SSS uncovers Iranian terror cell in Lagos...

Director-General of the SSS, Ekpeyong Ita

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THE State Security Service said in Abuja on Wednesday that it had uncovered a terror network, coordinated by Iranians, in Lagos.

The SSS said this while parading a leader of an Islamic sect, Abdullahi Berende, and two others said to be operators of the Iranian terror cell gathering information about Israelis and Americans living in Nigeria.

Paraded alongside 50-year-old Berende were Sulaiman Saka and Saheed Adewunmi. The three were said to be working for Iranian terrorists planning to attack Americans and Israelis in the country.

A third suspect, Bunyamin Yusuf, is said to be at large.

Berende who is said to be a leader of the Shi’a Islamic sect in Ilorin, Kwara State, told journalists that he was employed by “people who were ready to capitalise on my weakness,” though he denied being part of a terrorist network.

Deputy Director Public Relations, SSS, Marilyn Ogar, told journalists that Berende, an Islamic teacher, and local leader of the Shiite sect, was observed to have made several suspicious trips to and fro Iran where he interacted with some Iranians known to operate a high profile international terrorist network.

Ogar said that in the course of interrogation, Berende confessed that in 2006, he gained admission to study a six-month course in modern Shi’a Islamic teaching (Da’awa) at Imam Khomeini University, Iran.

She said, “Berende confessed that he was recruited by some Iranian elements when he returned to Iran for further studies in 2011 and was subsequently trained in the use of AK47 assault rifle, pistols, production and detonation of Improvised Explosive Devices and after he returned to Nigeria, he was invited by his handlers to Dubai for further briefing in April 2012; he was tasked to establish a terrorist cell in the South-Western part of Nigeria with particular emphasis on Lagos.”

The SSS boss further explained that in his bid to establish the terror network, Berende recruited Saka, Adewunmi and Yusuf, adding that the Iranian sponsors requested that he identified and gathered intelligence on public places and prominent hotels frequented by Americans and Israelis.

Ogar added that the Islamic teacher admitted that he personally took photographs of the Israeli cultural centre in Ikoyi, Lagos, which he sent to his trainers.

“The suspect said that his Iranian handlers directed him to secure their communication by using codes to represent targets, e.g. Uncle (Israel), Aunt (America) and that Lagos was preferred (as operation centre) because his handlers believed that the Israelis have an intelligence facility there that is used in spying on Iran.

“There is conclusive evidence that Berende in collaboration with his Iranian handlers was involved in grievous crimes against the national security of this country. Accordingly, Berende and his accomplices will be charged to court soon.”

Berende was said to have confessed to interrogators that he received $4,000 upon completion of his training in Iran; €3,500 in April, 2012 at the meeting in Dubai; and another $20,000. out of which he used $10,000 in relocating to Lagos from Ilorin, furnishing a house and renting a shop for his business.

He also spent $5000 to cover visa processing expenses while the remaining $5000 was for his up-keep.

Berende who claimed to be a Master’s student at the University of Ilorin, in an interview with journalists said he regretted “betraying my country”, adding that his handler whom he referred to as Amir, preyed on his weakness.

'I'm bisexual': Twice married music industry legend Clive Davis reveals he's had relationships with men since the late '70s ...

Music industry legend Clive Davis, who discovered Whitney Houston, has revealed he is bisexual

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Music industry legend Clive Davis, the man who discovered or signed countless multi-platinum recording artists including Whitney Houston, Bruce Springsteen and Alicia Keys has revealed he is bisexual.

In his new memoir The Soundtrack of My Life, the 80-year-old record executive, who has been married and divorced twice, says he has been involved in two monogamous relationships with men over the past 20 years. 

Davis, who has never before publicly addressed his sexuality, writes that his first sexual encounter with a man was during ‘the era of Studio 54’ in the late '70s.

Twice married Davis, pictured with Alicia Keys, says he has been in two monogamous relationships with men over the past 20 years

Davis, pictured at the 2012 U.S. Open with an unknown male acquaintance, has been in his current relationship since 2004

‘On this night, after imbibing enough alcohol, I was open to responding to his sexual overtures,’ he writes. Prior to that he had only been with women and he writes that being with a man provided ‘welcome relief.’

Davis separated from his second wife in 1985 after a period of ‘soul searching and self-analysis’ and says that he went on to have simultaneous relationships with two women and a man. 

Then in 1990 he entered into a ‘monogamous relationship’ with an unnamed male doctor. That relationship ended in 2004, but Davis says he has been in a relationship with another man ever since. 

Davis said his current partner attends industry events and travels with him, but he declined to reveal his identity in order to protect his privacy.

Davis won a grammy for producing Jennifer Hudson's first album in 2009

Speaking to Katie Couric, Davis said that despite his experience with a man in the late '70s he didn't consider himself bisexual until after the end of his second marriage in 1985...

AUTOPSY REPORT REVEALS GOLDIE HARVEY DIED OF HYPERTENSION (PHOTO)

The Late Goldie Harvey...

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Report following the autopsy carried out after her sudden death at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos revealed that the Kennis Music star- Goldie Harvey, suffered a terminal‘hypertensive heart disease’ which resulted to’ intracerebellar hemorrhage.’

The autopsy carried out February 19, was signed by Dr. O.O Oyewole of the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine. 

The burial arrangement for the former Big Brother Africa house mate will be announced by the family.

Goldie died on Valentine’s Day shortly after she returned from Los Angeles, United States where she attended the 55th Grammy Awards.

May her soul rest in peace... Amen.

Culled from NigeriaFilms...

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Simply Cheska...

UPDATE: Inside the bathroom where Reeva was shot: First pictures of en-suite where girlfriend was fatally wounded after Pistorius fired gun through the door...

Scene of horror: This is the toilet cubicle where Reeva Steenkamp was found 'slumped over but alive' after being shot three times through the locked door..

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Chilling photos have emerged of the bathroom where Oscar Pistorius' girlfriend lay dying after he gunned her down through the door. 

The luxurious stone-clad en-suite is now the focus of a murder inquiry as investigators try to piece together what happened in the toilet cubicle where Reeva Steenkamp spent her last moments. 

Prosecutors argue the model was trapped in there hiding from Pistorius, while he claims his girlfriend was using the bathroom after getting up in the night at his upscale Pretoria home.

Hidden: Prosecutors believe that Pistorius stood near the large corner bath and took aim at the cubicle door (seen on the right) which Miss Steenkamp was hiding behind

In a sworn affidavit Pistorius stated that he thought someone was in the bathroom and shot at them because he 'noticed that the bathroom window was open.I realised that the intruder/s was/were in the toilet because the toilet door was closed and I did not see anyone in the bathroom. I heard movement inside the toilet.'

'It filled me with horror and fear of an intruder or intruders being inside the toilet. I thought he or they must have entered through the unprotected window,' he stated.

Prosecutors believe that Pistorius, picked up his gun, strapped on his prosthetic legs and stood near the large corner bath, before taking aim at the cubicle door.

He shot four times and hit Miss Steenkamp three times - it is thought she was sitting on the toilet when she was hit in the arm, head, hip and finger by bullets.

The door was broken down - Pistorius claims he battered it down with a cricket bat to reach his bloodied and dying girlfriend and found her 'slumped over but alive'.

Version: A graphic illustrating a suggested representation of the events that lead to Reeva Steenkamp's death on the morning of February 14

Charges: Prosecutors believe that Reeva Steenkamp sought refuge in the bathroom after arguing with the athlete dubbed Blade Runner...

The bathroom was the key focus for both the defence and the prosecution at today's bail hearing at Pretoria magistrates court. 

Painting a picture of a premeditated murder prosecutor Gerrie Nel said that Miss Steenkamp was shot when she took refuge in the bathroom after the couple had been arguing.

'The applicant armed himself, attached his prosthesis, walked seven metres to the bathroom and shot the deceased while she was in the toilet.

'He shot four times...There's no possible explanation to support his report that he thought it was a burglar,' he said.

'If I arm myself, walk a distance and murder a person, that is premeditated,' he said. 'The door is closed. There is no doubt. I walk seven metres and I kill.' The motive is 'I want to kill'. That's it,' he added. 

'This deceased was in a 1.4 by 1.14 metre little room. She could go nowhere.'

Mr Nel said the killing was premeditated because Pistorius had planned to say that he thought he was shooting an intruder.

'It was all part of the pre-planning. Why would a burglar lock himself inside the bathroom?' Mr Nel said. 'She locked that door for a purpose. We'll get to that purpose. 

That is where she was when those shots were fired. She couldn't go anywhere. It must have been horrific.'

But Pistorius's lawyer, Barry Roux, said Miss Steenkamp was not murdered, and there were a number of cases where men shot members of their own family through doors after mistaking them for burglars.

He also suggested that Pistorius broke down the bathroom door after the shooting to help his girlfriend.

'We submit it is not even murder,' Mr Roux said. 'There is no concession this is a murder.'

In a sworn affidavit, the 26-year-old, who broke down in tears on several occasions, said the pair were in bed together when he woke up and went onto a balcony to bring a fan inside.

Grisly: After the shooting at his luxury home Pistorius said he 'called paramedics and complex security. I tried to carry her downstairs for help. I tried to help her but she died in my arms'

On his return to the bedroom he said he heard a noise and thought an intruder had broken in through his bathroom window.

Pistorius claimed he was too scared to switch a light on, so he grabbed his 9mm pistol - which he kept under his bed after receiving death threats - and walked towards the bathroom, which contains a toilet with a separate door.

'On my way to the bathroom I screamed words to the effect for him/them to get out of my house and for Reeva to phone the police. It was pitch dark in the bedroom and I thought Reeva was in bed,' he said.

Defence: Today Pistorius's lawyer said there were a number of cases where men shot members of their own family through doors after mistaking them for burglars

'I believed that when the intruder/s came out of the toilet we would be in grave danger. I felt trapped as my bedroom door was locked and I have limited mobility on my stumps.

'I fired shots at the toilet door and shouted to Reeva to phone the police. She did not respond and I moved backwards out of the bathroom, keeping my eyes on the bathroom entrance. Everything was pitch dark in the bedroom and I was still too scared to switch on a light. Reeva was not responding.

'When I reached the bed, I realised that Reeva was not in bed. That is when it dawned on me that it could have been Reeva who was in the toilet. I returned to the bathroom calling her name. I tried to open the toilet door but it was locked. I rushed back into the bedroom and opened the sliding door exiting onto the balcony and screamed for help.'

According to Pistorius he then smashed his way into the toilet using a cricket bat, finding her 'slumped over but alive'.

Answers: Miss Steenkamp's funeral was held today. Her family have demanded to know why their 'beautiful angel' was blasted to death with his 9mm gun and have begged the sprinter to 'tell the truth' about the shooting

He then phoned for an ambulance and carried her downstairs, but she died in his arms.

The defendant said he was 'absolutely mortified' by what had happened, but insisted the evidence would prove his innocence.

Although no decision was made on bail today, Mr Nair did rule that the charge would be premeditated murder indicating Pistorius, who last year became the first double-amputee track athlete to run at the Olympics, is likely to remain behind bars until trial.

He has now been driven back to jail where he will spend a sixth night behind bars before the hearing resumes in the morning.

As Pistorius's relatives supported him in court, the distraught family of Miss Steenkamp attended her funeral in Port Elizabeth.

Her brother Adam said that her death had 'left space missing inside all of the people that she knew.'

But there was also anger. Gavin Venter, an ex-jockey who worked for Reeva's father, called for the harshest of sentences for Pistorius.

'Without a doubt. He must stay in jail,' he said.

Culled from The Daily Mail UK...

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Simply Cheska...

Given a snack and then taken out and shot: Horrifying last moments of helpless boy, 12, who was 'executed by Sri Lankan army because his father was a Tamil Tiger leader'

Balachandran Prabhakaran, 12, is seen apparently in Sri Lankan custody as he sits in a bunker...

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WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT

Disturbing new images have emerged of the dead body of the 12-year-old son of a Tamil leader that researchers say could prove he was executed by Sri Lankan government forces. 

The photographs of Balachandran Prabhakaran, son of Velupillai Prabhakaran, head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, were taken in May 2009 at the end of the government's conflict with the rebels. 

The first pictures appear to show the child in the custody of Sri Lankan forces and he is seen sitting on a bench wrapped in a blanket and eating some food.

The series of photographs show he was even given a snack as he sat wrapped in a blanket

But photographs taken hours later on the same camera show him lying on the ground, topless and his chest riddled with bullet holes. 

He has five holes to his chest and experts say he was shot at close range.

The pictures, which feature in documentary No Fire Zone, show the boy was alive when he was captured and was executed later, says the film's director Callum Macrae. 

He told The Independent: 'They show he was held, and even given a snack, before being taken and executed in cold blood.'

A picture taken hours later shows the boy lying dead on the ground with up to five bullet wounds to his chest...

Velupillai Prabhakaran led the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. He died in May 2009 and his body was shown on state television...

The Sri Lankan government have always claimed that Balachandran was killed in cross-fire but Mr Macrae said the photographs 'rule out' that possibility.

Mr Macrae said the fact that the boy's dead body was photographed is also alarming. 

He said: 'That these events were also photographed and kept as war trophies by the perpetrators is even more disturbing.'

The body of Villupillai Prabhakaran was showed on state television in May 2009 as Sri Lanka's government declared an end to its 26-year civil war. 

There were also suggestions he had been shot at close range as part of his skull was missing. 

Sri Lankan army spokesman Brigadier PR Wanigasooriya told The Independent that there had been repeated 'lies, half truths and rumours' said about the country. 

Government forces were accused of human rights abuses including sexual violence, murder and abuse in the final days of the civil way. 

Brigadier Wanigasooriya: 'No substantive evidence have been presented for us to launch an investigation.'

In 2011, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon published a report which revealed as many as 40,000 people were killed in the final months of the war. 

The new documentary will be screened at the Geneva Human Rights Film Festival at next month's UN Human Rights Council meeting.

Culled from The Daily Mail UK.

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Simply Cheska...

Kim Kardashian gives a first glimpse at her bump in bikini photoshoot as she opens up about her easy pregnancy...

Expecting: Kim Kardashian reveals her baby bump in a bikini photoshoot for DuJour magazine, shot by photographer Bruce Webber five days after she announced her pregnancy...

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She's shown a new reticence about her body since announcing her pregnancy, hiding her changing figure in layers of dark clothing.

But Kim Kardashian overcame her shyness to show off the beginnings of a baby bump in a bikini as she posed for her first pregnancy photoshoot.

Wearing a white two-piece and a simple floral sarong, the reality star was styled as a 'Tahitian princess' and kept her make-up simple and hair brushed back.

The images were shot by photographer Bruce Weber at his Miami home just five days after Kanye West announced his girlfriend's pregnancy back in January.

Looking relaxed and happy, Kim also takes to the pool in the shots, her hair wet and eyelashes glistening. She told DuJour magazine she was having an easy pregnancy, with no morning sickness, no cravings and no fatigue.

'I used to always say I can’t wait to get pregnant because I will just eat whatever I want, but it’s completely different,' she told the magazine.

'I’m like, OK, I want to eat as healthy as possible.'

Diving in: The reality star smiles as she poses in the pool

In fact since she rarely drinks Kim's biggest challenge is cutting back on her favourite drink -Diet Coke, which she has replaced with the occasional iced tea.

But Kim isn't too worried if she has the occasional unhealthy treat,

'Lately I’ve been watching shows like I’m Pregnant And Addicted To Meth. It definitely makes me feel better if I’m wanting one sip of Diet Coke or, you know, too much sugar.

'I’m like, This woman is on meth.'

Kim has already signed up with celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson in a bid to make losing her baby weight that little bit easier.

Drying off: The photo shoot had a Tahitian princess theme, which Kim models with a floral headdress

In the interview she also talks about her figure, saying she prefers clinging clothes as they make her look more petite.

'I think because I have big boobs it could make me look heavier if I don’t, like, show off my waist or something, so I just have kind of learned to dress one way only.'

And she explained the difference between her own style and that of her sisters Khloe and Jourtney.

'Khloé can wear flowy, pretty things because she’s really tall. Kourtney is, like, really little. I’m just kind of in between, so it doesn’t really work.'

Splashing around: Kim reveals she has had an easy pregnancy so far with no morning sickness or cravings

Kim also talked about her relationship with her baby's father, Kanye, saying he had 'taught her a lot' about privacy.

'I’m ready to be a little less open about some things, like my relationships. I’m realizing everyone doesn't need to know everything. I’m shifting my priorities.'

Leather look: Kim revealed her changing figure as she posed in black leather in Lagos at the weekend...

And she admits living her life in the pubic eye comes with unique challenges.

'When you live your life so publicly, like on a reality show, people assume that they know every side of you already.

'But they always want more.' 

And although she says Keeping Up With The Kardashians is the ultimate home movie, she adds: 'Doing a TV show with your family, it’s really hard to hide or be guarded.'

Dodging the rain: Kim hid her bump under layers as she left a photo studio in Los Angeles on Tuesday...

Culled from The Daily Mail UK.

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Simply Cheska...

Government’s reward for Super Eagles...

The Super Eagles...African Champions...

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THE mind-boggling cash gifts splashed out on the national football team players and officials that won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa early in February by the Federal Government is a wrong way of incentivising those who have done the nation proud. It is excessive and perverted as there are standards of rewards for successful athletes in more sober climes where public funds are handled with the utmost sense of responsibility and accountability.

Rewarding success in sports or in any area of human endeavour – as the Goodluck Jonathan Administration did with the Super Eagles by giving each of the 23 players a cash gift of N5m, the head coach N10m, assistant coaches N5m each and other officials N2m each (totalling N150m of taxpayers’ money) – is to send a dangerous signal to youths that it is only sports that can guarantee them unmerited instant financial reward. This is unhealthy for youths – and the future of the nation. Our youths should rather be encouraged to take pride in wearing the national colours.

The excessively generous cash gifts to the team failed every standard of good governance. It is only a lax state that throws money around. In a world of lightning-fast change, governments are faced with serious challenges, including space exploration, education, epidemics and even terrorism. That explains why some countries, including the United States, have in place innovation and competition strategies to encourage people to aspire to be the best. How many times has our system rewarded academic excellence of those who graduate with First Class degrees with scholarships? Of course, no state has the capacity to fund this kind of reckless financial expenditure, certainly not Nigeria, where it is difficult for many state governments to pay a minimum wage of N18, 000 a month to workers in the public sector.