Malawi: Joyce Banda calls for bid for Presidential Jet

President Joyce Banda of Malawi after the demise of the erstwhile President, Bingu Wa Mutharika has continued to prove and the show the beauty of and in womanhood.

 She was the first Africa President to consider the plight of the people for real by cutting her emolument by 30% so as to re-invest it for the betterment of her country.

Upon her assumption of office, she rejected the private presidential jet bought by her predecessor. The jet was a source of controversy between Malawi and her donors.

The donors cut the aid for Malawi by 4.4million dollars but Mutharika remained unruffled. When she assumed office, she made her intention known to trade off the private jet.

Now, Banda has called for bids to get rid of the private jet. She is a real model and mother for Africa, especially the poorest of the poor.

Iran and World Powers should stop Bickering - Lavrov

Russia's foreign minister has taken a quick and smooth swipe at World powers and Iran. Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Global powers and Iran should "stop behaving like little children" and agree a date and place for new talks on Tehran's nuclear programme.

European officials have accused Tehran of circumventing the arrangement of a meeting with the six nations, including Russia, that are trying to prevent Iran from developing atomic weapons. Tehran says its nuclear programme is entirely for peaceful purposes.

"Some of our partners in the six powers and the Iranian side cannot come to an agreement about where to meet," Lavrov told a news conference after talks with Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders.

"We are ready to meet at any location as soon as possible," Lavrov said. "We believe the essence of our talks is far more important (than the site), and we hope that common sense will prevail and we will stop behaving like little children."

Three rounds of talks in the first half of last year between Iran and the six powers - Russia, the United States, China, Britain, France and Germany - produced no breakthrough, increasing speculation Israel could attack Iranian nuclear installations.

Talks had been expected to resume after the U.S. presidential election, possibly as early as this month. An Iranian news agency reported this month that talks might resume on January 28 and 29, but the EU said there was no agreement.

Iran continues to perform her war games in and around the Strait of Hormuz in preparation for a possible 'attack' if possible by the U.S. and Israel. The U.S. too and other allies have also performed similar war games around the strait.

Mali is being liberated

PARIS, Jan 28 (Reuters) - A French-led offensive in Mali that forced out al Qaeda-allied Islamist insurgents from the towns of Gao and Timbuktu at the weekend shows that Mali is slowly being freed, the French foreign minister said on Monday.

"Little by little, Mali is being liberated," Laurent Fabius told France 2 television. But Fabius cautioned that armed fighters from the Islamist alliance in north Mali, who had sought to impose Islamic law in the vast desert area, were now hiding and could reappear.

"The terrorist groups are carrying out a strategy of evasion and some of them could return in the north, primarily in Mali," Fabius warned. He declined to say whether France would intervene again if the militants returned.

Weekend gains by French and Malian forces capped a two-week offensive, involving warplanes and ground troops, launched to halt a southward push toward the capital, Bamako, by the loose coalition of Islamic militants.

French and Malian armoured columns forced fighters out of the central Malian towns of Diabaly and Douentza last week, and in recent days have inched their way northward.

"We are winning back a series of towns with the Malians," said Fabius, adding that troops from an African intervention force were preparing to deploy. Soldiers from Chad and Nigeria are already on the ground. (Reporting By Alexandria Sage)

James Ibori says his Lekki House is no Secret

Tony Eluemunor, spokesman for James Ibori speaking on behalf of his boss says James Ibori's Lekki house was never a secret as it was listed down in Asset declaration forms he filled in 1999, 2003 and 2007. The EFCC had one January 24 made it public that the jailed former Delta State Governor has a discovered mansion at Lekki. The property was discovered at 5, Alpha Beach Road, Lekki in Lagos.

The statement reads:  
"Despite EFCC’s insinuations to the contrary, the Alpha Beach Road house was built as far back as 1994, and so could not have, by any leap of the imagination, been built with proceeds, corrupt or not corrupt, from my office as State Governor because I began to live in that house five good years before I was voted into office”.

"Also, if the stories published about the house were actually based on EFCC’s statement, it means that the EFCC has accepted that Ibori was actually enormously rich at least half a decade before he became Governor of Delta State- after all, EFCC and the media called the house a “mansion”. 

"So, perhaps trying to hide this fact that Ibori was a man of means before he became governor, the EFCC and their agents are using all infernal tricks to cast doubts about when Ibori actually built that house.

"For the records, Chief Ibori reiterates that the house was not only built in 1994 before he became governor, it has featured in his asset declarations.

"Also, Chief Ibori has been cooperating fully with the Crown Prosecution since the preliminary stages of the confiscation process began, in line with the United Kingdom Criminal Justice Act (CJA) of 1988, so he does not see why the house has become an issue – especially as Nigeria has surrendered her jurisdictional sovereignty to Britain," the statement said. 

Nigerians continue to destroy their countries with greed. Funds meant to be used for public use as well as uplift millions out of poverty are used for personal purposes yet these leaders will still have the guts to deny and insult the intelligence of people. A nation of stealing comedians called leaders.

Nigeria: Police Harassment Increases at Sabo Divisional Headquarters

The Nigeria Police Force, Sabo Divisional Headquarters has developed a nauseous knack for harassing citizens and peace-loving Nigerians. The Police headquarters has taken on slapping as a new mode of intimidation and harassment.

The first case of harassment occurred at the entrance of University of Lagos when a student was arrested by a supposed police officer with no uniform on. He was molested and brutally harassed after being alleged of collecting cash from a girl for admission.

While proving the officer's acts as being wrong, he was dragged to the Security Post of University of Lagos. From there, the Security men allowed him to be taken away without due hearing.

Upon getting to the police station, the friends of the arrested tried to establish the cause of arrest and confirm the next line of action but the police in their characteristic cunning and crafty manner avoided all questions relating to any positive resolution.

One of the friends of the arrested boldly made it known that their friend must not be kept for more than 24 hours at the station. This angered the policemen and the young man was beaten and slapped brutally.

Another incidence of slaps occurred when another student of University of Lagos with her friends were harassed at Sabo. She was walking with her friends including a Flying Officer of the Nigerian Airforce when a police officer broke traffic rule in disobedience of traffic control light.

The young lady nearly escaped being hit and she complained. The police officer came down and said nothing other than to slap her. The Flying Officer went to the scene to try and question the policemen but before they could say Jack Robinson, they have all been dragged and packed to the police station.

At the station, the policemen said they will spray all of them with no accountability for their souls and dead bodies. All the police officers on duty without any knowledge of what happened were humming this statement. Later, the Flying Officer was apologised to after knowing who he is. How about others molested, intimated and harassed?

Nigeria Police Force has complete colonial orientation. It is the headquarters of criminals. They are never willing to end human rights abuses.