Saturday, September 30, 2017
Cher Sues LA Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong
Performer Cher has filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong alleging he and others tricked her into selling her shares in a Florida-based drug company for a fraction of what they were worth.
Cher sold her shares in Altor back to the company early last year at $1.50 each for a total of $450,000—a price the lawsuit describes as “unreasonably below-market.” In the lawsuit filed Friday, Cher says that when she was asked to sell her shares back, she was not informed the drug company was making progress with a drug in clinical trials for treating cancer and AIDS/HIV. Soon-Shiung, who acquired the outstanding shares of Altor in 2016 through NantCell, is named in the suit along with Altor cofounder Hing C. Wong and Fred Middleton, a vice chairman of the company’s board. The lawsuit, which alleges fraudulent concealment and breach of fiduciary duty, seeks damages and attorney fees and costs.
U.S. stops issuing visas in Cuba indefinitely
The U.S. has stopped issuing visas in Cuba indefinitely and strongly warned Americans against traveling to the island nation, where more than half of U.S. diplomatic personnel have been ordered to leave following “specific attacks,” the Associated Press reported.
The announcement on the changes is expected to come Friday after at least 21 diplomats and their families suffered hearing loss and traumatic brain injuries while in their residences and Havana hotels, as part of what is suspected to be a sonic attack.
HHS Secretary, Tom Price Resigns From The White House
Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price resigned on Friday night following numerous revelations that he had taken pricey private jet travel at the taxpayer’s expense to conduct official business.
“Secretary of Health and Human Services Thomas Price offered his resignation earlier today and the President accepted,” a statement from Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders read. “The President intends to designate Don J. Wright of Virginia to serve as Acting Secretary, effective at 11:59 p.m. on September 29, 2017. Mr. Wright currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health and Director of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.”
Price’s resignation follows a flurry of negative and damaging headlines over that use of private and military jets. On Thursday, Price cut a check for the costs he incurred. But he had chosen only to pay for the price of his seats on the plane (just under $52,000) and not the total cost of the trips themselves (which exceeded $1 million). By the end of the week, Trump had clearly soured on his HHS Secretary.
"I'm not happy, that I can tell you,” Trump told reporters on Friday afternoon.
In his resignation letter, Price expressed his regret “that the recent events have created a distraction.” But, he added, “You may rest assured that I will continue to support your critical priorities going ahead because failure is not an option for the American people.”
Inside the administration, the sense had grown that Price’s position had become untenable. He was “right it’s a distraction, but also Trump legit does not like conspicuous government waste,” a senior administration official told The Daily Beast, citing the president’s attempts to reduce the upkeep costs of Air Force One.
The president’s anger at Price wasn’t exclusively due to the air-travel scandal. According to Trump administration sources, speaking to The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity in order to speak freely, Trump had been increasingly annoyed or angry with Price for his inability to shepherd the process of repealing and replacing Obamacare. Price had championed repeal legislation when he served in the House of Representatives. But he was notably distant from the debate while at HHS—an absence that reportedly irritated the president.
"I'm not happy, that I can tell you,” Trump told reporters on Friday afternoon.
In his resignation letter, Price expressed his regret “that the recent events have created a distraction.” But, he added, “You may rest assured that I will continue to support your critical priorities going ahead because failure is not an option for the American people.”
Inside the administration, the sense had grown that Price’s position had become untenable. He was “right it’s a distraction, but also Trump legit does not like conspicuous government waste,” a senior administration official told The Daily Beast, citing the president’s attempts to reduce the upkeep costs of Air Force One.
The president’s anger at Price wasn’t exclusively due to the air-travel scandal. According to Trump administration sources, speaking to The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity in order to speak freely, Trump had been increasingly annoyed or angry with Price for his inability to shepherd the process of repealing and replacing Obamacare. Price had championed repeal legislation when he served in the House of Representatives. But he was notably distant from the debate while at HHS—an absence that reportedly irritated the president.
Egypt "hunting down" gays, conducting forced anal exams - Amnesty
Six Egyptian men arrested for “debauchery” and “promoting sexual deviancy” on social media are now facing forced anal exams, Reuters reports, citing judicial sources and a top human rights group.
The men, members of a group arrested for holding up a rainbow flag at a concert on Sept. 22, will be examined by the country’s Forensic Medical Authority to determine whether they’ve had homosexual sex ahead of their trial on Sunday, Amnesty International said Saturday. Judicial sources cited by Reuters said any person accused of “debauchery” or “promoting sexual deviancy” is subject to a medical exam. “The examinations are carried out by a forensic doctor who swore to respect his profession and its ethics,” one judicial source said. Amnesty International says the move is part of a wider “homophobic crackdown” in which authorities are “prioritizing hunting down people based on their perceived sexual orientation.” Nearly a dozen people have been arrested for displaying the rainbow flag at a concert by Lebanese rock band Mashrou’ Leila, whose singer is openly gay.
Kenny Ogungbe says PSquare Fight is a shameless mere Publicity Stunt
Ogungbo, while speaking on his Kennis Music Radio show, the record boss stated that the Okoye’s Family drama is nothing but a mere publicity stunt… and the reason he feels so, is because many folks have been calling in to request for PSquare Songs.
He also added that the brothers may have yet another massive show coming up this December and so are using the stunt to create interest.
“I am sure they have a massive show coming up in December and they are using this as a publicity stunt. They have over 100 songs and people who called us on the radio within 15 minutes, requested for about 29 of their songs,” the record boss said.
“If you are breaking up after recording about 100 songs, will you break up to record another big song as a solo artiste? At what age? How many songs are they going to release that would be up to what they have released already? At what age do they want to do that when people are interested in listening to songs released by younger artistes?” he added.
Kenny Ogungbe went further to say: “Quote me anywhere that I said it is a game. In the video that was released online, Paul said it was a shame to Peter. It is a game (laughs). Quote me anywhere that I said that it is a game but if they don’t get back together, good luck to them.”
Get more stories like this on Twitter & Facebook
14-year-old SS2 student commits suicide, because he failed and had to repeat
Drake’s father inks monster tattoo of Drake’s face on his arm (photos)
TMZ reports Drake’s dad got the tattoo to match the mug shot of him Drake got tattooed on his own arm in 2014. Dennis also wants the world to know he loves his boy.
See photos below:
Drake with dad’s mug shot tattoo
Nnamdi Kanu's Sureties Won't Lose N300 Million Bond - IPOB Lawyer, Ejiofor
The legal representative of the Indigenous people of Biafra(IPOB), Mr Ifeanyi Ejiofor has advised the sureties who signed the bail bond of the now missing leader of the group, Nnamdi Kanu, not to worry as they won't be held liable.
PoliticsNGR gathered that Ejiofor, who has also petitioned the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, to produce Kanu in court dead or alive, added that only the court of law can determine if Kanu flouted his bail conditions or not.
Ejiofor told sun;
"The issue of whether Nnamdi Kanu flouted his bail conditions or not doesn’t lie in the hands of the military or even the Executive to determine. It’s the court; allow the court to decide on it. This is a matter of argument and law.
The military has positioned itself as taking over the matter before a court. Is the military the enforcement arm of the court? It’s even more curious when the court has not revoked the bail; the court has not said go and arrest him, so he’s still enjoying the bail granted him by court.
Let me say this; if Kanu had, in the course of enjoying the bail granted him by the court, been seen to have committed any offence outside the one being tried in court, they can simply wait and let him come to court. If he comes to court on October 17, they could arrest him on those supposed offences.
There is no law that says that anybody being tried for any offence and enjoying bail cannot be arrested if the person commits another offence. If actually what they wanted was to arrest him; they would have waited for him to come to Abuja. But I know what they wanted was to kill him at all cost; and let me not believe that has taken place by now."
Speaking on the sureties, he pointed out that under the present circumstances, they cannot be touched. In his words;
The point is that you cannot under the circumstance lay hands on the sureties because the circumstance that presented itself is such that had gone beyond the sureties’ control. In legal parlance, it’s called force majeure. It’s not a situation they would be able to control.
The court is a human being; it can listen to our application. If at all this incident never took place and by tomorrow we start looking for Nnamdi Kanu, they will be told to go and produce him. But in this case, Nnamdi Kanu had been visible; moving around, going places, meeting people and was very certain of coming to Abuja before now to face trial, so, people who attacked him, killed people in his house, wounded people and arrested people, should be in a position to show us where he is.
It now lies with the army; it’s out of the sureties hands, so they cannot be held liable."
( Sun)
Jay Jay Okocha voted Bolton’s best player in last 20 years
According to the club, Okocha emerged the best after fans voted for their favourite among the five players selected.
Campo came in fifth in the vote, while Finnish goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen is fourth. Djorkaeff was third and former England striker Kevin Davies, who played 400 games for the club, came in second.
Pres Buhari's Birthday Message To Okorocha
‘‘His philanthropy has touched many lives in states across the country, from the south to the north.
‘‘I also wish to express my deep appreciation to him for his support and commitment to the success of this administration.
‘‘Owelle Rochas Okorocha had the vision to look beyond ethnic bias and align his political interest and that of his people with that of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), even when many in his region did not have such foresight.
‘‘Happy birthday, Owelle Rochas Okorocha!”
Kalu Opposes Nigeria’s Breakup Wants Restructuring
He called for restructuring as panacea to solving the problems facing the country.
Mr. Kalu made the remark on Friday in a paper he presented at a public lecture organised by the Department of Social Sciences, University of Calabar.
In his paper, entitled: “Devolution of Powers and the Future of Nigeria,’’ Mr. Kalu insisted that the only acceptable solution for Nigeria’s problems remained restructuring.
He said: “I believe fully in the unity of Nigeria. I am against those who call for the division of the country. There is no such provision as division in our Constitution.
“If you look at all political or constitutional conferences we have had in this country since after independence, you will find that devolution of powers featured prominently but under different guise.
“Therefore, like the Igbo people will say, where a child is crying and pointing at, if his father is not there, his mother must surely be there.
“So, I think there is need for us to fully review the call for devolution of powers within the context of our current realities and as permissible by our constitution.
“Whether we call it resource control, Sovereign National Conference, Restructuring or by any other name, we are saying the same thing.
“That we want power to devolve so that our states and local governments can have constitutional powers to do much more than they are doing today.
“It is what the nation needs at the moment, to move forward,” he said.
Mr. Kalu described genuine agitations as part of viable democratic process.
“The agitation for devolution of power, restructuring or referendum, are all legitimate democratic demands.
“They form part of the conversation that must take place to strengthen democracy and make it a real system of government of the people, by the people and for the people,” Mr. Kalu said.
The former governor maintained that the call for devolution of powers started since the time of late Isaac Boro, adding that this was the time for its realisation.
He said the call for devolution of powers to the three tiers of governments had become necessary since there was too much power concentrated at the centre.
He attributed the present agitations and criminalities across the country by youth, to lack of even distribution of resources, adding that it had brought unemployment and poverty among the youths.
Mr. Kalu called for restructuring in the areas of Land Use Act; handing over of roads the states; licensing of minerals, among others.
He described as unconstitutional the continued appointment of Caretaker Committees to run Local Government Administrations by some state governors.
Also speaking, the chairman of the occasion, Chris Agara, said the call for restructuring was long overdue.
NAN
Eedris Insulted Artistes Young Enough To Be His Children- D'banj
Saturday Beats caught up with the Kokomaster during the one year anniversary of his initiative, CREAM, an acronym that stands for Creative, Reality, Entertainment, Arts and Music and he bared his mind on Eedris’ outburst.
He said, “At first, I did not see the video where Eedris spoke about me and initially, I thought it was something else till people sent me the video. I have seen different videos of him talking about different artistes that are young enough to be his kids. I would have thought that if he was such a role model, there were better ways he could pass his message across but I have nothing against him. I have nothing more to say about him. I feel people just have different ways of expressing themselves.”
Psquare Fight Is A Publicity Stunt- Keke Ogungbe
“I am sure they have a massive show coming up in December and they are using this as a publicity stunt. They have over 100 songs and people who called us on the radio within 15 minutes, requested for about 29 of their songs.
“If you are breaking up after recording about 100 songs, will you break up to record another big song as a solo artiste? At what age? How many songs are they going to release that would be up to what they have released already? At what age do they want to do that when people are interested in listening to songs released by younger artistes? Quote me anywhere that I said it is a game. In the video that was released online, Paul said it was a shame to Peter. It is a game (laughs). Quote me anywhere that I said that it is a game but if they don’t get back together, good luck to them,” he said.
Python Trying To Swallow Dog Killed [Photos]
Former Mountain Of Fire Miracles Ministries Pastors Accuses General Overseer Olukoya Of Illegal Importation Of Goods In US Property Dispute
Daniel Olukoya, General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), is in the spotlight in a US court after his group, one of Nigeria’s foremost Pentecostal churches, dragged some former pastors and members to court over monetary and property disputes.
The sued pastor and former church members have in turn accused the General Overseer of engaging in fraudulent activities in the US, including evasion of duties owed to US authorities.
In an action filed in the Circuit Court for Prince Georges’ County of Maryland, U.S.A., (Case No. CAL16-26532) on behalf of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries International, Lagos, and Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, USA, Nevada, the church is seeking declaratory judgment and damages against Pastors Lawrence Adetunji, Ronke Adetunji, and 11 former members of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, Bowie, Maryland. Also joined in the suit is Christ the Truth Ministry, the successor of MFM Bowie.
At issue are real property described as 5506 and 5503 Church Road in Bowie, Maryland, which were acquired by MFM Bowie in 2001 and 2004 respectively. Also in contention are funds for the MFM building in Bowie. MFM International (Lagos) claims that the property acquired with the contributions and offerings of the members of MFM in Bowie, without assistance of any form from Mr. Olukoya or MFM headquarters, are property of MFM headquarters by way of trust. The plaintiffs claim further that when Pastor Adetunji and most members of MFM in Bowie decided not to associate further with the denomination, Pastor Adetunji was under an obligation to hand over the properties and funds to MFM headquarters (copy of MFM Complaints attached).
In their response, the defendants allege that they decided to sever their relationship with MFM and its leadership because of the illegal and fraudulent activities of MFM International, Lagos. They allege that MFM International was in the practice of knowingly and deliberately making false claims to evade U.S. Customs duties and taxes on books exported from Nigeria to U.S.
Upon information and belief, the defendants alleged that the plaintiffs had willfully and intentionally evaded U.S. Customs Service duties and had evaded tax payments to the United States Government. They allege that the plaintiffs carried out these illegal activities for many years.
The nature of the illegal activities stems from the fact that the plaintiffs would ship prayer books (specifically, “70 Days Prayer & Fasting” and “Pray Your Way Into [current year]” to various U.S.-based MFM branches with a cover letter categorizing the books as “donations” to be distributed to local parishioners. However, once delivered to the United States, instructions were then emailed to U.S. pastors by MFM International and /or MFM USA instructing them of the price they must charge parishioners in selling these books. The pastors were then instructed to remit the earnings of their sales to MFM International.
The defendants disclosed that, although this practice had been going on for many years, on or about 2013, MFM International started shipping their books directly to U.S. Customs in Baltimore, along with the cover letter stating that the books were “donations” (page 2-3 of the Defendants’ Amended Answer and Counter Claim).
The Defendants asserted that they did not become aware of the illegal practice until 2015. They stated further that, when they became aware, having no power over MFM and its leadership “to influence or change their behavior had (sic) to sever all ties in order to curtail their (defendants’) unwitting participation in plaintiffs’ illegal actions.”
The defendants also argued that MFM International could not lay claim to the property because they contributed nothing towards the acquisition of the property, not even when the defendants requested for assistance by way of a loan to meet some of their financial obligations. They declared that no valid trust was created over their property for the benefit of the plaintiffs.
The case comes up for hearing on October 14, 2017. Some Officers of MFM International, including the General Overseer, Daniel Olukoya are expected to get into the witness box at the hearing.
In an earlier development, MFM brought a similar action before the Superior Court of Los Angeles, California, against Ade Oyeyemi, a former MFM pastor (Los Angeles County Super. Ct.N0. BC 352398). The Fourth Division of the Second Appellate District of the California State Court of Appeal ultimately decided the case in favor of Pastor Oyeyemi.
D'Banj Finally Replies Eedris Abdulkareem
Recall a mild drama happened yesterday, after Eedris called out Timaya, for being an ingrate, and then he said Timaya wouldn’t have been successful if he doesn’t have the confidence he gave him.
Timaya of course wasted no time in replying the singer, and finished him off with cuss words.
Back to Dbanj, the Kokomaster seems to be taking a less confrontational approach.. He gave out a subtle shade by saying Eedris insulted people who are young enough to be his children.
Saturday Beats caught up with the Kokomaster during the one year anniversary of his initiative, CREAM, and he said
“At first, I did not see the video where Eedris spoke about me and initially, I thought it was something else till people sent me the video. I have seen different videos of him talking about different artistes that are young enough to be his kids. I would have thought that if he was such a role model, there were better ways he could pass his message across but I have nothing against him. I have nothing more to say about him. I feel people just have different ways of expressing themselves.”
Get more stories like this on Twitter & Facebook
Some parents encourage their children to travel abroad for prostitution - NAPTIP offical reveals
Esther Otegheri who spoke with Pulse.ng said many of the girls the agency has rescued confessed to having their parents support to engage in the illicit trade.
“It will shock Nigerians to know that most of the girl who gets trafficked to Europe to engage in prostitution are often encouraged or pushed into it by their own parents,” Otegheri begins.
“I wept bitterly when we saw some of these girls who were as young as 13 roaming the streets of Europe soliciting for men to have sex with them for money.
They have these madams whom they report to and any money they make is used to offset the debts they owe the madams or send back home for their parents to pay off the people they borrowed to send them to Europe.
There are girls aged 13, 14 and 15 on the streets of Europe, selling themselves for money. They are so young, vulnerable and having terrible experiences. Some of them are exposed to sexually transmitted diseases because many of the patrons prefer sleeping with them without condoms.
Only the strongest of hearts would not cry when you see them or hear their stories. Many of them go through harrowing experiences before they get to Europe all in the name of making a living for themselves and their families.
In the course of our investigations, we discovered the routes these traffickers operate from and it would break your heart to see what they go through.
We discovered that some of these young victims go through the border between Sokoto and Bori Koni in the Niger Republic while some trek through the deserts taking the Katsina Maradi-Niamey-Ouagadougou-Mali, on to Libya before crossing the Mediterranean sea into Europe.
We also discover that majority of the victims are trafficked through Lagos to Cotonou for onward trafficking to Europe, with the connivance of Immigration and Customs officials.”
“Many of the girls come from very poor families and the parents feel the only way they can come out of their poor status is if their daughters could travel Europe and engage in prostitution. That is how low most of our parent’s reason.
Many of the girls have not been to school or have very little education, so they are easily taken advantage of. They dream of a better life in Europe, they see Italy as a paradise.
You will be surprised to hear some parents even boasting about their daughters who are in Europe and when you ask them what the girls do, they will be proud to tell you that they are hustling.
For them, hustling means one thing: prostitution. They are not ashamed to say it and it is very pathetic.
Some of these girls have little or no idea where they are heading or what they would do when they are being trafficked out of Nigeria. They don’t know the danger in front of them only to realize it when they get to a point of no return, and they would have no option but to fall in line.
They are forced into prostitution and if they refuse, they are beaten up, detained and threatened with juju. It is very sad.”
Esther also said:
“The madams are like demi-gods, and they control the girls in every way imaginable, from beating, torture, illegal imprisonment and threats of death.
There are also Nigerian gangs organized like the Mafia and they are used by the madams to intimidate, abuse and terrorize the girls.
The gang often kidnap the girls, rape them and force them into the streets to solicit for men.
Even some local churches are not left out in the trafficking. We have arrested some so-called pastors ho run these trafficking trade. They pretend to send these girls abroad to work when they know they are being sent to become prostitutes.
Once the girls arrive in Italy or other parts of Europe, they are made to sign agreements to pay back between 30,000 to 50,000 Euros to the madams before they are free to be on their own.
Most of them can spend three to five years without being able to pay up the money, thereby living in perpetual bondage.
The exploitation of these minors by their parents and the organized sex trade rings is rather pathetic. The way our government is handling the matter is also not encouraging. We have advocated for these rings to be smashed by all means but they still keep sprouting and it is worrisome.”
Residents nab robbers who broke into a house through it's wall
Marriage is not for everyonne - Oma Nnadi
Video & Photos: About Last Night: Wizkid shuts down Royal Albert Hall, London
Lagos State Governmet arraigns woman who set 10-year old on fire
The Lagos State Government has arraigned the woman, identified as Gift Igwe.
According to Punch, the 10-year old identified simply as Chimobi was reportedly rescued by residents of the community, after his cries for help was heard. The boy was rushed to the hospital immediately.
Igwe, who is a nursing mother, was charged with assault causing grievous harm under Section 254 of the Criminal Code Laws of Lagos, 2011but was granted bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties with like sum due to her nursing a child. She however failed to meet bail terms.
The Director of the Office of Public Defender, Olubukola Salami, speakig on the issue said:
“When we charged her to court, all the people in the community came to court that day to buttress the fact that she had been abusing the child over a period of time.
“We thought we could have charged the boy’s brother to court for neglect too because when he brought the boy, who is an orphan from the village, he failed to put him in school. At the moment, we are working to ensure that the boy is enrolled in a school.”
Get more stories like this on Twitter & Facebook
Independence: IGP Orders Massive Deployment Of Police Personnel
The police boss in a statement directed all Commissioners of Police in all states of the Federation and their supervising assistant Inspectors General of Police in charge of zonal commands to carry out the order, Channels tv reports.
The officers and men are to be drafted from the police mobile force, counter-terrorism unit, special police forces and force intelligence and investigation department, among others.
They are also to forestall any disturbances in connection with the quit notices issued by various groups in the country.
Also, the IGP has placed all the personnel of the Force on red alert to nip in the bud any attempt by any group under whatsoever guise to cause disturbance of the peace on 1st of October, 2017 or at any other time.
Get more stories like this on Twitter & Facebook
MI Abaga spotted with Jon Snow of Game of Thrones (Photos)
Here are some photos of the rapper with Harington who played the lead role as Jon Snow in the famous HBO series. Here are photos ;
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)