Friday, July 29, 2011

Christie Will Be "Back to Work" Friday Following Hospital Visit

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he feels fine and will "be back to work" Friday after being hospitalized following what he said was an asthma attack.

Christie walked out of the Somerset Medical Center around 6:30 p.m. Thursday. He told assembled reporters that he hadn't needed to be hospitalized for an asthma episode "since law school."  

The 49-year-old governor said he began having trouble breathing when he woke up Thursday. "The rescue inhaler didn't have the effect it normally has," he said.

Christie said that he began to feel "lightheaded" at around 10:30 a.m. while on his way to a bill-signing ceremony, so New Jersey State Troopers took him to the hospital. "They did a great job and got me here very quickly," he said.

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Amy Winehouse Honored By Vibe, Janelle Monae

Hall said he wanted to capture Winehouse's beauty on the cover, and he and his team considered 40 different photos before finally deciding on a classic black-and-white portrait shot by Mischa Richter in 2008. "We had literally 36 hours to pull it off. It was a stop-the-presses situation, obviously," Hall said. "It was a hustle, but I thought it was necessary."

As part of the magazine's editorial direction, Vibe reached out to Winehouse's producer and friend Salaam Remi and singer Janelle MonĂ¡e, who toured with Winehouse earlier this year. "Salaam was still out there because they were supposed to go to a wedding together that weekend," Hall explained. "He was with her for those last six days, so he was able to give us just incredible perspective on where she was, what kind of space she was in before everything went down."

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Thursday, July 28, 2011

Hollywood Studios Win U.K. Case on Piracy Blocking

News Corp. (NWSA)'s Twentieth Century Fox and five other Hollywood film studios won a U.K. ruling forcing BT Group Plc (BT/A), Britain's biggest Internet-service provider, to block access to a website that promotes online piracy.

The judgment in London today is the first of its kind and the studios said it could be used to win similar orders against other ISPs. Fox,Universal StudiosWarner Bros., Viacom Inc. (VIA/B)'s Paramount Pictures and Sony Corp. (6758)'s Columbia Pictures were backed in the case by the Motion Picture Association of America.

The ruling "is a victory for millions of people working in the U.K. creative industries and demonstrates that the law of the land must apply online," Chris Marcich, a regional managing director for the film association, said in a statement.

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Contested Tinyefuza house ‘sold’ to tycoon

The contested KCCA house on Mabua Road in Kololo, from which the executive director is seeking to evict the coordinator of Intelligence Services, Gen David Tinyefuza, was to be sold to a third party.

According to documents accessed by The Observer, Kampala City Council offered to sell the said house on Plot 2 Mabua Road to Pearline Investment sometime last year and confirmed this decision in an ordinary council meeting at Hotel Africana on July 20, 2010. This particular meeting was chaired by the Speaker, Shifrah Lukwago. We have learnt that a lease offer was made, but the offer letter was yet to be issued.

Pearline Investment belongs to Isaac Kakumba, a businessman who owns several properties in Kampala. The council resolution in question reads: "That through the Contracts Committee of Council, Plot 2 Mabua Road be disposed off to Pearline Investment."

This was after Councillor Abdu Mayanja, who was chairperson of the Works Committee, expressed concern that KCC properties were being used free of charge, yet the council continued paying for utilities. Mayanja added that the properties, including the contested house, were deteriorating, which was depriving KCC of income in form of premium and ground rent.

During the same council meeting, Councillor Margaret Kiryowa, who was then in charge of Community Development, suggested that the application by Nasser Sebaggala, who was Kampala mayor at the time, to take over the house he was occupying on Plot 1 Sezibwa Road in Nakasero, be considered as well. Sebaggala was recently evicted from the house.

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Museveni cancels Kisekka market tour as Kabaka visits Nakasero Market

President Museveni has cancelled his tour of Kisekka Market to avoid clashing with Kabaka Ronald Mutebi II's visit to another city market Thursday as part of his 18th coronation anniversary this Sunday.

Presidential Press Secretary, Tamale Mirundi said on Wednesday that the president had postponed his visit to Kisekka Market "until further notice".

"The people who draw programmes for the Kabaka and the President are different and didn't know that one clashes with the other. So the President chose to postpone his visit until further notice," Mr Mirundi said on Wednesday.

Today all roads leading to Nakasero Market have been closed causing heavy traffic jam on Entebbe Road and nearby roads but people were jubilating around the market as they were wait for the guest to arrive.

The Kabaka will meet city traders at Nakasero Market at 11am, he will later in the day commission a Bio gas plant in Gayaza and visit model farmers in Namugongo.

Banana stems were planted on all roads connecting to Nakasero Market and Kabaka's effigies and arches were erected in strategic areas hear the Clock Tower, Shoprite Mall and the Old Taxi Park.

The Kabaka last visited the city last November on the invitation of Kisekka Market traders to sightsee their business entities and economic projects in the Kampala.

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China institute takes blame for train crash; Wen visits

(Reuters) - A Chinese railway research institute took responsibility on Thursday for a flaw in signalling equipment that led to a deadly accident and stoked widespread public anger and suspicion of the government's high-speed rail plans.

Premier Wen Jiabao visited the crash site near Wenzhou city in Zhejiang province and vowed a thorough and transparent investigation. He said an illness had prevented him visiting the scene earlier.

A high-speed train rammed into a stalled train late on Saturday killing 39 people. Soon after the crash, domestic media had blamed foreign technology.

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Atheists ask judge to order removal of 9/11 memorial cross

A US atheist group has filed a lawsuit asking a judge to order the removal of a cross-shaped steel beam at the 9/11 memorial in New Yorkor request that other religions and nonreligious views be equally represented.

The cross was found amid the wreckage from the terrorist attacks by a construction worker who said he stumbled onto a miracle. It was last weekend moved to the Ground Zero memorial – due to open on the 10th anniversary of the attacks in September – after a blessing by a Catholic priest. It is to become part of the permanent collection of a 9/11 museum opening next year.

Dave Silverman, president of American Atheists, the group which filed the lawsuit, said its main concern was equality.

He said 9/11 was an American tragedy, "but the Christian community has secured sole representation in the memorial for itself at the exclusion of other religions and philosophies."

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Tea Party favorite blasts McCain for 'hobbit' rebuke

One of the Senate nominees singled out by GOP Sen. John McCain during a stinging speech that compared Tea Party supporters to hobbits is responding this morning with a rebuke of her own.

Sharron Angle, last year's GOP Senate nominee in Nevada, issued a statement blasting McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, for "name calling" and having "no new ideas of his own" in his remarks yesterday about the debt-ceiling impasse.

"It is regrettable that a man seeking dialogue, action and cooperation for votes on the floor of the United States Senate has only one strategy to achieve that effort: name-calling. Nice," Angle said.


 


Nintendo Cuts Profit Forecast and Price of Key Product

TOKYO — In a striking reversal of fortune for the world's largest videogame maker, Nintendo drastically cut its annual profit outlook and said it would discount its new 3DS handheld device as it struggles to stem a flow of users to casual online games.

Nintendo said Thursday that it had tumbled to a loss of 25.5 billion yen for the three months to June 30, as sales plunged 50 percent from a year earlier. The loss prompted Nintendo to lower its annual profit forecast 82 percent to 20 billion yen ($257 million) for the year to March, down sharply from a previous estimate of 110 billion yen. The company also slashed its annual sales forecast by 18 percent to 900 billion yen.

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Redskins trade DL Albert Haynesworth to Patriots

The Redskins solved their second major locker room conundrum in two days by dealing Haynesworth to the Patriots for a 2013 fifth-round pick Thursday.

ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported the development.

Haynesworth set a then-record in 2009 by getting $41 million guaranteed from the Redskins while signing a seven-year, $100 million pact.

But the former all-pro never produced in Washington and repeatedly clashed with coach Mike Shanahan in 2010 over conditioning and his unhappiness with Washington's newly installed 3-4 defense, which Haynesworth felt minimized his talents. He was ultimately suspended for the final four games.

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Libyan Rebels Attack Gadhafi Forces Near Tunisian Border

Rebels in western Libya have launched an offensive against leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces in a town near the Tunisian border.

The fighting is taking place in the town of Ghezaia, which Gadhafi's forces have used as a base to launch attacks on rebels in the region's mountains.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The fighting comes a day after the head of Libya's opposition council said the rebel group's offer for Gadhafi to remain in the country if he cedes power had expired.

Mustafa Abdel Jalil said Wednesday that the proposal, which was presented to a United Nations envoy about a month ago, had a deadline attached.

Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi has said Gadhafi's departure is not up for discussion.

The Libyan government has also condemned Britain's decision to recognize the opposition Transitional National Council and expel all of Libya's diplomats, calling the moves "illegal and irresponsible."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Wednesday the decision is based on the opposition's increasing legitimacy, competency and success in reaching out to Libyans across the country.

Swiss Stocks Decline for Fifth Day; Credit Suisse, Logitech Fall

July 28 (Bloomberg) -- Swiss stocks declined for a fifth day as Credit Suisse Group AG reported earnings that missed estimates and amid signs U.S. economic growth is slowing as the nation struggles to resolve an impasse on its debt ceiling.

Credit Suisse, the second-biggest Swiss bank, and Logitech International SA, the world's largest maker of computer mice, dropped more than 2.5 percent after worse-than-expected results. Clariant AG, the biggest maker of printing-ink chemicals, fell to its lowest price in 11 months.

The Swiss Market Index, a measure of the largest and most actively traded companies, retreated 1.1 percent to 5,838.26 at 12:17 p.m. in Zurich. The gauge has fallen 13 percent from this year's high on Feb. 18 as concern mounted that the European debt crisis will spread from Greece to Italy and Spain. The broader Swiss Performance Index lost 1.2 percent today.

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NATO Steps into Kosovo-Serbia Border Dispute

North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops sought to restore order in northern Kosovo after a group of Serb youths set fire and used a bulldozer to destroy a border crossing between the two Balkan nations.

NATO said it was going to boost its presence in the area after soldiers were shot at in this Serb-dominated part of Kosovo yesterday, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) northwest from Pristina, the capital. There were no reported injuries.

"The situation deteriorated at the Jarinje custom post and it was confirmed that an act of arson was committed and there have also been confirmed reports of shots," KFOR, NATO's operation in Kosovo, said in an e-mailed statement late yesterday. The troops " will be reinforced" to prevent a "further escalation."

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Teacher who blogged about her 'lazy' students gets her job back

The Philadelphia-area high school teacher who was suspended for blogging about her "lazy" and "frightfully dim" students will get her job back next month -- teaching the same classes and same students, The Intelligencer newspaper reports.

Natalie Munroe, a 30-year-old English teacher at Central Bucks East high school, had been writing the profanity-laced blog for a handful of close friends for several months when students -- and administrators -- discovered it in February.

Although Munroe never used a student's name, she did offer some tart observations:

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For Big Oil, $100 Oil Is Window Dressing

Even if high oil prices will make for some easy year-over-year comparisons for integrated oil majors, it's already reflected in stock prices. Add to this macroeconomic headwinds, and investors haven't shown a willingness to buy on earnings beats this quarter.

Fadel Gheit, analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., says the integrated oil majors need to at least meet or beat expectations just to keep their heads above water.

The standard bearer of Big Oil, Exxon Mobil(XOM_), reports on Thursday morning, along with European major Royal Dutch Shell(RDS.A_).

Analysts don't have great expectations that earnings will send integrated oil shares higher from here. In fact, merely turning in a ho-hum profitable quarter has been met with a yawn from investors.

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* Sony's Q1 profit falls 59 pct to 27.5 bln yen vs mkt fcast 15.2 bln

* Nintendo says full-yr operating profit to fall to 27-year low

* Nintendo Q1 operating loss 37.7 bln yen vs consensus profit 7.1 bln yen

* Sony, Panasonic, Sharp, Toshiba retain full-year profit outlook

* TV market seen weak, especially in Europe, United States (Adds analyst comments on Sony, other details)

TOKYO, July 28 (Reuters) - Japan's top consumer electronic firms recovered faster than expected from the March earthquake, keeping their full-year profit forecasts despite a weakening TV market and worries about the outlook for the global economy.

Video game maker Nintendo Co was a standout disappointment, unexpectedly slumping to its first quarterly operating loss on record, hit by slow sales of its 3DS handheld game player and a strong yen. It now forecasts its lowest annual profit in 27 years.

Sony Corp and Panasonic Corp warned of weak TV sales, especially in the United States and Europe, following Philips and Corning Inc in highlighting sluggish demand.

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UPDATE 1-Hollywood wins UK piracy victory against BT

(Reuters) - Major Hollywood studios won a test case against Britain's largest internet provider in the High Court on Thursday in their fight against online piracy, the Press Association reported.

The judge said he would impose an order to restrict BT customers' access to a site that aggregates pirated material following the legal action taken by the Motion Picture Association of America.

The victory for studios including Paramount Pictures (VIAb.N) and Disney Enterprises is believed to be the first case in the UK in which an internet provider has been forced to block access to a website under the 1988 Copyright, Design and Patents Act.

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Kat Von D Walks Off "Good Day L.A." Set


Kat Von D walked off the set of Good Day L.A. Wednesday, bailing on an interview at the last moment because she says producers went back on their word.

The LA Ink star claims she agreed to discuss her breakup with Jesse James on the condition that it wasn't mentioned by the anchor in the introduction.

According to Kat, that simple request was flat-out ignored by anchor Jeff Michael, whose introduction highlighted Kat Von D and Jesse James' breakup.

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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Kat Von D Gets Jesse James' Face Tattooed

File this under Bad Ideas: Before she called off her wedding to Jesse "America's Sweetheart" James, Kat Von D decided to get a tattoo of HIS FACE underneath her left armpit.

(Had Von D learned nothing from "Winona Forever"?)

The tattoo artist with the slacker
 
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Full Moon May Signal Rise in Lion Attacks

Lion attacks in Tanzania rise after the full moon, possibly because a waxing moon makes hunting difficult for the lions. Christopher Intagliata reports

Think humans are at the top of the food chain? Not quite, in parts of Africa. Lions have attacked over 1000 people in Tanzania in the last 20 years. Two thirds of those attacks were fatal, and the victims were eaten. But there does seem to be a way to lower the risk of becoming dinner—avoid going out before moonrise on the nights following the full moon. So says a study in the journal Public Library of Science One. [Craig Packer et al., "Fear of Darkness, the Full Moon and the Nocturnal Ecology of African Lions"]

Researchers plotted the timing of nearly 500 of those lion attacks against the phases of the moon. And they found that the odds of being devoured by a lion were highest on nights following the full moon—nights when the moon rises late, providing hours of darkness for lions to stage a strike.

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AAT mourns Malkit Singh

Former Vice-President of the Automobile Association of Tanzania Malkitsingh Birdi suddenly died in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

The AAT's chief executive officer, Yusuf Ghor, said Singh will be cremated at Hindu Crematorium in Dar es Salaam on Saturday as more family members are being awaited to share the grief.

Singh, who used to be a life member of the AAT, has been described as a man of high integrity, honest, pleasant personality, adhered to ethics and principles and committed to his cause by Nizar Jivani, the current President of the Automobile Association.

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Japanese Fish - Confusion As Importer Fights Back

Dar Es Salaam/Arusha — The mystery surrounding the clearance of 124.9 tonnes of fish imported from Japan last week deepened yesterday, with the company behind the consignment denying that the consignment was contaminated with dangerous nuclear elements.

The Alphakrust Company general manager, Mr Ganeshan Vedagire, told The Citizen he was surprised at the orders to withhold the fish despite meeting all the local and international safety requirements for importation.

Only 225 kilogrammes of the controversial consignment of fish that had already been released into the market had been recalled by yesterday. There was no clear indication of how much had been sold, with stated figures ranging from 1.39-4 tonnes.

Government agencies that earlier certified the consignment as safe and cleared it for sale scrambled to recover the remaining portion and carry out fresh tests. The Citizen learnt that the government ordered the large consignment seized at the weekend following a tip from a member of the public who claimed the fish had been cleared without being tested for radio-active material.

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Top 10 Websites Globally.

 These are the Top 10 Global Websites according to 
 


Bukenya reappears in House, warns of famine

After close to two months since losing his post as Vice President, Prof. Gilbert Bukenya yesterday made his maiden appearance in a parliamentary committee as a back-bencher.

Dressed in a dark blue suit, the bespectacled Busiro North legislator sat close to the Agriculture Committee Deputy Chairperson, Egunyu Nantume (Buvuma Woman MP). He looked calm, as he watched MPs deliberate on budget queries to be put to the Ministry of Agriculture on Thursday when the Minister and his technocrats appear for budget allocations.

The former VP fighting for his Busiro North Constituency, occasionally made contributions, and banged the table, a sign of support and appreciation of colleagues' submissions. Prof. Bukenya is also a member of the Committee on HIV/Aids.

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Lutukumoi defection good riddance- DP chief

THE defection of former DP Party National spokesperson Emmanuel Lutukumoi to the ruling NRM is good riddance, DP National Co-ordinator for greater north region, Uma Kerubino has said. 

Lutukumoi, over the weekend defected to NRM claiming that the DP and its president Norbert Mao had frustrated him. 

He was welcomed to NRM by the party secretary general who is also the Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi. 

Lutukumoi has twice contested to become the MP for Gulu Municipality on DP in vain. 

London 2012 Olympics, one year to go: live


Excited for the Games? Getting involved today? Or are you bah-humbugging? Send us your views at Olympics@telegraph.co.uk

There are 366 days to go until the London Olympics 2012, and this is going to be one of the busiest. We'll keep you up to date with all that's going on

09.45 Here's an interesting, and rather off-message, line from reigning Olympic 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu, who was born in Newham and has been speaking to young people in that part of town: "The general impression I get is that they are not really interested. They don't really see what is there for them. It is almost like it is for everybody else: people who are athletes, the sponsors, the older generations, all the ones who have money. I think that is a shame and there is more that needs to be done over the next year to make sure we include our all young people," she tells the BBC.

09.40 Jonathan Edwards watch: on BBC news talking about the Olympic Village. More Edwards news as it comes in.

 


Incapacity benefit: Only one in 14 is too sick to work

Four out of ten of those trying to claim employment and support allowance are fit to work and nearly one in five can do so with the right support, the Department for Work and Pensions says. 

A third drop their claims before they are complete. Under the new rules, applicants are assessed by a doctor, with those judged well enough to work told to apply for jobseeker's allowance.

'For those who can work, it's right that they get the help they need to get into employment,' said work and pensions minister Steve Webb. 

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Army partnership defended at inquest into Afghan killing of UK soldiers

The practice of embedding coalition troops with the Afghan army in Helmand was justified, despite an attack by a rogue local soldier that leftthree British servicemen dead, an inquest has heard.

Talib Hussein, a member of the Afghan National Army (ANA), shot Major James Bowman as he slept in his tent and then fired a rocket-propelled grenade into a command centre, killing Lieutenant Neal Turkington and Corporal Arjun Purja Pun.

The men's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Strickland, said it was important that British and Afghan troops worked together. "We felt that the closer the partnership the greater the trust between us," said Strickland.

Strickland also denied the suggestion Hussein may have acted in revenge after coalition troops attacked civilians. He said there had been no such incident.

The inquest in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, heard that the men, members of the 1st Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles, were working alongside the ANA in the Nahr-e Saraj area of Helmand. They ate together, lived together and fought together.

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Settlement reached in nude squat woman suit

KUALA LUMPUR: The woman who was secretly filmed doing squats in the nude at the Petaling Jaya police station more than five years ago has reached an out of court settlement with the Government including the police.

The settlement between housewife Hemy Hamisa Abu Hasan Saari and the defendant was recorded by High Court judge Justice Lau Bee Lan on Wednesday.

Her lawyer Datuk Baljit Singh said the amount could not be disclosed.

Baljit said his client settled the matter as she wanted to close "that chapter in her life".

"She decided to settle as she did not want to go through the agony and tedious court process," he added.

Hemy Hamisa had been arrested by police between 1am and 2am on June 29, 2005 for allegedly drug possession.

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Witness tells of evidence found

SHAH ALAM: A lead from two people accused of murdering cosmetics millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others led to the discovery of more than 10 pieces of evidence including bloodstains at a farm in Banting.

Chief Insp N. Govindan, 45, said the third and fourth accused – R. Matan and R. Katha­varayan – had led the police to Lot 2001, Kampung Layang, Tanjung Sepat at about 10am on Sept 12 last year.

Govindan, an interrogating officer from the Criminal Investigation Division in Bukit Aman, said police found a shovel, bone fragments, nine bloodstains, six fingerprints and seven pieces of wire.

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Bill seeks longer terms for President, govs, MPs – Daily Trust

Rumours that President Goodluck Jonathan will seek to elongate the tenure in office of top political office holders came to pass yesterday when his office made public his intention to push for a constitutional amendment that will propose a single, elongated tenure in office for the president and state governors.

A constitutional amendment bill that Jonathan will shortly send to the National Assembly will also seek to elongate the tenure of members of the National and State Assemblies to "a little more than four years." It was not however specified what the proposed new tenure for the executive and legislative officers will be.

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Senate stirs storm with another probe of BPE

"We should approach the exercise with an open mind, no witch hunting, there should be no victimization; there should be no playing to the gallery," Senate President David Mark said penultimate Tuesday as he empanelled a fresh team of seven Senators to conduct a comprehensive probe of the privatization process undertaken by the Bureau for Public Enterprises, BPE.

The probe would be the second comprehensive probe of the BPE's sale of public assets in under ten years by the Senate having conducted a similar probe in 2004.

The Senate probe followed a motion moved by Senator Ahmad Lawan, (ANPP, Yobe North) drawing attention to what he claimed as the collapse of most of the privatized companies and the failure of the privatization process.

 


N40bn scam: Don’t compare me with Bode George, Bankole warns EFCC

ABUJA — Determined to extricate himself from allegations that he inflated the cost of contracts awarded by the House of Representatives whilst he was the Speaker, Mr Dimeji Bankole, yesterday, flayed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for comparing the crime he allegedly committed with that of the convicted former Chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Chief Bode George.

Bankole, who went before a Federal High Court in Abuja, yesterday, to complain about an analogy that was drawn between him and the convicted NPA boss in a written address filed against him by the prosecuting counsel, Mr Festus Keyamo, maintained that "the charges are clear. The case of FRN V. Bode George is not an authority relevant to this case."

In an application he filed yesterday, Bankole, through his lead counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, further averred: "With respect, the law regarding public procurement is clear. The minutes show that the accused performed no administrative functions. His presiding at the officers meeting held no criminal concomitant.

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18 killed in Korea landslides

SEOUL, South Korea, July 27 (Bernama) -- The heaviest downpours in a century pounded Seoul and its surrounding areas on Tuesday and Wednesday, triggering multiple landslides, urban traffic chaos, power outages and flooded streets, roads and residential areas, reports Yonhap news agency.

A landslide caused by torrential rain swept away a pension and four residential buildings near Chuncheon, about 85 kilometres east of Seoul, early Wednesday morning, killing 13 people and injuring 26 others, emergency rescue officials said.

In a separate landslide disaster, about 20 houses in a remote village on the southern tip of Seoul were buried under mud swept from a nearby mountain around 9 a.m., claiming the lives of five residents, officials said, adding that one villager went missing.

"I was sleeping on the second floor of the pension when I heard the thundering sound of a landslide. The stairs collapsed, and I was buried under mud," said one college student, who was among seven rescued by firefighters.

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