Monday 27 February 2012

First Chelsea, now Inter - world-class Lavezzi lands knockout blow which could leave Ranieri out for the count

The Argentine fired the 11th goal conceded by the Nerazzurri since they last scored and ensured that questions be asked of the coach after he replaced Sneijder and Forlan

Getty Images

COMMENT
By Kris Voakes | Italian Football Editor
It was on February 28, 2011 that Napoli went to league leaders AC Milan without their suspended star Ezequiel Lavezzi and came back with nothing. To many, that 3-0 loss was the end of the Azzurri’s outside chance of clinching the Scudetto as the Rossoneri instead tightened their hold on top spot and eventually wrapped up the title with two weeks to spare.

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One year on, and with Lavezzi leading the charge, the Partenopei all but ended Inter’s chances of claiming a Champions League spot while boosting their own claim for third place. There are now nine points between the fast-fading Lombardy side and the top three, and while ‘El Pocho’ and friends prepare for a fascinating finale to the season, the visitors’ latest insipid performance could see Claudio Ranieri out of a job.
Tasked with catapulting the Nerazzurri back into the reckoning for the top three after their disastrous start to the campaign under Gian Piero Gasperini, the Tinkerman looked to have exceeded all expectations only a month ago. As Ranieri went to bed on January 28, his Inter side sat in fourth place, three points behind Udinese with a game in hand. When he woke up the next day, his nightmare began.
But that Sunday’s defeat to Lecce was only the start, and after throwing away the lead three times in a 4-4 draw with Palermo, Inter have lost five straight games, conceding 11 goals since they found the net last. Their losing streak matches the club’s all-time record. Their four-game scoreless run in Serie A is a 25-year low. Their need for new players and new ideas is palpable. And their inferiority to Napoli was astonishingly clear.
Inter were abysmal at the San Paolo. Short of ideas, short of confidence and short of direction, they rarely looked like getting anything from the game. In fact, it wasn’t until the dying stages that they had a really clear chance, and when they did, Giampaolo Pazzini summed up their general malaise by missing the simplest of opportunities from eight yards. An injury-time penalty claim could have gone either way, but would have done little more than mask the real issues. And besides, on current form, where's the guarantee they would have scored from the spot anyway?

MATCH FACTS \| Napoli 1-0 Inter

Shots On Target Possession Territory Corners Bookings Sendings-off	Napoli 14 5 49% 52% 11 1 1	Inter 7 1 51% 48% 0 5 0

Ranieri’s return to his old tinkering ways continued too. A month after stating he needs to find a way to get Wesley Sneijder and Diego Forlan firing in his first XI, he abandoned the idea at half-time, withdrawing both and switching to a back three similar to the one which caused many of the problems Inter experienced under Gasperini. The Roman clearly never learns, and the old heave-ho may not be far away after his latest act of folly.
But in Lavezzi and Edinson Cavani, Inter faced opponents who were always going to punish them eventually. The inevitable happened in the 59th minute. Cavani picked up the ball midway into the Nerazzurri half and fed Blerim Dzemaili. The midfielder surged forward, held off Lucio, and dinked a pass to Lavezzi with the outside of his boot. ‘El Pocho’ did the rest, guiding a perfect finish across Julio Cesar into the bottom corner of the net.
It has been said – by this writer and by others – that it’s Lavezzi’s finishing that doesn’t match the high standard he sets in other departments. But in grabbing four goals in his past three games, including two against Chelsea in the Champions League in midweek, he has shown that he has the composure as well as the explosiveness. And after recovering from the injury that saw him return to the pitch a month late from the winter break, he is as fresh as a daisy heading into the final third of the season.
With Lavezzi in this world class form, Napoli should not fear the five-point gap separating them from third-placed Udinese. Whereas a laboured finish in 2010-11 saw them settle for the top three, this term they seem ready to click through the gears in good time to make a concerted bid for the Champions League spots.
Add to that their significant 3-1 advantage over Chelsea in the last 16 in this year’s competition, and you have an anticipation about the Azzurri that hasn’t been felt in Naples since 1990. Now, as then, a mesmeric little Argentine is at the heart of that. Cavani will be the one on whom the goalscoring burden will fall, but Lavezzi is the man who makes the difference.
And he proved it in the past four days at the San Paolo. He was the difference between Napoli and Chelsea. He was the deciding factor once more against Inter. And he may well turn out to be the man who ensures that Ranieri no longer has a job.
With the final third of the season approaching, Inter have a huge few weeks ahead.

Six dead as bombers hit governor’s church

One of the victims of the Cocin Church Jos blast in hospital ... yesterday.

A suicide bomber yesterday drove a car loaded with explosives into the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN), Jos, where Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang worships.
In neighbouring Bauchi State, what is believed to be an attempt on another branch of COCIN in Miyan-Barkate, Toro Local Government Area, was aborted by the police.
The failed attempt came barely six-hours after the Jos attack.
The police in Jos said “at least” six persons were killed by the blasts that rocked the COCIN headquarters.
Police spokesman Samuel Dabai told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that he was not sure of the total number of those injured.
The Plateau State Chapter of the Red Cross, which declined to be specific on the number of those killed, put the casualty figure at 50.
It’s chairman, Manasseh Pampe, said the figure comprised victims taken to Plateau Specialist Hospital, Sauki Hospital and the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH).
“The Red Cross took 35 victims to Plateau Specialist Hospital, 10 were taken to JUTH and five were taken to Sauki Hospital.
“But the Plateau Government later directed that all the casualties hospitalised at Sauki Hospital be moved to the State Specialist Hospital. That we have done,” Pampe said.
He said three of the victims taken to JUTH had been treated and discharged while seven were still at the hospital.
Pampe, however, said he could not comment on the figure of those killed in the explosion as he declared that “it is not part of the responsibility of Red Cross”.
Dabai said the two suicide bombers were killed in addition to four others including two women who died at the scene.
Two others died at the Plateau Specialist Hospital, he added.
He confirmed that one of the bombers died in the vehicle that conveyed the explosives, while the other was killed at the scene of the blast by the angry worshippers.
Dabai, however, refused to react to reports that some suspected Boko Haram members were arrested with explosives around Gada Biu area of Jos.
“I will get back to you on that. For now, I have been busy handling the explosion situation.”
30 vehicles were damaged. One of those who died, Miss Grace Daniel, was an usher in the church.
The church, located behind the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) building, was attacked at 7:30am. Its main building and the annex under construction were affected.
The church is about 500 metres from the Police Headquarters and the Special Task Force (STF) headquarters.
Jang missed the early morning session (Hausa service) and was preparing for the second session (English) at 10am when the news of the explosions reached him.
The Boko Haram sect claimed responsibility.
The sect’s spokesman Abu Qaqa told reporters in a teleconference in Maiduguri that it was a reprisal attack.
The incident came three days after the resumption of the new Commander of the STF on Jos crises ‘Operation Safe Haven’, Brig.-Gen. Muhammed Ibrahim.
The church’s headquarters has been hosting Christians displaced from Yobe State since January as a result of Boko Haram attacks.
Undeterred by the early morning blast, however, other churches in the city held services.
A member of the church manning a roadblock, Rueben Luka, alleged complicity of the members of the STF. He said: “There are roadblocks 100 metres to the church from both sides, but the bombers beat the security because one Toyota Hilux van of the STF preceded the car of the bomber. It was a Golf car with tinted glasses and was following the STF vehicle. We were thinking they were together and they were allowed to pass.
“As soon as the security opened the roadblock for the STF vehicle to pass, the bombers drove in with speed and headed towards their target. The STF vehicle passed to God-knows where, having led the bombers car to beat our road blocks. I can swear the bombers used the STF to beat our road block. These soldiers know of the suicide arrangement.”
Another eye witness said: “The bombers were two; one of them was dismembered by the explosion. The second had his head shattered and lay dead after the attack.”
“The bombers shouted Allahu Akbar (Allah is great) before the explosion, but God was wonderful for not allowing many casualties. From the sound of the blast, the casualties should have been in hundreds but our God intervened because we are innocent.”
Jang’s Special Adviser on Media, Pam Ayuba, told reporters:
“This is an unprovoked attack. A painful one that is capable of sabotaging the peace already achieved.
“Government is disappointed mainly because Jos is under state of emergency and yet this kind of attack was allowed to take place.
“An emergency security meeting has been convened. The security agencies are expected to brief the government on why the incident occurred and, maybe, the alleged conspiracy of the STF members shall be investigated. The government will brief the media of its finding at the end of the day.
“In the meantime, the government is appealing to citizens to remain calm and allow the security agencies to do their job. The government is also expressing its sympathy with families of the victims.”
The Bauchi Police arrested five people with weapons and improvised explosive devices with which they allegedly planned to attack COCIN Church in Miya Barkate village.
An eye witness, Mr Ikechukwu Aduba, confirmed the incident to The Nation in a telephone interview. He said: “It’s true that some people attempted to attack COCIN Church.
“The suspects are a rival group within the church. They have an internal problem and the other rival group decided to attack them this morning. So, when we got the report, we sent our men there and our men arrested about five of them (the group that attempted to burn the church). They were in possession of substances and other things that looked like explosives, but we are waiting for bomb experts to confirm because sometimes after investigation, it may turn out to be something else and not IEDs,” Aduba said.
The Commissioner of Police also said he had begun investigation into the incident and would make his report public.
He urged the public not to panic but remain law abiding and report any suspicious persons to the police who are on a 24-hour alert to ensure public safety.
An employee of Toro Local Government Area who witnessed the incident said “the suspects were arrested with sophisticated weapons and all of them, surprisingly, are Christians living in the same area.
“They are not in the same Miyan Barkate, but from the neighboring villages of Miya Barkate and we know them.”
The eye witness added that there was confusion after the arrest of the suspects.
A statement by the STF said: “There was an explosion at the headquarters of COCIN Church near the Central Bank of Nigeria, Jos on February 2012 by 7:15 am.
“The suspected suicide bombers arrived the premises of the church in a Golf car. The Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) exploded with one of the bombers inside the vehicle while the other suspect that alighted and wanted to escape was killed in the process.
“The explosion damaged some vehicles at the premises of the church.
The statement called on law abiding citizens to go about their lawful business without fear.
Jang, accompanied by the Minister of Water Resources, Speaker of the House of Assembly Clark Dabwan and top government officials, visited the church and the hospitals where the victims of the blast were receiving treatment.
Jang said: “The attackers knew I worship at the church, but they will not succeed, I will only encourage citizens of the state not to panic or take laws into their hands. We should be encouraged that God almighty is in control.”
Former Governor Joshua Dariye also visited the church to sympathise with the church and the victims.

Stars swamp loud, colorful Oscar parties

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) — While a nearly silent, black-and-white throwback film to old Hollywood won best picture at Sunday's Academy Awards, after-parties around town celebrated present day Hollywood with explosions of color, conversation, pounding music and pure glee.

At Vanity Fair's always compact, A-list soiree at West Hollywood's Sunset Tower Hotel, one of several parties following the 84th annual Academy Awards at the Hollywood & Highland Center, starlets and Oscar nominees and winners chatted, ate, roared with laughter and giggled to each other.

The scene played out like one of the charmingly glam moments depicted in soundless best picture Oscar winner "The Artist," set in Los Angeles during the late 1920s transition from silent movies to talking pictures, yet filled with lively noise.

Jonah Hill, nominated for a best supporting actor award for best picture nominee "Moneyball," smiled and shouted out a sassy expletive decrying his and the film's loss, surrounded by a pack of friends, including Seth Rogen.

Rogen, who hosted Saturday's Film Independent Spirit Awards, also laughed and drank with fellow funny guy Jason Segel, star of "The Muppets" movie, and comic-musician Bret McKenzie, who pumped his Oscar for best original song, for "The Muppets," into the air.
"I think there was a list of people I had to apologize to," acknowledged Rogen, to Hill, about his pointed barbs at the Spirit Awards aimed at a number of people, including director Brett Ratner, who dropped out of producing this year's Oscars after making a gay slur.

The party, hosted by Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Graydon Carter, served up wine and champagne as well as comfort food, from fried macaroni and cheese balls to hamburgers from In-N-Out. A live stand-up bassist and drummer played jazz tunes.

In one corner booth tucked to the side of the party's outdoor patio, Gwyneth Paltrow held court with her Coldplay husband Chris Martin and silver screen vet Jane Fonda, while talking with Cameron Diaz.

Across the room, Jennifer Lopez lovingly fiddled with the collar of her boyfriend Casper Smart's shirt. Lopez, wearing a maroon-brown sequined Zuhair Murad gown with a plunging front and back, later gabbed with her ex Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. The hip-hop mogul warmly rubbed her arm as Smart stood nearby.

Tom Cruise, standing next to his wife Katie Holmes, became downright excited talking to "Star Wars" director George Lucas. "You gotta do that, you gotta do that, you gotta direct!" Cruise loudly told Lucas.

Other attendees included Steve Martin, Kate Hudson, Sandra Bullock, Tina Fey, best actress Oscar nominee Rooney Mara and best actor Oscar nominee Demian Bichir.
A dapper David Beckham chomped on a burger while keeping close to his wife, Victoria Beckham. Sacha Baron Cohen pulled a complete 180 from his controversial Oscar red carpet stint dressed as a Moammar Gadhafi type figure to promote his upcoming film, "The Dictator." Hanging out in a normal black tux, Cohen looked nothing like the bearded military character who poured ashes all over E! host Ryan Seacrest before the Oscar telecast.
Just south of the bash, at the Elton John AIDS Foundation's Oscar viewing dinner and after-party, actors and musicians co-mingled for an especially vibrant, grand fete for the event's 20th anniversary.
Previously held at West Hollywood's Pacific Design Center, the party shifted for the first time to a larger space across the street, at West Hollywood Park, with 200 more dinner guests than usual, bringing the tally to 910.
More than 80 tables decorated with grey, blue and white cloths filled the massive blue and white tented dinner ballroom. Celebrities walked down a pristine white carpet into multiple tents serving cocktails, wine and upscale carbonated juice drinks. One outdoor tent was decorated with hanging blue mirrors.

Only 14 months old, Sir Elton John's son, Zachary, made a brief appearance during a cocktail hour just before the dinner, as John and his civil partner David Furnish took turns showing him off to well-wishers. The blonde toddler wore a black jacket with his name stitched on it, and chewed on a cloth napkin. John sported a black embellished jacket with his glittering initials spelled out on the back.

Guests such as Neil Patrick Harris, a blue-bobbed Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus and her boyfriend Liam Hemsworth, Anna Paquin and her husband Stephen Moyer, John Waters, Kim Kardashian and her pregnant sister Kourtney feasted on a five course meal that included sauteed sea bass with pepper saffron sauce, beef tenderloin with leek bread pudding and apple-pear tart for dessert.

Steven Tyler talked about balancing recording the new Aerosmith album in L.A., being a judge on "American Idol" and attending an Oscar party such as John's.
"It's crazy, it's crazy," said Tyler, decked out in rock 'n' chic tight black brocade pants. "After all this, tonight, I'll go back to the studio and record a song. I'll probably get to bed around 2 a.m."
Perry sat at a middle table with John, Furnish and "American Idol" alum Adam Lambert. Newly single Heidi Klum, a regular at the bash, sat at a nearby table next to Kyle MacLachlan and the Kardashians.
"Tonight we've raised more money at this event than we ever have before," John told the crowd after a feisty post-dinner auction that netted $5.25 million for the foundation's fight against HIV and AIDS.
Things became a bit rowdy when celebrity chef Cat Cora, who created the night's menu, egged on would-be bidders to snatch up an in-home cooking class for up to ten people she would host. Perry and Steve Tisch, owner of NFL champs the New York Giants, then started a bidding war, with Tisch the winner, for $100,000, but Perry named a co-winner. Cora joked about kissing Perry, in a nod to Perry's hit "I Kissed a Girl," then came over and pecked her on the cheek.
Just before indie rock band Foster the People came out onstage to pound out hits such as "Pumped Up Kicks," a DJ spun songs catching the ear of friends Kelly Osbourne and Cyrus, who made mock kissing faces for photos and danced to a remix of Adele, mouthing the words. Gwen Stefani sauntered into the post party with a full entourage.

The Governors Ball, the Academy Awards' official after-party, at the Hollywood & Highland Center, was re-tooled this year from a formal sit-down affair to a cocktail bash, which served the guests just fine. Viola Davis sat with Octavia Spencer, and Spencer's best supporting actress Oscar, for nibbles and drinks while best actress nominee Michelle Williams and pal Busy Phillips roamed the venue hand in hand.

Honorary Oscar winner James Earl Jones presented the event's headlining performer, Tony Bennett, whom he referred to as "an American classic" and "Frank Sinatra's favorite singer."

At John's shindig, first-time attendee "Glee" star Darren Criss, himself musically inclined, noted the irony of "The Artist" juxtaposed against the party's backdrop of booming music and screamed conversation.

"When people allegedly schmooze, they shout at each other. I like to sit down and have a conversation," he said.

Actress Sean Young arrested at post-Oscar party

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles police say actress Sean Young was placed under citizen's arrest after a fight at the official post-Oscars party.

The 52-year-old star of "Blade Runner" and "Stripes" was arrested at the Governor's Ball Sunday evening and was booked at the Hollywood police station for investigation of misdemeanor battery. City News Service says she posted $20,000 bail and was released early Monday.

Police Sgt. Enrique Mendoza confirmed the arrest but wouldn't give details about the incident.

Young tried to crash the Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2006. She entered rehabilitation for alcohol abuse in 2008 after she was removed from the Directors Guild of America awards.

A voicemail message left early Monday for Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences publicist Tarrah Lee Curtis wasn't immediately returned.

Friday 24 February 2012

Bobby Brown Storms Nigeria

Promises to rock the stage in remembrance of late wife, Whitney Houston

Bobby Brown is billed to storm Nigeria for live stage performances on March 9 and 11, 2012.
The concert tour, which will be the star's first ever performance on African soil, is a two-city concert scheduled to hold at Eko Hotel & Suites in Lagos and the Polo Club, Port Harcourt on March 9 and 11 respectively.
The bereaved former husband to Whitney Houston is expected to lead his former band mates, New Edition.
The group will be dedicating their performance to the late Whitney Houston.
The organiser of the event, Gbolahan Abiodun, in a statement, said “Music fans who appreciate the quality of good musical performance will be thrilled by the collection of the finest musicians we are putting together."
Bobby Brown has cleared all doubts surrounding his African schedule, sequel to his former wife's death, by confirming that "we will be rocking the stage live in Nigeria on March 9 and 11".
The event will feature, alongside the New Edition, 2face Idibia, Banky W, Mode 9, eLDee and Duncan Mighty.
According to the organisers and Bobby Brown, the show promises to be fun.

US, Nigeria to join forces against Boko Haram

Mr McCulley

The United States will support Nigeria’s battle against Boko Haram but will not send troops, its Ambassador, Terrence P. McCulley, said yesterday.

McCulley said the U.S. encourages Nigeria to reach out to residents in the North, especially the poor, while using security forces to target and apprehend terrorists.

He said the U.S. is also considering opening a consulate in Kano to burnish America’s own image among a people still suspicious about Western influence.

“That’s not on the table,” McCulley said. “No; absolutely not,” when asked about the possibility of US’ troops deployment in Nigeria by the Associated Press (AP).

Nigeria has been under increasing attack from members of Boko Haram. This year, the sect is blamed for killing at least 304 people, according to an AP count. At least 185 people died in Kano last month in the group’s deadliest assault yet.

Six policemen were reported to have been killed yesterday in Kano and Minna, Niger State.

“It’s of a great concern to us,” McCulley said. “We’ve seen an increase in sophistication, we’ve seen increased lethality. We saw at least a part of the group has decided it’s in their interest to attack the international community.”

The U.S. is working with the police to help them learn how to carry out forensic investigations, while a bomb expert from the FBI has been working with authorities on how to detect explosives planted by the group before they detonate, McCulley said. The U.S. also would be open to training Nigeria’s military in counter-terror techniques, though the country hasn’t asked for that assistance, the ambassador said.

“It’s not going to be solved exclusively by treating it as a security issue,” McCulley said. “It needs a holistic solution. Government needs clearly to have a targeted approach on security that targets the bad guys, that targets perpetuators of these horrible attacks and doesn’t injure innocent civilians or damage property.”

Intelligence-gathering also remains a concern for the U.S. in Nigeria, especially after a failure by American authorities to take seriously a warning about Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab before he boarded a U.S.-bound flight that he attempted to bring down with a bomb in 2009.

While McCulley declined to give details, he said “adequate systems” were now in place to receive such warnings and that the U.S. maintained “robust relations” with Nigerian intelligence agencies.

LaRon Landry is big. ‘Incredible Hulk’ big…

hotos: LaRon Landry is big. ‘Incredible Hulk’ big…

Laron Landry will likely be an unrestricted free agent next month. The Washington Redskins are unlikely to franchise the oft-injured safety, so it's probable that he'll be free to sign with another team. Judging by recent photos, The Avengers might be a good fit.

Our pal, Dan Steinberg, noticed these photos on Landry's Twitter account and posted them to his DC Sports Bog. Landry looks, um, big. And chesty. Not that he wasn't always huge, but this is taking it to a whole new level.
I'm not going to wonder out loud if that shirt's a child's medium because, if I did, I'm worried that if LaRon Landry would see it, find me and express his displeasure about my assumption. We live close to each other. It's a possibility.

@MrLandry30

Dear potential suitors,
Although I may be reluctant to get the Achilles tendon surgery that team doctors recommended, I assure you, I've been spending plenty of time in the weight room. How many hours are there in a day? Twenty-four? I've been there 25.

Fake policewoman nabbed in Kwara

The Kwara State Police Command has arrested a 30-year-old mother, Yemisi Fagbemi, for allegedly parading herself as a police Inspector.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Tuesday, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Dabo Ezekiel, said the suspect was arrested on January 30 in a police uniform.

He added that a policewoman, Medina Garba, attached to the command arrested the suspect.

Ezekiel said Fagbemi, a mother of two, hails from Kabba, in Kogi State and resides at Oja-Iya area of Ilorin.

He added that the suspect allegedly swindled an electronic dealer of one 37-inch Plasma TV, laptop and refrigerator among others with promise to pay in instalments.

The PPRO said the suspect would soon be charged to court.

But while speaking with journalists, Fagbemi claimed that she was dismissed from the police in 2011, when a murder suspect in her custody escaped.

Yemisi, who admitted that she wore a police uniform on the day of her arrest, added that she wanted to visit a senior police officer who had promised to assist her on that day.

Fagbemi said, “I am not a fake police officer. I joined the force in 2000 as a constable but I later went for cadet inspector course in 2006.

“When I was a constable, I served at both Ijagbo and Offa divisions. I was dismissed in 2011 when a suspected murderer in my custody escaped.”

Thursday 23 February 2012

European Court censures Italy over African migrants

Migrant boat in Mediterranean - file pic

Last year Italy struggled with an influx of migrants fleeing the conflicts in Libya and Tunisia

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Italy violated the rights of Eritrean and Somali migrants by sending them back to Libya.

The 13 Eritreans and 11 Somalis were among a group of about 200 people who left Libya on three boats in 2009. Two of the 24 have since died.
The court ordered Italy to pay each migrant in the case 15,000 euros (£13,000; $20,000) in damages.
Last year Italy suspended a 2008 deal with Libya on sending migrants back.
The Grand Chamber judgment in the case of Hirsi Jamaa and Others v Italy found that the applicants had been exposed to the risk of ill-treatment in Libya and of repatriation to Somalia or Eritrea.
That was a violation of Article Three of the European Convention on Human Rights - prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment.
There was also a violation of Article Four of Protocol Four - prohibition of collective expulsions, according to the judges' unanimous ruling.
The Grand Chamber judgment is final, meaning it is legally binding on Italy.
The judgment was welcomed by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), which called it "a turning point regarding state responsibilities and the management of mixed migration flows".
The UNHCR had presented its position to the Strasbourg court, saying states had an obligation not to forcibly return people to countries where they faced persecution or serious harm.

The court said that in 2009 Italy conducted nine operations at sea to intercept migrant boats, in line with the bilateral deal signed by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the late Libyan leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi.
On 26 February 2011 Italy announced that it was suspending the agreement because of the unrest in Libya.
In their plea to the court the migrants said the Italian authorities who shipped them back to Libya did not tell them where they were going or check their identities.
Once in Tripoli they were handed over to the Libyan authorities.
Effort to trace migrants Thursday's ruling came after the Italian Council for Refugees had argued that the migrants' rights had been seriously breached, as they had been denied any chance to claim sanctuary in Italy.
According to the court, 14 of the migrants had been granted refugee status in 2009 by the UNHCR in Tripoli.
But the anti-Gaddafi uprising in 2011 disrupted contact between the applicants and their legal representatives.
The lawyers are currently in contact with six of the applicants, four of whom live in Benin, Malta or Switzerland and some of whom are awaiting a response to their request for international protection.
One applicant is in a refugee camp in Tunisia and is planning to return to Italy.
In June 2011 refugee status was granted to one of the applicants in Italy after he had clandestinely returned there.
The 2008 Italy-Libya deal amounted to an official apology from Italy to its former North African colony.
Italy agreed to pay $5bn in reparations in return for greater Libyan co-operation on stopping illegal migration.
Fewer migrants risked the perilous voyage as the interceptions at sea led to boatloads being sent back.
However, during the Arab uprisings in the first half of last year there was a sharp increase in the number of African migrants arriving in Italy in overcrowded boats.

From the kitschy to the practical, Obama swag is big business for re-elect campaign

Click image for more photos.

The president who uses a BlackBerry really wants you to buy an iPhone case. Or four. It's not just any iPhone case: It's a $40 model from the Obama campaign's vast and growing online store, an increasingly important weapon in the cash war for public office.
A lot of thought went into this accessory: The campaign's in-house design team came up with four different designs, including, inevitably, its "rising sun" motif. Then the campaign found a company to make the cases in the United States — a rarity among iPhone custom-case makers, and a necessity for a president whose reelection pitch turns in part on helping to revive U.S. manufacturing.
The product hit the campaign store's virtual shelves overnight on Wednesday.
"Supporters have been eager and have requested an Obama iPhone case. We are thrilled that we can finally offer it," said campaign spokeswoman Katie Hogan.
Obama made political fundraising history in 2008, and now aims to break new ground in 2012 with his campaign's creative harnessing of the American public's seemingly boundless fondness for kitschy political souvenirs, from the lowly $5 bumper sticker, to the $15 "golf divot tool," the shamrock-emblazoned $25 "O'Bama" pint glasses, and all the way up to the $450 "State Lapel Pin Collector's Set" — the most expensive item in stock. There's also a "Runway To Win" store with bags and shirts made by designers like Marc Jacobs or Beyoncé and Tina Knowles. (Republicans have taken aim at this branch of the store.)
It's a serious business. Still, the campaign politely but firmly refused to say how much the store contributes to its coffers, what the bestselling items are, or describe its return on investment—amount raised vs. costs of raising it—compared to traditional fundraising means.
[ SEE SLIDESHOW: Best, worst and weirdest swag of the 2012 campaign ]
"We don't talk specifics about merchandise because we are not in the business of advertising the secrets to our online store's success, we don't talk specifics about fundraising in general," a campaign aide told Yahoo News.
So the world may never know how much the $10 "Joe Biden Can Holder" — likely not explicitly described as a beer koozie because the VP doesn't drink — pours into the Obama 2012 effort.
(Mitt Romney's presidential campaign did not respond to a request for comment on their merchandising strategy. As for Santorum, you can get your own Rick Santorum sweater vest for a $100 donation.)
It's not just a question of dollars and cents, though. A would-be buyer eyeing that $10 car magnet featuring First Dog Bo ("I Bark for Barack") has to give the campaign a first name, last name, email address, street address, and telephone number, as well as their employer and occupation.
On its official privacy notice, the campaign says that it may use the information it collects for a variety of political goals, including emailed appeals for support, and share that information "with candidates, organizations, groups or causes that we believe have similar political viewpoints, principles or objectives." (Though buyers, of course, can opt-opt.)
And because these purchases are "campaign donations for merchandise," not simple "sales," patrons must certify that they are US citizens.
So far, independent watchdogs have taken a relaxed view of the phenomenon.
"Most of these purchases would come to less than $200, which is the threshhold for an 'itemized' donation on campaign finance reports -- one requiring the donor's name, address," said Viveca Novak, spokeswoman for the Center for Responsive Politics.
"The sale of these kinds of campaign knick-knacks probably increases the number of small donors to a campaign -- if one gets something tangible, one is more likely to give. Is that a bad thing?," Novack said. "Not necessarily; the small amounts spent by these purchasers aren't the kinds of contributions that would corrupt the system, hence the $200 reporting threshold enshrined in law."
The Obama campaign has 2 or 3 people on its design team who focus on merchandise at any moment. Early products came from "brainstorming sessions" among various aides — a process that ultimately generated the Biden can holder, which the vice president personally approved, according to a campaign aide.
The campaign then works to locate a company that can make the product in the United States, in the quantity needed and the quality desired by the campaign, said the aide. The reelect campaign relies on roughly 20 vendors nationwide.
And the iPhone case? The campaign had long wanted to produce one but struggled to find a U.S. manufacturer. And while Obama is known to use an iPad, there's no endorsement implied. "We are iPhone users, and Droid users, and Blackberry users — all forms of smart phones," said campaign spokeswoman Hogan.
To make the the accessory, the Obama campaign turned to Case-Mate, a firm based just outside Atlanta in Tucker, Georgia. The company, founded in 2006, employs roughly 130 people in Georgia and 20 more around the world, and sells its products in some 90 countries.
"We are the only custom-case manufacturer that does this process in the US," Case-Mate Founder and CEO Shashi Reddy said in a telephone interview from London, where he was on a business trip.
"We mold them here, decorate them here, and ship from here--it's a cradle-to-grave process," said Reddy, 39.
"I'm extremely, extremely proud," he told Yahoo News when asked how he felt about having a product featured in the campaign's store. "It shows we can actually start manufacturing some stuff here in the US again."
While the campaign won't disclose how much business the store is doing, it did say that 98 percent of its roughly 1.4 million donors have given $250 or less to reelection efforts. The average donation in January 2012 was $57 dollars. And "we hit 1 million donors 6 months faster in 2011 than we did in 2008," said a campaign aide.
For more on this topic, see Yahoo News's Dylan Stableford on the "Best, Worst and Weirdest swag of the 2012 campaign."
More popular Yahoo! News stories:
• Arizona shows pitfalls in Romney's proposed national E-Verify program
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• Santorum suggests Romney and Paul conspiring against him
Want more of our best political stories? Visit The Ticket or connect with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or add us on Tumblr. Handy with a camera? Join our Election 2012 Flickr group to submit your photos of the campaign in action.

Obama apologizes to Karzai over Bagram Koran burnings

President Obama apologized Thursday in a letter to Afghan President Hamid Karzai for the burning of Korans at the largest American military base in Afghanistan. The incident at Bagram Air Base has fueled days of angry protests in the war-torn country, according to the White House and Karzai's office. "I wish to express my deep regret for the reported incident," Karzai's office quoted Obama as saying in the message. "The error was inadvertent; I assure you that we will take the appropriate steps to avoid any recurrence, to include holding accountable those responsible."
Three days of protests over the incident have left 14 people dead, including two American soldiers shot dead when an Afghan soldier turned his weapon on them at their base in Khogyani in eastern Nangarhar province, district governor Mohammad Hassan told AFP.

White House officials declined to challenge the wording.

US Ambassador Ryan Crocker delivered the letter to Karzai on Thursday afternoon, local time, according to US National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor.
Obama "expressed our regret and apologies over the incident in which religious materials were unintentionally mishandled at Bagram Airbase," Vietor said in an emailed statement.
The incident, which occurred on Tuesday, led the Taliban to call on Afghans to retaliate against the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan and drew a stern rebuke from Karzai himself earlier this week.

European Court censures Italy over African migrants

Last year Italy struggled with an influx of migrants fleeing the conflicts in Libya and Tunisia

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Italy violated the rights of Eritrean and Somali migrants by sending them back to Libya.

London conference urges Somalia to seize its chance

Live coverage from the Somalia conference. Translations where possible.

Somalia - Failed State

World leaders have urged Somalis to seize an "unprecedented opportunity" to rebuild their nation, at a gathering in London on the war-torn nation's future.

Ending threats of terrorism and piracy were in everyone's interests, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said.
Hillary Clinton said plans to elect leaders and adopt a constitution before August were "ambitious".
But she said the mandate of the UN-backed interim government would not be extended any longer.
Somalia has endured more than two decades of civil war and famine.

Analysis

Mary Harper BBC News

There seems to be a bit of a contradiction in the final communique. On the one hand, it states in bold type that decisions on Somalia's future "rest with the Somali people". On the other it talks about outsiders taking some control of the government's budget, with the establishment of a Joint Financial Management Board.
It is also outsiders who have decided that the time for political transition is over; they even say they will "incentivise progress" towards representative government.
Will the London Conference translate into change on the ground? Doubtless there has been real progress in the fight against al-Shabab and piracy. The conference delegates have made it clear that the time for political transition is over. But Somalia may be entering another phase of violence and instability, this time between its regions, many of which have their own governments.
There were no less than four Somali presidents at the conference, one representing the transitional federal government, the others the more stable regions in the north. And outside the conference there were no less than three small but noisy demonstrations, all shouting and singing for different causes. This suggests that peace and unity may be still be a distant dream.

Representatives from many Somali factions are attending the London conference, but the al-Shabab Islamist group that controls much of the centre and south of the country is not invited.

The UK has described Somalia as the "world's worst failed state" but said it needs a "second chance".
Mr Cameron told the gathered leaders, who included Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi and UN chief Ban Ki-moon, that the world would pay a high price if it ignored the plight of Somalia.
"In a country where there is so little hope, where there is chaos and violence and terrorism, pirates are disrupting vital trade routes and kidnapping tourists," he said.
"Young minds are being poisoned by radicalism, breeding terrorism that is threatening not just Somalia but the whole world. If the rest of us just sit back and look on, we will pay a price for doing so."
During his speech, Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed called for an end to the arms embargo, saying: "We're looking for security. We're scared of tomorrow."
On Wednesday, the UN Security Council approved a resolution increasing the number of AU troops in Somalia by 5,000 to more than 17,000. Council members also agreed to extra funding for the mission and to extend its mandate.
Yoweri Museveni, the leader of Uganda - which has provided the bulk of troops for African Union (AU) forces in Somalia - told the gathering African solutions to African problems worked best.
'No Islamist negotiations' At the same time, Ethiopian and Somali troops took the strategic stronghold of Baidoa in the south-west of the country held by militant group al-Shabab, which recently merged with al-Qaeda.

Tragedy in numbers

21 years of conflict; 12,000 AU peacekeepers
2.3m people need food aid
2.5m people made homeless - 27% of population
Pirates holding 10 ships and 159 hostages
Annual global cost of piracy almost $7bn

Sources: AU, UN, ICC International Marine Bureau

On Wednesday evening, officials said a bomb planted by the militants exploded in the centre of Baidoa causing minor injuries.

Islamist insurgents who have been fighting the transitional government since 2007 have said the London conference was another attempt to colonise Somalia.
"They want us under trusteeship and we will not allow that. God willing we will face the outcome with full force and stop it," said al-Shabab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage.
"A stronger America failed and all these Africans failed and we say you should not waste your time, you will lose. We also tell them not to waste their resources."

During her conference speech, Mrs Clinton said the US would never negotiate with al-Shabab, but said Somalia was at a critical point to make progress.
"For decades, the world has focused on what we could prevent from happening in Somalia - be it conflict, famine, or other disasters," AFP news agency quotes her as saying.
"Now we are focused on what we can build. The opportunity is real."
Somali leaders have said its challenges cannot be solved by military means alone and a parallel focus is needed on boosting humanitarian aid, education and law and order.
Despite being forced out of the capital, Mogadishu, last year, al-Shabab has continued to launch attacks in the city.
The BBC's Mohammed Dhore in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, says security is extremely tight in the city because of the conference, with more than 50 roadblocks compared to the usual five.
Union Jacks are also flying at major road junctions and government buildings, he says.

Friday 17 February 2012

Police invite bank manager over robberies

The Ilupeju Branch of GTB has been robbed severally in recent times

| February 16, 2012

The manager of Guaranty Trust Bank, Ilupeju, has been invited by the police to answer questions over the incessant robbery cases that have occurred at the bank recently.
Jaiyeoba Joseph, the Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, said investigations into the spate of robberies indicate that an insider may be working with the robbers.
"We are convinced that the (last) robbery was in connivance with an insider of the bank and the branch manager of the bank has been invited for questioning following the series of robbery incidents that occur in that branch almost on a daily basis," he said.
The last robbery at the bank occurred on Thursday when six gunmen attacked a customer, Bakare Kolawale, and robbed him of the N250,000 he had just withdrawn.
Luckily for Kolawole, police officers on routine patrol arrived at the scene and engaged the fleeing robbers in a gunfight. Two members of the gang were arrested while the others fled.
According to Joseph, five sawed off shotguns, one knife, two expended cartridges, two motorcycles, and the sum of N250, 000 were recovered from the robbers.

Tuface goes underground, after proposing to Annie Macauley

On February 17, 2012 ·

Multiple award-winning superstar, Innocent Ujah Idibia, popularly called Tuface Idibia, shocked his fans last Tuesday night when he proposed to actress Annie Macauley, one of the mothers of his five children.
The Benue State-born singer was said to have proposed to Macaulay on Valentine’s Day to the surprise of Annie and his fans who gathered at Club 10, Victoria Island, Lagos, owned by former Super Eagles captain, Austin J.J. Okocha.
Meanwhile, WG gathered that since taking that wholistic step to cement their relationship in marriage, the African Queen coroner may have gone underground probably to allow the dust raised by his action to settle.

*Tuface and his bride-to-be after she said "YES"

Tuface’s spokesman, Bayo Omisere, when contacted by WG to confirmed the buzz only muted that “I can’t confirm the story right now because I can’t reach him. All his cell phones are switched-off, I have tried to reach him but I couldn’t. I have also contacted all those who are close to him but he can’t be reached.”
Those who witnessed the long overdue “love-drama” said when Tuface made the proposal, Annie apparently could not control her emotions as tears of joy rolled down her cheeks freely, while cuddling the music star. She later tweeted on her Twitter “OMG (Oh My God) the love of my life just proposed to me.” She also tweeted, saying that “I’m serving a living God…”
It would be recalled that the romance between Tuface and Annie had been on for more than ten years and just two years ago, she had a daughter named Isabel for him. Tuface has four other kids, two each from Sumbo Ajaba and Pero Adeniyi respectively.
Few weeks back, news spread like wild fire that Tuface was expecting his sixth child, having impregnated Pero the third time The story, was confirmed by his publicist Bayo Omisere
Since his relationship with Pero, Annie and Sumbo started, many fans of Tuface had been wondering whom he would eventually settle for as wife.
That riddle may have been resolved. Annie Macauley was one of the ladies that starred in Tuface’s award-winning music video, African Queen. She started her acting career some years back after emerging as one of the runners-up in Sola Fajobi’s organised TV reality show, Next Movie Star.

Abdulmutallab jailed for life

By Emmanuel Oladesu and Joseph Jibueze 10 hours 33 minutes ago

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Abdulmutallab

Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab who tried to blow up a Detroit United States - bound airliner with explosives concealed in his underwear on Christmas Day in 2009 was sentenced yesterday to life in prison.

United States federal judge Nancy G. Edmunds, who sentenced him, said his crime and subsequent lack of remorse demanded the maximum possible punishment.

Abdulmutallab, who pleaded guilty in October and admitted to working on behalf of al Qaeda, shouted “Allah Akbar,” or “God is great,” five times during the sentencing hearing. He asserted that Muslims were “proud to kill in the name of God, that is what God told us to do in the Qur’an.”

Five people on the flight with Mr. Abdulmutallab, including a flight attendant who helped put out the fire that resulted from the explosives, spoke during the hearing about the nightmares and fear they had experienced since the incident.

Judge Edmunds of Federal District Court ordered Mr. Abdulmutallab to serve the maximum sentence of four consecutive life sentences, plus an additional 50 years, on the charges, which included conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

The Judge denied a motion by Mr. Abdulmutallab, who represented himself during much of the case with the assistance of a standby lawyer, to declare life imprisonment as cruel and unusual punishment because his act did not kill or seriously injure anyone.

“Defendant has never expressed doubt or regret or remorse,” she said. “This court can’t control defendant’s motivations, which appear to be unchanged, but it can control defendant’s opportunity to act on those intentions.”

Prosecutors showed a video demonstrating the type of explosion that could have occurred on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, which originated in Amsterdam, but for a technical problem that resulted in Mr. Abdulmutallab only setting himself and a wall of the plane on fire.

Cathleen Corken, an assistant United States attorney, called it ”a cold-blooded, calculated plan to kill everyone aboard the plane.”

“It was sheer fortuity that numerous deaths were avoided, and he should not be given credit for that,” Ms. Corken said. She noted that increased airport security measures implemented since the attempted bombing had shown that “the American public at large was victimized by the defendant’s conduct.”

Mr. Abdulmutallab, who wore a white T-shirt and tan pants, spoke for about three minutes. He claimed that Osama bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders who have been killed “are alive and shall be victorious by God’s grace.” He also said terrorist attacks would continue “until the Jews are driven out of Palestine” Reacting to the judgment, AbdulMutallab’s family said the case brought them “tremendous shock.”

Nine members of the family, who had travelled to Detroit did not attend yesterday’s hearing.

In a statement, the family says anyone who knew Abdulmutallab would believe he would be the “last person” to try to blow up a plane for al-Qaida.

According to the statement, the family is grateful that no one was seriously hurt.

The family disagreed with the life sentence without parole.

Police nab man with human foetus

Abiodun Ibrahim is alleged to belong to a cult that specialises in human rituals

Article | February 16, 2012 - 7:29pm

Abiodun Ibrahim, 32, is on trial at an Ilorin Magistrates' Court for allegedly being in possession of a human foetus.
According to the police prosecutor, Al-Hassan Jubril, the suspect was arrested while in possession of a polythene bag containing a fresh foetus, a black soap, as well as cow and ram horns.
Jubril alleged that investigations revealed that Ibrahim, and others still at large, belong to a secret cult which specialises in killing and removing human parts within Ilorin and its environs for rituals.
He, however, said investigation was still ongoing to identify the victim from whom the foetus was removed.
The accused was arraigned on a three-count charge of criminal conspiracy, belonging to a secret cult and culpable homicide; contrary to Sections 96, 97B and 221 of the Penal Code Law.
The prosecutor objected to bail for the accused on the grounds that the offences were not ordinarily bailable, adding that granting bail would jeopardise police investigation.
Magistrate Ibijoke Olawoyin, therefore, ordered that Ibrahim be remanded in prison and adjourned the case to March 1.

Monday 27 February 2012

First Chelsea, now Inter - world-class Lavezzi lands knockout blow which could leave Ranieri out for the count

The Argentine fired the 11th goal conceded by the Nerazzurri since they last scored and ensured that questions be asked of the coach after he replaced Sneijder and Forlan

Six dead as bombers hit governor’s church

Stars swamp loud, colorful Oscar parties

Actress Sean Young arrested at post-Oscar party

Friday 24 February 2012

Bobby Brown Storms Nigeria

US, Nigeria to join forces against Boko Haram

hotos: LaRon Landry is big. ‘Incredible Hulk’ big…

Fake policewoman nabbed in Kwara

Thursday 23 February 2012

European Court censures Italy over African migrants

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London conference urges Somalia to seize its chance

Somalia - Failed State

Analysis

Tragedy in numbers

Friday 17 February 2012

Police invite bank manager over robberies

Tuface goes underground, after proposing to Annie Macauley

Abdulmutallab jailed for life

Police nab man with human foetus