A 30-year-old Russian woman accused of being a cocaine mule faces the death penalty in Vietnam.
But Maria Dapirka, who has already written a 'farewell letter' to her mother, claims she was set up by her lover who posed as a top footballer.
Her lawyers have said she has accepted she may soon be executed, but still clings on to some hope she will be freed after three years in prison.
Dapirka, who lived in Thailand when she met her lover, known as Nick, was caught with almost 3kg of cocaine by Vietnamese customs on a flight from Singapore.
She said the cocaine was planted in her luggage by Nick - or 'Chib Eze' - who apparently has a penchant for seducing attractive young women before conning them into carrying drugs.
Dapirka's verdict and sentence was due to be handed down by a Vietnamese judge today in a Ho Chi Minh city court but the session was postponed 'for further investigation' for the fifth time.
In a letter to her mother Olga, a desperate Dapirka said she was ready for any decision by the court.
She wrote: 'Don't worry about me. I am fine. I am ready for any end. 'I hope you will manage to visit me.
'I've not seen you for four years. I miss you so much! Please take good care of your health.'
Her lawyer Sunkar Nurmagambetov said: 'We have received Maria's appeal.
'She addressed her family and said that she has not lost faith yet but realistically she understands there might be scenarios like a death sentence or life term.'
Before her arrest, she was a keen sportswoman who did not drink or smoke, he said.
'She has had to get used to the new conditions. She is trying to stay as optimistic as she can, but sometimes her mood can be quite low.'
Pro-Kremlin news site Mash in Russia published a picture purporting to be 'Nick', the man she accuses of framing her after they met in Thailand.
The Nigerian media has claimed the same man used different fake names to dupe dozens of other women with model looks to act as drugs mules. His real name is not known.
'What started as a beautiful love story for these innocent girls with model looks ended up into a nightmare on the death row on drug-trafficking charges,' reported NAIJ.com two years ago.
'All these beautiful girls have been duped into being drug mules by an elusive Nigerian drug baron, who pretended to be a professional footballer or a pro from the fashion industry.
'He seduced the girls promising to marry them and establishing intimate relationships with his victims, but little did they know what they have been chosen for.'
Suspected victim Akzharkyn Turlybay, aged 20, a Kazakhstan model, was sentenced to life imprisonment in China, before the verdict was quashed last year and the case sent back to the lower courts.
Another Zhibek Sakeeva was jailed for 12 years in Indonesia in 2012 after allegedly being conned by the same drugs baron.
One more possible victim was 22-year-old Colombian, Juliana Lopez, a university student and model, who also hosted a TV show, it was reported.
Lopez was arrested two years ago in China with a notebook containing drugs.
A campaign organised by Maria Dapirka's friends calling for her release alleged that 'a whole criminal syndicate of Nigerian men work in Asia and all around the world, like Maria's so-called boyfriend.
'They make up all sort of stories, win trust, some even marry their potential future drug mules.
'Maria is not in this alone, there is plenty of girls like her who trust these men.'
Olga, her mother, insisted her daughter was innocent.
'I hope Maria will be released because Vietnam has the death penalty for this crime.'
The woman was caught with two nylon bags packed with cocaine in her hand baggage, and more wedged inside a magazine, at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat International Airport in August 2014.
'Maria would not carry cocaine, she has always lived a strictly healthy lifestyle,' said her brother Vadim.
'She does not eat meat, nor smoke, nor drink and has always said that she thinks all of those things are really disgusting.'
Popular tourist destination Vietnam has some of the most severe penalties for drugs offences in the world.
People caught with even small quantities of hard drugs are liable to be executed.
More than two dozen foreigners are currently facing the death penalty or life imprisonment for drug trafficking offences.
Another woman alleged to have been tricked by 'Nick' is 22-year-old Colombian Juliana Lopez, a university student and model
Maria Dapirka, 30, was caught with 3kg of cocaine on a flight from Singapore
Selena Gomez's Insta account has 125M followers—so it was quite the place for hackers to post nude photos of Bieber!
Selena Gomez's Instagram was deactivated Monday morning after nude photos of her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieberwere posted to the account.
The photos were the same images published after Bieber's 2015 Bora Bora trip, according to multipleusers who screen-grabbed the posts, and appears to be the work of a hacker. Billboard has reached out to Gomez's reps for comment. Gomez was previously the most-followed user on Instagram, second only to the official Instagram account with 125 million followers, according to a March 2017 ranking by Socialblade.
The account of @selenagomez open now, But it is still not in Sel's hands since the description and the name are modified by hacker + pic.twitter.com/VSdcjJ7HCS
Two women are dead and four others injured after a gunman opened fire in a Clovis, New Mexico, library Monday.
Police said a teenager is in custody, and early reports indicate he is a sophomore at a local high school. Those killed were library employees. A witness told The Eastern New Mexico Newsthat she was working at the reference desk when she heard a “very loud bang” and dove under a table to hide. Lisa Baird said the shooter roamed the library firing at will, and yelled to those inside “Run! Why aren’t you running? I’m shooting at you! Run!” Police have not released any motive for the attack. The condition of the four people injured is not known.
Wanczyk, 53, landed the largest single lottery jackpot ever in the United States -- the $758.7 million grand prize in Wednesday's Power Ball.
The winning ticket (6, 7, 16, 23, 26, and Powerball number 4) was purchased at the Pride Station & Store in Chicopee, Massachusetts. Wanczyk said she discovered Wednesday night while leaving work at the Mercy Medical Center that she had won. A co-worker looked at her ticket and told her she had won. He told her to immediately sign the back of the ticket. She couldn't believe it. "I couldn't drive anywhere. I couldn't do anything," she told reporters. She said her co-worker followed her home to make sure she was OK. Right. Congratulations to Mavis! But that is NOT the story.
After keeping one of the biggest albums of the past year completely under-wraps from millions of adoring fans, the Texas-born superstar is at the center of another well-kept covert mission — and this one will probably make you fall further in love with her.
Beyonce has quietly given $7 million throughout the past few years to the Knowles-Temenos Place Apartments in her hometown of Houston, as KHOU 11 News reported. Beyonce launched the complex in 2007 in response to the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Knowles-Temenos Place Apartments has space available for 43 individuals, and houses men and women who otherwise would likely be homeless. The facility supports its residents by providing meals, job readiness training, HIV/AIDS screenings and case management services, with an overall goal for residents to reach full self-sufficiency. “She’s an incredible human being,” Rev. Rudy Rasmus, who unearthed Beyonce’s selfless donations to the public, told KHOU 11 News. He married Beyonce to rapper Jay-Z in 2008 and has worked personally with the singer in her efforts to help Houston’s homeless. “[She] has an incredible heart and has been extremely helpful in our mission and our ministry here.” Houston has seen significant progress in its fight against homelessness. A 2014 Houston Homeless Count showed that on a given night about 5,351 people in the city were living without stable shelter — a 37 percent drop from 2011. In June, the Coalition for the Homeless in Houston announced that the city has housed 1,510 chronically homeless individuals since January 2012 as part of a national campaign to combat homelessness from coast-to-coast. “Houston is leading the charge to end chronic homelessness,” Marilyn Brown, President & CEO of the Coalition, said in a press release. “Our success as part of the 100,000 Homes Campaign proves that permanent housing coupled with support services works.”
Brad Browning here. Today, I’ll be talking about jealousy and how to overcome jealousy in relationships. This is a huge topic that definitely can’t be covered fully on a single piece. So I’m just going to scratch the surface here and give you some key tips for dealing with jealousy.
You probably won’t be surprised to hear that jealousy is an issue for many, many married couples.
In fact, a recent study found that one-third of couples who attended counseling cited jealousy as a primary cause of their marriage problems. So clearly, jealousy is a major problem for a lot of married couples.
Let’s talk about some ways you can keep jealousy in your relationship check and avoid damaging your marriage.
Before we jump into that though, I want to quickly explain the difference between normal healthy jealousy, the kind of benign jealousy that’s present in almost every romantic relationship and unhealthy jealousy which is an often irrational and highly toxic to a marriage.
Healthy jealousy stems from a sincere care and commitment to a relationship.
This is the kind of completely natural jealousy that we all suffer from occasionally. And it’s not something that you should be worried about. Recognize that it’s perfectly normal to feel a jolt of jealousy when you see your partner laughing and enjoying conversation with someone of the opposite sex for instance.
We feel these kinds of emotions because we’re invested in the relationship with our partners and we’re essentially guarding our territory.
It’s when people begin to act on these emotions or when jealousy becomes irrational that things move into the unhealthy sphere.
Irrational jealousy tends to me more serious and tends to be a chronic issue that can erode the fabric of a marriage.
If your marriage is on a downhill slide as a result of jealousy problems, please visit my website and watch the free presentation on the homepage. In that video, I reveal some little-known facts about marriage and offer some tips on how begin rebuilding a healthier, happier marriage, one that’s free of jealousy and that’ll stand the test if time.
Irrational jealousy is the kind of jealousy that’s really bad news for any relationship.
This kind of jealousy can have a lot of different causes usually related to insecurity or low self-esteem. I’m not going to go into the psychology behind it but it’s important to know that most people who develop jealousy issues often have underlying insecurities that are resulting from past experiences.
Whatever the cause maybe, if you are the person who struggles with jealousy issues, then you have the ability to make changes to your behavior that will put this problem to rest.
The first step is to acknowledge the jealousy issues and the damage they are causing to your relationship.
Since you’re reading this right now then I assume that you’ve done this already so congratulations on taking the first big step towards resolving them.
The second step is to recognize that in most cases, your feelings of jealousy are irrational and unwarranted.
Unless your spouse has actually admitted to infidelity or you’ve caught them in the act then your jealousy is irrational. Recognize that your jealous feelings aren’t based on reality. They’re stemming from underlying insecurities and not from actual behaviors of your spouse.
Once you’ve accepted that you’re feeling jealous for no good reason then it can be a bit easier to control those feelings and stop yourself from acting on them.
Every time you feel jealous about something, for instance– when your spouse is texting someone of the opposite sex that you haven’t met– remind yourself that your jealousy is baseless and irrational.
You probably texted somebody of the opposite sex recently too, right? And I’m guessing it wasn’t because you were secretly having an affair with that person. The same is almost certainly true for your spouse. There’s absolutely no reason to think that they are doing anything shady or cheating on you.
Until you have clear evidence that proves otherwise, you must remind yourself that all feelings of jealousy are irrational and unwarranted. Realizing that your feelings of jealousy are actually really dumb is an important step in the right direction.
The most important step is what you do about your jealous feelings.
No matter how intense your feelings of jealousy are, you absolutely must internalize them and avoid acting on them.
Do whatever it takes to keep yourself from acting on jealous feelings, literally bite your tongue. Tell a friend in confidence. Write down your feelings in a private diary. It really doesn’t matter as long as you’re not doing something destructive as a result of your jealousy.
Again, when jealousy hits, remind yourself that these emotions you’re feeling are irrational and then acting on them will damage your marriage.
You can also sit down with your partner and have a mature, civilized discussion about jealousy. There are often things that you could both do to help keep any jealousy issues in check.
Say you get jealous when your spouse goes out with co-workers every Friday night, for example. Instead of getting angry and trying to stop your partner from attending this work get-togethers, you could share your feelings with your spouse and maybe ask if you can tag along one Friday to help alleviate your concerns.
Make sure your spouse knows that you understand the irrational nature of your jealous feelings and they’ll likely be willing to take steps to help you rein in those emotions.
Building a string level of trust between you and your partner is very important in any marriage. Now, it’s also extremely important to controlling jealousy issues as you might imagine. Now, I’m not going to discuss building trust in-depth here in this video but it’s obviously a crucial aspect of reining in jealousy problems.
Please visit my website for more advice on building trust and strengthening the bond with your partner to ensure that your marriage lasts until death do you part.
What To Do If Your Partner Is The Jealous One
Let’s talk briefly about what to do if your partner is the one who struggles with jealousy issues.
If you do have a jealous spouse then the first thing you need to do is assess whether or not you’re doing something that’s causing those feelings.
Are you an extremely private person who prefers to keep your emails and text messages confidential from your spouse?
Or do you avoid checking in with your spouse when you’re out of town on business?
There are a number of possibilities, so take a good, hard look at your own behaviors and try to identify things that you might be doing or saying that could potentially be contributing to your partner’s jealousy.
Then, talk with them about these issues and consider making changes to help alleviate your spouse’s concerns.
Even if you feel like you’re not doing anything wrong, for example, using the scenario I mentioned earlier about going out for drinks after work with your colleagues every Friday, consider stopping that activity temporarily to show your commitment to the marriage and your partner’s feelings.
Explain to your spouse that you feel like their jealousy is unwarranted but you’re willing to take a break from whatever things you’re doing that are causing the jealousy if it will help.
You don’t have to back down and let your partner control your life and prevent you from doing things that you enjoy, but being willing to compromise even temporarily can help build trust and prove your commitment.
Speaking of proving your commitment, it can also really help to show your love and devotion to your spouse through words and actions by regularly telling your spouse how much you love them, complimenting him or her occasionally and explaining how much he or she means to you.
This can really help to eliminate some of your partner’s insecurities. This kind of thing is good practice in any marriage, regardless of whether you’re overcoming jealousy issues but it’s especially important if your partner is struggling with an irrational jealousy problem.
Finally, if jealousy continues to be an issue for either you or your partner, consider getting some guidance from a marriage coach– whether that’s in a form of in-person visit to a couple’s counselor with your spouse or simply through one-on-one dialog with a marriage coach like myself. It can be a very helpful way to come up with solutions to potentially damaging jealousy problems.
I do offer personal coaching to a limited number of clients. If you’re interested of working with me or you want to see my current availability, please visit my website.
All right, well hopefully this has given you some useful ideas and tips for how to overcome jealousy in your relationship. If you have any other ideas or if you want to ask questions, please feel free to do so in the comment section below.
And that is it for now, thank you very much and best of luck!
Now listen up.
Two tribes I work with most; the Igbo and the Yoruba.
Ladies, this one is for you, an eye opener.
You see that Yoruba man garbed in a well tailored ‘agbada’ with fancy shoes to match? The one showing off his mammy market Rodex?
This is his display picture, and on his profile he has up to 50 or more pictures of him posing here and there.
80% of the time, these types are broke, and looking for were to pitch their parasitic tents.
Or, that Igbo man who on the first meeting or discussion, is bragging to you about this or that, eager for you to see him as ‘somebody’
He is most likely broke, too.
A typical Igbo in this category would impress you on the first two dates, build your view of him, take your breath away, and when he sees he has hit a climax with you, that in your eyes you see him as rich or wealthy or whatever way he hopes you see him, he would withdraw. You are tethered to him now. You would stick with him in the hope that things go back to the way they once were. They seldom improve. Occasionally he would do something nice, a way of throwing you a bone and the relationship a lifeline, but that would be that.
A Yoruba of this ilk has already impressed you with fine boy status and flashy car, or sweet tongue, so you are left completely swooned. He is eager to throw in the marriage line, eager to tell you about this or that bigger apartment he hopes to get. Eager to say, “Babe, come and see my parents.” Or, “Babe, come and see the house I am building.”
A typical man, who isn’t serious, and/or responsible whether Igbo or Yoruba, would play a lot of tricks to get you in bed.
Open your eyes. Don’t let anyone use hope as a dish before you. Wishful thinking, fantasies, they would never put a ring on your finger.
Let’s talk about the better men; Igbo or Yoruba.
Igbo men love deeply, Yoruba men love smartly.
An Igbo man, in love, would let you drive his best cars while he takes a cab to work.
You are his crown. His delight.
He doesn’t care about Instagram. On his page he doesn’t have up to 20 photos of him, and if any, they are put up without much fanfare, or trolling for likes.
He is too busy to care.
The Yoruba elite gentleman is even more exciting. He would put up pictures, but hardly anything about him. There’s this or that quote from Nelson Mandela, a word here about mental slavery, another about his work, and then a few pictures of him in a suit, not trying too hard to be anything, yet being everything.
And this, ladies, is how you recognise a proper man.
He doesn’t try too hard to build up his worth in your eyes.
For me, money is infinitely more important in a relationship.
There can be no proper romance without enough cash or things just become dull and routine.
How do you plan candle lit dinners or a stroll on the beach if you don’t have entry fee?
How do you plan to go to the Cinema or to gift roses and perfumes?
You would write love notes a lot and even those would get boring.
For me it is money!!
But I might be wrong.
Share your thoughts on this topic with me in the comments section below.
DXB has been taking huge strides to keep travellers entertained throughout their journey, and optimise the whole airport experience.
From mobile passports, to facial recognition and even sleeping pods in the departure lounge, the latest airport with the world’s fastest wi-fi is now offering an on-demand video streaming service in partnership with ICFLIX.
You can now stream free movies and TV shows before your flight once you arrive at DXB, with the latest Hollywood, Bollywood and Arabic entertainment all available. “Dubai Airports is on a mission to engage more directly with our customers, and transform the airport experience for millions of travellers each month,” said Eugene Barry, executive vice president of Dubai Airports’ commercial and communications group. “We intend to lead the practical application of available digital tools to exceed customer expectations, across multiple points of their journey at our airports, and including demands for more variety within the airport experience.
“Thanks to our partnership with ICFLIX, travellers at DXB can now enjoy a wide range of streamed entertainment before and between flights, and this is a service which is completely free of charge to users.”
90 million people per year are now be able stream ICFLIX at DXB, and the service will be available on an initial trial period lasting two months, before both the airport and ICFLIX assess the option of future services.
Sorry, Jeremy Meeks — you’re not the only ‘prison bae’ in these streets.
Mekhi Alante Lucky was arrested on charges of speeding and driving a stolen vehicle in 2016. His mugshot hit the internet earlier this year and he was dubbed ‘prison bae’ — and now he’s a working model.
Eight men have been arrested for a money heist on a money transfer vehicle.
General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, recognised and praised the members of the criminal investigation team as they revealed the identity of individuals that were involved in the stealing from a money transfer car.
The money transfer car, that belonged to a private company in Dubai, contained AED14 million/ $3,835,616 at the time of the incident; it was later on returned to its rightful owners within 12 hours. The theft was a result of a breach of security within the operational reports that belonged to money transfer companies. Due to a result of the leakage, the group of Asian men, went to the scene, stole the AED14 million and fled the area. Forces found out that the group of defendants were located in a neighbouring Emirate, and once capturing them, the money was found untouched and immediately returned to its owners. The men are being prosecuted for their crimes.
Last year the UAE's first zipline was built on Jebel Jais and a year later we're about to welcome the world's largest... BOOM!
The current record for the world's longest zipline is 2,200 metres by The Monster in Puerto Rico, and while the official stats for this one have yet to be released, we've been promised it will be the world's largest.
It's RAK located and the official opening date is set for December. Watch:
Eid Al Adha begins on Thursday and to mark the holiday, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai has pardoned 543 prisoners from various correctional institutions.
The information was released in a tweet by Dubai Media Office and comes just days after HH Sheikh Khalifa ordered the release of 803 prisoners in time for the Eid Al Adha holiday.
.@HHShkMohd pardons 543 prisoners from #Dubai’s correctional and punitive establishments ahead of Eid Al Adha
25-year-old Mustakeem Ahmad became so enraged when learning of his throat cancer diagnosis that he allegedly shot and killed the friend he claims introduced him to smoking.
Mustakeem was arrested in Uttam Nagar on Friday for fatally shooting 25-year-old Inayat, the Hindustan Times reports.
Police told the outlet that the two men were friends and worked as chefs at a restaurant in West Delhi.
According to investigators, Ahmad said Inayat introduced him to cigarettes and marijuana which later led to Ahmad getting a throat infection. A doctor eventually diagnosed the man with throat cancer allegedly due to his “excessive smoking.”
Authorities said Ahmad blamed his friend for getting him hooked on cigarettes. Ahmad was also jealous that Inayat was performing better at work, so Ahmad came up with a plan to kill Inayat.
“Though Ahmad and Inayat were friends at the workplace, Inayat was reportedly better at his job and well-behaved and soon became the favorite of the restaurant owner,” police told the Hindustan Times, adding that Ahmad had been fired over his poor work performance.
Police said in the days leading up the shooting on Thursday, Ahmad purchased a pistol and practiced firing at different targets. He then went back to the restaurant and tried to get Inayat fired. When that didn’t work, Ahmad started an argument with his friend and allegedly shot him during the altercation.
Inayat was pronounced dead at the restaurant and Ahmad fled the scene. He was later arrested in his hometown.
Pastor Joel Osteen has finally opened the doors to his Houston megachurch as a shelter for Hurricane Harvey evacuees.
“Lakewood’s doors are open now to anyone needing shelter. We are also coordinating with the city as a collection site for distributing supplies to area shelters. We are collecting diapers, baby formula, baby food and other supplies. Please bring these items to Lakewood Church, Circle Drive off Timmons St.”
The facility, which can hold up to 17,000 people, has been closed to the public up until this point despite the city’s desperate need for additional housing.
Prior to opening the church doors, Joel Osteen was on the receiving end of MAJOR backlash from the public. The church said that ‘flooding’ and inaccessibility was the reason the church wasn’t open — but many took to social media to dispel the claims.
On Monday night, Joel Osteen posted a statement saying, “We have never closed our doors … We will continue to be a distribution center to those in need. We are prepared to house people once shelters reach capacity.”
At that time, the shelters were already way over capacity — so it’s unclear exactly what took the church so long to open its doors.
Kim Kardashian took to social media to let everyone know that she and her family have donated $500,000 to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army to aid in Hurricane Harvey relief.
Melania Trump found herself at the center of a Twitter firestorm on Tuesday after she was photographed heading to Corpus Christi, Texas in high heels.
Sporting a bomber jacket, aviator glasses and an all black outfit, the First Lady's outfit was mocked mercilessly on Twitter for looking fashionable as ever alongside President Donald Trump. The main issue with her critics: heels aren't entirely appropriate for touring an area which was totally flooded by Tropical Storm Harvey.
A spokesperson for Trump said FLOTUS will be changing into another pair of shoes aboard Marine One, but the damage was already done online, where stars like Chelsea Handler and Loni Love -- along with a ton of other Twitter users -- railed against her fashion choices.
Melania taking off for Houston on AF1...in stilettos.
