sonaiya; United Progressives Party; Chief Chekwas Okorie; and National Conscience Party, Chief Martin Onovo.
 
Others are African Democratic Congress, Dr. Ibrahim Nani; United Democratic Party, Godson Okoye; Alliance for Democracy, Rafiu Salau; Peoples Party of Nigeria, Kelvin Alagoa; Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, Alhaji Ganiyu Oseni; African Peoples Alliance, Alhaji Adebayo Ayeni; and Hope Democratic Party, Ambrose Owuru
Punch

Nobody wants to marry us, employers reject us, our skin is a problem –Albinos

He was barely one year old when his parents neglected him and parted ways after a serious fight, simply because he was an albino, a rare breed that was contrary to what they had both expected.
Forty years after, Mr. Abdullahi Obafemi, has yet to recover from the painful knowledge that his parents abandoned him. They tossed him between each other until his grandmother, who was living in northern Nigeria, took over his custody.
Obafemi is still haunted by his history, the humiliation and rejection he continues to suffer from the public daily.
 
“I am my parents’ only child. I learnt their marriage ended abruptly the moment my mother gave birth to me as an albino. In fact, I learnt my mother screamed, Eh! Afin ni mo bi (Ha, I gave birth to an albino) when she saw me.
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“While they were busy denying me and fighting over who would take care of me, my grandmother took me away from them,” Obafemi said with a note of sadness.
Growing up was also not easy for Obafemi as he helplessly endured the constant discrimination meted against people like him.
 
Although albinos are no strange beings as they only lack the pigment that gives colouration to the skin and body parts, called melanin, they are usually discriminated against.
Apart from their skin and brown hair, many albinos suffer from short sight vision, thus, they usually have challenge with seeing objects, whether far or near.
Obafemi recalled his tough experience in school. His bad sight affected his learning in school even when he sat in front of the class.
 
He said, “I wasn’t seeing things clearly and I couldn’t afford to buy reading glasses. I had to rely on my classmates so I could copy from their notes but they often treated me with disdain. Nobody wanted to move close to an albino.
“Thank God I was brilliant, it was when they saw that I was very good that they came close to me, not because they liked me but they knew I would always solve questions for them so they could pass.”
 
Despite the resilience and hard work that saw Obafemi through school, getting a good job has remained an elusive desire. He was rejected, abused and humiliated everywhere he looked for job because of his albinism.
Obafemi studied Building Technology at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos.
“The pains, humiliation and rejection I went through before I could graduate are things I don’t like to remember. It is now more painful that nobody wants to employ me because of my skin and some employers even make jest of me.
 
“There was a time I applied for a job, and having seen my application, I was invited to write a test. When I got there, one of the interview panel members said, ‘So you are an albino, don’t worry; we will invite you some other time.’
 
“When I later got a job as a civil servant, I had to learn painting to augment my meagre income and even when people want to give me job, some people would say I wouldn’t see very well because of my eyes. They say I would paint green instead of blue. I lost many jobs because of that too but I got few on compassionate grounds.
“There was a day I went to apply for a security job, I was asked by the company officials how I would see people coming in and I told them I was not blind. But they told me that I was the one who needed security instead, not for me to be a security man.”
Obafemi has had to combat rejection in many ways, including relationship with women.
“Thankfully, I have a nine-year-old son now, who is not an albino, but the family of his mother didn’t allow me to marry her because I was an albino and they said I wasn’t rich enough. However, I am happy I have one already, but I wish I was not an albino, because life would have been easier for me, like others,” he added.
 
Peculiar troubles
Obafemi’s situation underscores the challenge being faced by people affected by albinism. Inasmuch as they are also humans, many of them have dreams of what to become in life but a number of them have had their hope of a better life replaced by frustration and utter dislike for themselves.
Tola Banjoko is another albino. She suffers from bad sight, and that alone has cost her the desire to go to school as she had to drop out of school.
Born into a family of 10, and as the only albino in the family, life dealt cruelly with her. She told Saturday Punch that not even the idea of sitting in front of the class would help her situation and since her mother could not buy the recommended glasses to aid her vision, she had to stop going to school and opted to run a kiosk.
She said, “When I complained to my mother that I didn’t see things on the board, she didn’t really know what to do. My mother went to plead with my teacher to allow me to sit in front but that didn’t solve the problem.
 
“I was able to finish primary school because one of my teachers would sit beside me and read the questions to me during exams, but there was no such help when I got to a public secondary school that my parents could afford.
“In JSS1, one of my teachers would always tell me to go and sit at the back because she said I was too tall to sit in front. Even when I tried to explain why I needed to sit there, she wouldn’t listen. And my own sight was so bad that I could put number one in two sometimes. When I became so disturbed about everything, I stopped schooling, more so that I couldn’t afford the pair of glasses that would have aided my sight.”
 
Banjoko told Saturday PUNCH that after she dropped out of school, her skin began to change for the worst when she had to defy the golden rule for albinos not to roam in the sun, to look for a job until she couldn’t get any and had to settle for running a small kiosk on the street where she earns a living.
“While I was going out to look for job, it was like fire was burning my skin each time I was in the sun until I was forced to start selling things. I still want to go to school and I don’t want to lose hope, but I feel very bad that I am an albino because my education has suffered for it and that is a huge loss for me. I wish I was not an albino but what can I do?” she lamented.
 
Lamentation, a shared currency
While Banjoko had to drop out of school because of her sight, Chiamaka Chikwem, 26, managed to go to school but has not had much to show for it, even though she finished with a Second Class Upper Division.
She told Saturday PUNCH that she feels so unlucky and unfortunate being an albino because of the disappointments, marginalisation and discrimination she has had to live with.
Chikwem, a graduate of Microbiology from Michael Okpara University, Umudike, Abia State lamented that she had been so frustrated to the extent of considering suicide when it seemed the doors of favour had been shut against her.
“Even when I know I am qualified for a job, I don’t get it and some even say it to my face that an albino cannot do their kind of work. Albinism does not affect our intelligence, we are not blind, it is just the skin colour and our sight. I believe in myself and I know I will make it because I won’t give up,” she lamented.
 
I will never marry an albino
Chikwem said even though God created her for a purpose, she would never marry a fellow albino. She said, “I feel unlucky and unfortunate being an albino and I will never marry an albino or someone with the gene because that would be double tragedy. It is not because there is something wrong with albinos, I am an albino, but the discrimination has made it a problem.
“I am at the moment an office secretary somewhere and I do another free job because some don’t even want me in the first place, so I forced myself to be there so I could be actively engaged even if I am not being paid. I like to practise what I studied, but nobody wants to give albinos a chance. But I won’t stop searching in spite of the frustration.
“If I struggled to go to school with my short sightedness and graduated with a Second Class Upper division and I still do not get a job because of my colour, that is not a thing of joy. I am sad. Now I want to do my Master’s programme if that would help, but I don’t have the money.”
As she continues to look for job, Chikwem is not thinking about being in a relationship even at 26, because she rarely gets passes from men. She said, “That I’m an albino may be a factor, but I don’t want to think that way. I don’t even like to think about it so that it doesn’t compound my problem, and the reason why you don’t see many albinos at the top is because of the adversities that we face. Those who are not strong-willed tend to lose hope and withdraw their efforts.
“I once considered suicide when the adversities and rejection became so severe; but I chose to face it headlong. When one is pushed beyond some limit, a reaction like suicide could flash through the mind.”
 
Unrealisable dreams
Forty-three-year-old Lukman Desmond is one of the over six million people living with albinism in Nigeria. Currently unemployed, his dream was to be an officer in the military but he has since let go of that dream due to his albinism. He said he didn’t bother to obtain the form because he knew he would not be considered.
Lukman is trying to manage his fears that his Ordinary Level qualification may not take him anywhere in the midst of over 20 million black-skinned Nigerian youths that are currently unemployed, with the country’s 24 per cent unemployment rate.
He said, “Presently, I have O’ level and I have been looking for a job to support myself to further my education but I have been turned down everywhere I go, even if it is a menial job. It’s frustrating. My father does not have enough to support me to study to a higher level, so I want to help myself and supplement whatever they give to me but people don’t want to employ an albino.
“Because of the rejections here and there, I do ask myself if they don’t want us to live. Even women discriminate against us. By the time you don’t have a job, everybody avoids you and nothing seems to be working in your favour, what is there to live for.”
“At 44 now, I don’t have a girlfriend because they don’t want to come close to me. I was dating a lady sometime ago, but the moment the mother saw me, the instant disapproval on her face was too obvious that I didn’t even wait for her to say it. But I will keep trying until I have a job and married.
 
Troubled marriage
Apart from those who were born as albinos, another thing that seems to have torn some families apart is albinism. For the dearth of an accurate way of ascertaining who has the albinism gene, it appears Mrs. Linda Mustapha would have others to tell her own kind of bitter story.
Mustapha was barely 16 when she was forced into marriage with a man she had never met by a relative, shortly after her grandfather who had been her guardian.
As a young girl bubbling with life and strong desire for education, all her dreams of a better future soon hit the rocks, an experience that replaced her once joyous life with one full of regrets and frustration, when she married without her consent, to a man that was 15 years older than her.
 
Fair skinned and very beautiful, when she got to Lagos from the village, and was slowly reconciling herself with the trauma that had flooded her small world, she committed the unexpected crime: She gave birth to albinos — a phenomenon that runs contrary to the culture in her husband’s village.
She had hope of continuing her education someday even though the possibility was not very bright initially when she had her first son, a male with black complexion, but when the second and third children came and they were albinos, hell was let loose by the husband’s family, who not only made sure she was divorced, but also subjected the children to utter discomfort and trouble.
 
Mustapha recalled that she never knew what love or relationship meant before the arranged marriage, and even when she followed the husband to Lagos, but that life became hellish when she had the two albinos. Since then, she has been enduring a torturous life of abject poverty.
Her case fits in perfectly into the common rhetoric, ‘When the fruit of the womb becomes a disadvantage.’
 
She said, “I was 10 when I lost my mum and my dad died when I was 14. I was about registering for junior WASSCE when my grandfather died and that is why I don’t have my Junior School Certificate till date because I wrote the exam on credit. Instead of these relatives to help with my exam fees, they were in a hurry to give me out in marriage, and they did.”
She disclosed that to prove how desperate her larger family members were to get rid of her, when her husband could not pay the N600 dowry, someone in her family lent him the money!
She said, “There was no love between us, he never proposed to me and I never knew him. I was a virgin when I was given to him and I never knew anything about sex or relationship before then, so the pains I went through still haunt me till today.
 
“He handled me as if I was inconsequential, while I became pregnant a year after we arrived Lagos. I was only 17. I wanted to go to school, but he deceived me and told me that I would be kidnapped if I did, and because of the magnitude of the fear he had implanted in me, I could not summon enough courage to run away. I wish I had, even if I was going to die, because now I live in regret and poverty.”
 
Her marital problems assumed a terrifying dimension when she gave birth to two albinos—a boy and a girl, as the situation pitched her against her husband’s extended family. Even her husband could not forgive her for these births. Eventually, she was sent packing and told never return to the man.
“They told me that it was forbidden to have an albino in their tradition, and when I had mine, his family members accused me of bringing an albino, a forbidden genre of people in their culture, to their home.
 
Mustapha’s experience underscores the evils of child marriage and its attendant implications. As a fair skinned beautiful lady, she recalled that the husband would come to where she was selling some things to beat and embarrass her, and even accuse her of sleeping around even when she was almost enslaved and was not allowed to go out at will.
“Eventually, he threw my things out, he didn’t allow me to sleep in the house, and I had to sleep in the kitchen every night. As if that was not enough, he locked me out and took the children to his village where his family members made him swear to an oath that he would never allow me to step into his house again. When he was returning to Lagos, they organised another woman for him. The woman left when she couldn’t cope with his attitude.
“My husband threatened to bathe me with acid if he sees me around, all because I gave birth to albinos.”
 
Life of regrets
Now 37, Mustapha’s torturous experience has shaped her life and confined her into a corner of abundant regrets. Having been out of job for a long time and residing in a church somewhere in Apapa area of Lagos State, she struggles to get money to feed herself, her three children and the husband, who is now sick, on a weekly basis.
Having been at the mercy of friends and relatives since she lost her job as a cleaner, she is currently living from hands to mouth to feed the family of five and buy the necessary protective items for her albino children.
 
“The children are with him because I don’t have a house. I sleep in a church at the moment. I only go to see them on weekends to give them food that can last them for a week.
“I am not an albino. I didn’t grow up to see any albino in my family, we are only fair skinned, which is not even close to albinism, but they have an albino in their lineage. They have shifted the entire blame on me. I wish my parents didn’t die that early, because all these wouldn’t have happened if they had been alive.”
 
She said at a point, her in-laws even transferred the anger they felt towards her to her children.
“On a particular occasion after I was sent out of the house leaving my children behind, my husband’s sister came around. One day, she dipped my first son’s buttocks in hot water because they accused him of stealing a belt, leaving his buttocks severely burnt. When he managed to call me and I got there, I took off his trousers to see the extent of the damage. What I saw was shocking! My son’s flesh was gummed to the trousers and it peeled as I tried to remove the trousers. I had to take him to the hospital where the trousers were removed.
“As if that was not enough, the woman also gave pepper and hot water to my first albino child to swallow, and stood on him, all in a bid to torment him. I regret everything that has happened to me. I would have been able to escape if not for my children but now I’m stuck, all because I gave birth to albinos.
 
It’s not all gloom for the albinos
The coordinator of the albino group in Lagos State, Mrs. Josephine Yejide, who is also a nurse, said it is important for people to know that albinism deals with gene and that it goes beyond facial calculation.
She recalled that she had always lived a freedom-spiced life as a young woman and that she never allowed anybody to look down on her, which was why she was able to make progress in her education and career.
She said even though she had male friends who liked her and wanted her for a relationship, they would always run away when it was time to discuss about marriage or meet with their parents.
She said, “I never entertained inferiority complex and I mixed with everybody, attended parties and even joined the Kegites Club in school, and I was committed to my work, so there was no way anybody would malign me. I always dress well because I understand the perception of people about my skin colour, so if I dress well, people would respect me. There is already a minus for us, so looking bad makes it worse.”
 
While clarifying some of the controversies trailing albinism, she said contrary to the idea that only an albino could give birth to an albino child, two people with black skin who are carriers of the gene would likely have an albino child. She added that if an albino marries someone who is not an albino and does not have the gene at all, they will not have albino as a child.
She said, “I am an albino but my husband is dark and my children are not albinos because my husband does not have the gene. They are only fair and their fair complexion is not excessive. It is not about being fair, it is about being a carrier of the gene.
“We tell parents of albinos to go to the children’s school and talk to the teachers to enable the albino child to sit infront of the class and we encourage albinos who are students to study twice as much as others because of their sight.”
Josephine added that living with albinism could be very challenging but the main challenges lie with their skin and sight.
 
Another albino, Dr. Douglas Anele, who is a senior lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, University of Lagos, is one of the albinos who have carved a niche for themselves. He is a prolific writer, with many of his scholarly works published in international journals.
 
How albinos are treated across the world
Albinism is said to affect about one in every 20,000 people across the world and this population is distributed across some countries. In China, the world most populous country, one out of every 18,000 people is affected, out of its over 1.3 billion people. In the United States, one out of every 37,000 people is affected, out of its over 319 million people. Also, in the United Kingdom, one of every 17,000 people is said to be affected, out of its over 64 million people.
With over six million albinos in Nigeria, the country is rated to have one of the highest albinism prevalent rates in the world while children constitute about 40 per cent of the population. In many African countries with black people like Nigeria, anyone with a deviant colour stands to be treated as an outcast.
 
While albinism has been proven to be a genetic condition caused by the absent of melanin in the skin of those affected, many African children are at the risk of deep rejection, discrimination and even death, the latter being occasioned by the myth that they have potency for black magic ritual, fortune, wealth and good health.
 
Many of these people are not only faced with the threat of death, occasioned by ritualists, some of them are either illiterates or poorly educated, mainly because of low vision, impairment, intimidation and exclusion as a result of their skin condition.
 
Even though Kenya and Tanzania are countries with budgetary provisions for albinos, other countries like Nigeria have no such provision. Hence, people living with albinism, who are lucky to be alive, are left to struggle for survival if they are not from well off families.
With about 49.3 million people, Tanzania has about one of the highest rates of albinism in the world, as one in every 1,429 people is an albino and less than two per cent of albino children in the country live to be 40 years old.
 
In fact, the United Nations rated Tanzania on top of the list of African countries where albinos live in constant fear for their lives due to their persecution. Apart from the fact that over 70 albinos have been killed over the last three years in Tanzania, with only 10 convicted for murder, in some parts of the country, albino children are not allowed to go to school alone as they go with bodyguards. Also, the graves of those that are dead are piled with rocks to deter robbers who delight in robbing their graves.
 
In the same vein, The Albino Foundation, a non-governmental organisation in charge of albinos in Nigeria, said people living with albinism in the country least enjoy the same level of special attention, security and support from government at all levels, unlike what obtains in some other countries.
Speaking about the discrimination against persons living with albinism in Nigeria, otherwise known as albinos, the founder and chief executive officer of the foundation, Mr. Jake Epelle, lamented that albinos were still being killed in some parts of the country and decried the discrimination against them.
 
He said apart from the fact that Nigeria does not have budgetary allocation to help albinos like other countries such as Tanzania and Liberia, government has not done enough for the albinos”, even though it (government) must still be commended for its free treatment of albinos with skin cancer at the National Hospital in Abuja.
On what the Foundation is doing to help albinos who are not able to afford the basic protective items, Epelle said, “We have appealed to government at all levels to purchase and distribute free sunscreen to our members and we have increased awareness on the dangers albinos face when exposed to the sun .
 
“As we speak, we have sunscreen valued at €500,000 lying at the Apapa Port awaiting clearing. We have appealed and cried to the government and even the shippers concerned to please release the product, which will expire in the next couple of months, but the products are still there because we don’t have money to clear them.
 
“If those products are cleared and released to us, it will save albinos from the skin cancer. That is what will prevent the scourge of skin cancer among us, and it has our logo, so it cannot be sold, and it is even more painful that we need less than N1m to clear the products.
“Federal Government needs to pay this bill on our behalf because it will save us the treatment of albinos for a year or two, and we will use it to prevent skin cancer instead of treating it, which costs between N2m and N3m for one person.
 
“Even though the Federal Government is paying millions of naira to cover our bills on skin cancer treatment, if they can pay a few thousands to acquire this sunscreen, it will prevent the expenditure of millions spent on the treatment because prevention is the key.
 
In his reaction to the discrimination challenge by the albinos, human rights activist and legal practitioner, Mr. Jiti Ogunye, said whether the discrimination is subtle or brazen, as enshrined in the constitution, no Nigerian must be discriminated against on account of sex, ethnicity and circumstances of birth, as it is the case with albinos.
 
He said if such discrimination happens and there is sufficient evidence, oral or written, to prove such in the court, such victim should “not stay back and take it to be a shame, or with equanimity or philosophical calmness, but sue for damages.”
 
He said, “If an employer refuses to employ somebody because the person is an albino, and there is an evidence that states clearly that the reason such a person was not employed was because of the albinism, that will be a sufficient cause to approach a court to sue for damages. Likewise, anyone denied of his/her rights becasue of the circumstance of birth, like an albino, can approach the court for damages.”
 
“Once there is a wrong, there is a remedy, so if such happens, there is a wrong and the law certainly has a remedy but it won’t come if they sit back and do not come forward to enforce their rights.”
Also, a psychologist, Prof. Oni Fagboungbe, said some albinos have inferiority complex because they see themselves as who people say they are, which tend to result in low self worth. He added that the way humans perceive themselves is influenced by the people around them.
 
“Because the society has rated them so low and some of them have imbibed it, that is why they don’t attain prominence. Thus, the psychological effect of the rejection is that the albinos cannot do what others are doing and cannot be where others are because of who the society has made them feel they are. Believing in self is key for people who suffer such discrimination. ” he said
Punch

We didn’t rob; we only collected our dues – Suspects

The police have arrested four suspected robbers at a Lagos market who claimed they did not steal from the traders, but only came to collect their dues.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspects- Onyenge Osanie, Azuka Eboh, Ezelonwu Michael and Afolabi Shakiru- were nabbed by the police while they were looting some shops and robbing traders at the Alaba International Market, Ojo, Lagos.
Our correspondent gathered that the suspects, who are four members of a ten-man gang, were arrested by operatives of the state Special Anti-Robbery Squad on December 20.
According to the police, the gang, which is led by a runaway suspect identified simply as Friday, made use of locally-made guns in their operations.
Our correspondent also learnt that most of the gang’s victims were phone dealers, and the gang allegedly carted away about 70 smartphones and Ipads which were worth about N1.5m.
 
Speaking with PUNCH Metro, 35-year-old Osanie said the gang robbed the traders and looted their shops, because they refused to ‘settle’ them. He added that they only targeted shops of traders who had ‘offended’ the gang.
 
He said, “We usually work with phone dealers in the market who specialise in selling stolen phones. When we steal, they sell, and they then settle us. But later on, some of them defaulted, and we attacked their shops. It was not as if we robbed them, we only came to ask for our money.
“On that day, we had taken only 10 phones before the police apprehended us. I had initially escaped, but two gang members who were caught at the scene later brought the police to arrest me.”
Osanie, a father of three, said he regretted working with the gang, adding that if he was released, he would not indulge in robbery again.
 
Also, 27-year-old Eboh confessed that the gang did not only burgle shops, but also vandalised some property during the operation.
He said, “What we learnt initially was that a market chairman was coming to give out money but he later failed to show up. That was when we decided to deal with the traders. When we got to the shops, we broke their glasses and carted away expensive phones.
 
“I joined the gang because I did not have a job. I have been living in hardship with my family.”
Meanwhile, Michael, 22, said he had also gone with the gang on three occasions, adding that they took advantage of the traders’ ‘misbehaviour’ to rob them.
“I was working as a truck driver before I met them. I had gone out with the gang on three occasions to rob in the market. We only took advantage of the commotion of the market to rob them. It was not deliberate,” he said.
 
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the arrest of the suspects.
“Investigations are still ongoing on the matter at SARS,” he added.
Punch

Cold weather: Warnings as UK temperatures fall below zero

A fan makes his way to the ground before the Barclays Premier League match at the Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent on 28 December 2014 Snow remained on the ground in Stoke-on-Trent on Sunday morning


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Forecasters are warning of the dangers to vulnerable patients ahead of what could be one of 2014's coldest nights.

The BBC Weather Centre forecasts sub-zero temperatures across the UK, with -9C (16F) possible in rural Wales, south-west England, and the Highlands.

A Met Office cold weather alert in place until 12:00 GMT on Wednesday for northern England and the Midlands warns of the potential health risks.

Temperatures plunged on Saturday night, amid treacherous driving conditions.

The lowest overnight recorded temperature was just above -5C (23F) in Perthshire with "widespread" frost hitting large areas of the country, the BBC Weather centre said.

The lowest temperature recorded at a Met Office Weather station this year was -8.9C (16F) at Braemar, Aberdeenshire, in early December.

Daytime highs on Sunday ranged from 1C (34F) in Lincoln to 5C (41F) in south Wales and the south coast of England.

The Met Office cold weather alert warns of there is a 90% chance of severe conditions including icy conditions and snow.

The amber - level three - alert for the north of England and Midlands is one below a national emergency and indicates social and healthcare services should target "high-risk" groups, such as the very young or old, or those with chronic diseases.

A yellow - level two - alert is in place in the rest of England indicating social and healthcare services should be working to ensure they are ready for a period of cold weather.


Wintry showers hit Northern Ireland, Wales and eastern England on Saturday, with the town of Leek in Staffordshire recording the day's heaviest snowfall of 12cm (4.7in).

A section of the M62 near Huyton was closed after an accident. In Derbyshire, part of the A6024 near High Peak was closed and in south Yorkshire the A631 near Beckingham was closed - both because of ice.

Snow covered hills around Macclesfield on 28 December 2014 Snow covered hills around Macclesfield on Sunday

A crashed car stands abandoned on a snow covered verge near Sheffield A crashed car stands abandoned on a snow covered verge near Sheffield on Saturday

BBC Weather's Philip Avery said some of the lowest recorded temperatures overnight had been in areas where snow had already fallen.

He said temperatures had fallen to below freezing in parts of northern Scotland, while in much of England, Wales and Northern Ireland it was either close to or below zero.
BBC News

The Interview makes $15m in online release


The Interview poster The Interview stars James Franco and Seth Rogen as two journalists recruited to kill the North Korean leader

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Controversial Sony film The Interview has become the number one online movie ever released by the studio just four days after its release on 24 December.

The film raked in over $15m (£9.6m) and was downloaded more than two million times as of 27 December.

The film, about a fictional American plot to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was initially halted from being released by the studio.

It angered North Korea and was behind a wide scale cyber attack on the studio.

The hack from a group calling itself the Guardians of Peace led to the leaking of confidential information including upcoming movie scripts, confidential emails and actors' salaries.

Sony halted the release after unspecified threats of attacks against theatres and moviegoers.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) later said its investigation into the hacking attack pointed the finger at North Korea. The country denied involvement, but described the hack as a "righteous deed".

Sony said in a statement on Sunday that the movie was made available in the US and Canada through Google services YouTube and Play, Microsoft's Xbox Video and its dedicated website in HD versions for 48-hour rental at $5.99 and for purchase at $14.99.

There was also a "strong turnout" for the movie's limited theatre release, after major US chains backed out of screening it.

Sony's move to cancel the film's release had garnered criticism in the US including from President Barack Obama, who said it meant freedom of expression was under threat.

line
The Interview saga
The Interview features James Franco and Seth Rogen as two journalists granted an audience with Mr Kim. The CIA then enlists the pair to assassinate him.

  • 22 November: Sony computer systems hacked, exposing embarrassing emails and personal details about stars
  • 7 December: North Korea denies accusations that it is behind the cyber-attack, but praises it as a "righteous deed"
  • 16 December: "Guardians of Peace" hacker group threatens 9/11-type attack on cinemas showing film; New York premiere cancelled
  • 17 December: Leading US cinema groups say they will not screen film; Sony cancels Christmas Day release
  • 19 December: FBI concludes North Korea orchestrated hack; President Obama calls Sony cancellation "a mistake"
  • 20 December: North Korea proposes joint inquiry with US into hacks, rejected by the US
  • 22 December: North Korea suffers a severe internet outage; US authorities decline to comment
  • 23 December: Sony bosses appear to change their minds, saying they will now give The Interview a limited Christmas Day release
  • 25 December: The Interview is shown in some US cinemas and released online
  • BBC News

AirAsia QZ8501: Indonesia plane search resumes


Relative pores over passenger manifests at Surabaya airport, 28 Dec Relatives pored over passenger manifests at both affected airports


The search continues for AirAsia Indonesia flight QZ8501, a day after it went missing with 162 people on board.

"Based on our coordinate estimation, initial estimation is [the plane is] in the water," said Bambang Soelistyo, head of Indonesia's search and rescue agency, speaking in Jakarta.

However, no evidence has so far been found of the plane's whereabouts.

Officials in Surabaya, from where the plane took off, said search teams were only just reaching the area.

The Airbus A320-200 disappeared over the Java Sea early on Sunday on a flight to Singapore.

The pilots had requested a course change due to bad weather but did not send any distress call before the plane disappeared from radar screens.

"Based on the coordinates given to us and evaluation that the estimated crash position is in the sea, the hypothesis is the plane is at the bottom of the sea," Mr Soelistyo told a press conference.

"That's the preliminary suspicion and it can develop based on the evaluation of the result of our search," he said.

That search was largely suspended as night fell on Sunday.

Although some ships continued the hunt overnight, the main search planes and vessels, from several nations, only resumed at first light on Monday.

Mr Soelistyo said Indonesia was providing 12 ships, three helicopters and five military aircraft.

Indonesian transport ministry official Tatang Kurniadi said: "Our primary task is to find the plane. We are co-operating with every possible department, and relevant countries.

"This includes the department responsible for aircraft design, the aircraft manufacturer from France, and relevant operational teams from AirAsia and Malaysia."

Map

AirAsia QZ8501 pilot is "very professional and very talented", says a friend

Malaysia was to deploy a C-130 plane, along with three ships, with Singapore lending a C-130 and Australia also providing help.

The search area is near Belitung island.

AirAsia's share price fell 7% in morning trading on Monday in Kuala Lumpur.
Storm clouds
Flight QZ8501 had left Surabaya in eastern Java at 05:35 local time on Sunday (22:35 GMT Saturday) and was due to arrive in Singapore at 08:30 (00:30 GMT).

Last contact was at 06:24 local time.

Dense storm clouds were reported in the area at the time the plane lost contact.

Co-pilot Remi Emmanuel Plesel  (left) and Captain Iriyanto Co-pilot Remi Emmanuel Plesel (left) and Captain Iriyanto

The missing AirAsia Airbus,  December 2014 The Airbus, pictured here on an earlier flight, disappeared about an hour after takeoff

The pilot had asked permission to climb to 38,000ft (11,000m) to avoid the clouds.

Indonesian officials said the request could not be immediately approved due to traffic, but the plane disappeared from the radar screens before the pilots gave any further response.

AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes said this was his "worst nightmare".

Mr Fernandes flew to Surabaya and later said: "We are very devastated by what's happened, it's unbelievable.

"Our concern right now is for the relatives and for the next of kin - there is nothing more important to us, for our crew's family, and for the passengers' families."

A woman leaves the cordoned off area in Changi airport in Singapore, 28 Dec A woman leaves the cordoned off area in Changi airport in Singapore

Rescuers check search coordinates in Surabaya, 28 Dec Rescuers check search coordinates in Surabaya

Oceanographer Simon Boxall told the BBC the plane should not be too difficult to find if it went into the water.

The sea floor is within diver depth, he says, and it would be "likely that they'll get answers within a few days".
Difficult year
The AirAsia Indonesia plane in question was delivered in 2008, has flown 13,600 times, completing 23,000 hours, and underwent its last maintenance on 16 November.

William Kai waits in Surabaya: "We still have hope. We cannot lose hope"

The captain, Iriyanto, had more than 20,500 flight hours, almost 7,000 of them with AirAsia, Mr Fernandes said. The co-pilot is French national Remi Emmanuel Plesel.

The AirAsia group has previously had no fatal accidents involving its aircraft.

AirAsia has set up an emergency line for family or friends of those who may be on board. The number is +622 129 850 801.

Special centres were set up at both Singapore's Changi airport and Juanda international airport in Surabaya.

There were 155 passengers on board, the company said in a statement:

  • 137 adults, 17 children and one infant
  • Most were Indonesian but several were from other countries: one UK national, a Malaysian, a Singaporean and three South Koreans
  • The BBC understands that the British national is Chi-Man Choi
  • Two pilots and five crew were also on board - one French, the others Indonesian

This has been a difficult year for aviation in Asia: Malaysia's national carrier Malaysia Airlines has suffered two losses - flights MH370 and MH17.

Flight MH370 disappeared on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March with 239 passengers and crew. The wreckage, thought to be in southern Indian Ocean, has still not been located.

MH17 was shot down over Ukraine in July, killing all 298 on board.

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What is the AirAsia Group?

  • Low-cost airline group with main hub in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Founded in 2001
  • AirAsia Group services now comprises eight affiliates, including AirAsia Indonesia
  • Group employs more than 15,000 staff
  • Operates fleet of more than 150 Airbus A320 aircraft with 200 more on order
  • Flies to about 100 destinations in some 15 countries. Carried almost 8 million passengers in 2013
  • Tony Fernandes has been the group's CEO since December 2001

Tony Fernandes: Flying and football
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