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Picture	Name	Date of death	Official cause of death	Fame	Age
	Brian Jones	July 3, 1969	Having drowned in a swimming pool,[7] the coroner's report stated "death by misadventure."[8]	Rolling Stones founder and guitarist/multi-instrumentalist.	27 years and 125 days
	Jimi Hendrix	September 18, 1970	Autopsy showed he asphyxiated on vomit after combining sleeping pills with wine.[9]	Pioneering electric guitarist, singer and songwriter for The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsys.	27 years and 295 days
	Janis Joplin	October 4, 1970	Probable heroin overdose.[10]	Lead vocalist and songwriter for Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Kozmic Blues Band and Full Tilt Boogie Band.	27 years and 258 days
	Jim Morrison	July 3, 1971	Cause of death listed as "heart failure"; however, no autopsy was performed.[11]	Lead singer, songwriter and video director for The Doors.	27 years and 207 days
	Kurt Cobain	April 5, 1994	Ruled as suicide by shotgun.[12]	Founding member, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for Nirvana.	27 years and 44 days

Equal parts music history book and visual journey, The 27s weaves the lives of Robert Johnson, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Hutchence, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and more than two-dozen other musicians into a tight narrative. Along the way, Hunter’s art complements and spins off, adding layers to the story with symbolism, artifacts, and color palettes that reflect the era. Josh Hunter told Huffington Post that, "The artwork tells its own story as well. There are these other layers, these hidden symbols and cryptic messages that, if you're alert to them, you're going to find we're packing-in as well." [5] In addition, The 27s feature twenty-two original portraits. The book's creators gave an example on how the art adds more to the story in an interview with WNEW: "We wanted visual stimulation. The art correspond with the words here, supporting the story, visualizing it in an artistic interpretation. Then there are times when the art tell a different story or add to the words. Around Brian Jones' death in The 27s there's a photo of a freshly dug grave adorned with flowers. The overlay of white butterflies is an example of the latter. It tells a story about Brian's death that's not described using words."[6]
The book's storyline snakes through the history of rock in a largely linear fashion (although The 27s can also be read at random),[7] albeit with intriguing detours into the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche as it applies to music, numerology, astrology, and the findings that more rock stars have died at 27 than at any other age.[8]

An attempt by a 56 year old mother of four to defend herself from being strangled by her younger brother is being translated by the Nigeria Police as attempted murder leading to her being detained at the Nigeria Police Divisional Headquarters at Ikotun,

Trouble started for Mrs. Rose Adigwe three weeks ago when her younger brother she had been harbouring since September 2010 assaulted  her after a slight misunderstanding at her Ikotun residence.    It was gathered that Mrs. Adigwe who had been harbouring her younger brother known as Felix Ojigbani (a.k.a Felix Goodwill) since he was deported from Germany last year, was being strangled by her brother when her two daughters ran to help separate them.

When all attempts failed to make Felix release his grip on the neck of his else sister who is said to have a Low Blood Pressure health condition, she gripped him by his manhood.Neighbours intervened and got the sibling separated; Felix packed out of the house that night.

Subsequent efforts of Mrs. Adigwe to get across to his brother proved abortive until early this morning when police officers led by one Inspector Florence came to arrest Mrs. Adigwe and her two daughters charging them with attempted murder. She later learnt that one of his brother’s testicles had been removed surgically.   

They were taken to the police station at Ikotun and locked up with a lawyer who identified himself as Mr. Ojieh demanding that the family pays the medical bills of his client, Felix, which he claims is N350,000.   

While at the police station, the lawyer claimed that Mrs. Adigwe attacked his client and that there was never a time he (Felix) tried to strangle her in an attempt to  debunk the claim that Mrs. Adigwe acted in self defence; a misdirection neighbours faulted as false.   

With the  police making little or no effort to investigate the matter and determine whether the “suspect” acted in self defence, some female officers kept advising the family to sue for peace and pay the medical bills as requested by the lawyer, Mr. Ojeih.   

When contacted on the development, Mrs. Josehpine Chukwuma, founder of Project Alert, an NGO that fights against violence against women said they would be getting down to the police station to have a look at the case.   With the husband of Mrs. Adigwe aged 75 years and her eldest daughter still looking for work, neighbours expressed worry where in the world they could get such huge amount of money to pay for the medical bills.   

From her detention cell, Mrs. Adigwe called out to Nigerians to come to her aid as she has no lawyer or any one to fight her cause.

Why They Want Me Out of Jonathan’s Government - Deazani Allison-Maduekwe

Outgoing minister of Petroleum Resources, Deziani Alison-Madueke, has said that said those angling for her exclusion in the next cabinet are doing so because she has created a transparent process and level playing field that has denied them the opportunity tocontinue ‘business as usual’ in the oil and gas sector of the economy.

 

She dismissed them as those simply afraid of President Goodluck Jonathan’s reform agenda in the oil and gas sector of the economy.

 

Fielding questions from our correspondent, against the backdrop of criticism mounting against her nomination as a minister in the next dispensation, Alison-Madueke insisted that there is no going back on ongoing reforms of the sector by Mr. President.

 

“They are fighting President Jonathan because since assuming duties as president of this country he has taken the uncharacteristic step to break the cartel in the petroleum sector that had almost strangulated the economy for over a decade. That is why the frenzied and sudden campaign of calumny by the cartel, all in a bid to deter me from carrying out Mr. President’s reform agenda,” Alison-Madueke stated.

 

She said never again will Nigerians and the government allow the return of the age-long cartel in the country’s oil and gas sector which, has before now deprived millions of Nigerians the benefits of adequate and regular supply of petroleum products across the country.

 

While she remains concerned by the activities of those who are bent on frustrating ongoing reforms of the sector, the minister maintained that despite the unjustified criticism and unfounded allegations against her, her greatest joy since she came on board as minister of petroleum resources is that, “a vast majority of Nigerians are happy with President Jonathan for the far reaching decisions the government has taken to stabilize the sector”.

 

According to her, “this explains why they voted massively for Mr. President in the just concluded general election”, stating that the ministry under her leadership has performed well in the up and down stream sector of the economy.

 

She noted that those fighting her in the media “were doing so because we have been able to frustrate their efforts in strangulating the economy through their devilish black market and questionable profiteering at the expense of the Nigeria people.   “I would not want to join issues with those criticizing me because they are crying foul that through us Mr. President has broken the old order where the common man had to spend nights on queues in petrol stations and pay higher prices for products.  We have also ensured that the business in the entire oil and gas industry of the economy is no longer business as usual. They can no longer undermine government's good intentions for the sector and cause untold hardship for millions of our people,” she said adding that the ministry under her leadership has also initiated a 24-months rehabilitation programme for the three refineries in the country, following Mr. President’s directive.

 

She maintained that this was the first time the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, “is undertaking such gigantic and extensive rehabilitation project without asking the Federal Government for funds."

 

The minister said “once the comprehensive rehabilitation of the refineries is completed, the country will considerably reduce importation of PMS (Petrol) and become self-sufficient in kerosene and diesel production, thus ending the long years of sufferings of the ordinary Nigerian”.

 

She stated further that President Jonathan last month launched a gas revolution that will create over one million jobs for Nigerians and also open up the economy in the areas of fertilizer blending and production of other petrochemical products in the country.

 

She also spoke on the ministry’s efforts in pushing for the passage of the local content bill and the ongoing Petroleum Industry bill, stressing that, “we are doing everything possible to ensure that the bill is passed into law before the end of the sixth National Assembly”.

 

“We have done all these things for the interests of Nigerians and Mr. President has been very supportive of our programme and we are working hard to ensure that we do not disappoint Nigerians,” she said.

 

A senior industry source that also spoke to our correspondent on the issue said her effort in dismantling cartel in the chain of distribution and supply of petroleum products in the country is commendable.

 

“With the passage into law and efficient implementation of the Nigerian Content Bill, it is evident that out of the approximately US$20 billion annual spend in the petroleum sector of the economy, about 45 per cent retention in the country has now become achievable. It is the passion and the efforts of the Minister that saw the passage of the law and this effort is worth commending”.

 

Industry expert who spoke to our correspondent, on the condition of anonymity agreed with the Honourable minister that “before now, investments in the gas sector was considered as very unrewarding but since the current minister assumed duties, she has reversed the fortune. Before now, it was inappropriate pricing that has been the bane of the industry but with her efforts, Nigeria has been able to put in place an appropriate fiscal system and commercial framework that has encouraged upstream and midstream investors to start investing in the sector”.   The source stated further that “the new gas pricing is projected to gradually increased from $1 per 1000 standard cubic feet (scf) of gas to $2.5 in the next two years and this has spurred investment in the natural gas resource development. This has also reassured manufacturers of access to clean and affordable fuel for their industries.”

 

The new investment in natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), the source said “is going to displace and replace kerosene, diesel and fuel oil as preferred fuel for home cooking and the industry because it is cleaner and cheaper,” stressing that “gas revolution is one major step in re-industrialization of the nation. It has the capacity to create job across the country”.

However, a petroleum lawyer, who is privy to happenings within the industry aver that contrary to Dezeani Allison-Madueke`s claims, her arrogance may be her greatest undoing. It has caused her to be excluded from the list of ministerial nominees from her state.

Who gets ministerial appointment is the exclusive privilege of President Goodluck Jonathan, the source added.

Moreover, Section147, subsection (2) of the Nigerian constitution, declares that any appointment to the office of Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President”.

The lawyer further stated:

Also, the preceding subsection (1) is very clear on this matter, it states “that there shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation as may be established by the President”.  

Dark, boiling clouds on a May evening don't make much of an impression in the Midwest. They wreak havoc - but always down the road or in the next town or two counties away. Hollie Hounschell, 26, was getting ready to go to a party on May 22 as the clouds approached. With one ear on the TV as she painted her nails, she noted that big hail was falling in Webb City, some 8 miles (13 km) distant.

The doorbell rang. Hounschell's ex Joe Winters was delivering their daughter Abigail, who is 4, after a visit with her daddy. When Hollie opened the front door, she noticed lightning slash the sky far behind him.
Suddenly, the voice from the TV was shouting: "Take cover! Get to the basement!" Not everyone had a basement. Bewildered neighbors appeared at the door begging for help. In all, five people hurried down the hall and huddled in a tiny basement as wood splinters, shards of glass and needles of fiberglass insulation scoured the air. The house exploded. The neighborhood exploded. (See pictures of the twister's destruction in Joplin, Mo.)

Twenty-four hours later, as a chilly rain drenched the ruins of this southwestern Missouri town, Hounschell recalled struggling from the debris after the storm passed, teetering in her black dress and high heels. Emerging from the basement, she could see Joplin High School three blocks away, down the hill behind her house. That was new. Every manmade structure, every leaf on every tree that had obscured the view minutes earlier, was gone.
The idea of cleaning up Joplin seemed unimaginable. Across 3 sq. mi. (8 sq km) of wasteland - smashed and twisted cars, ripped and crumpled siding, shattered brick, muddy furniture, bed linens flapping from stripped and dying trees, gas-fed fires flickering - scattered people picked almost at random to fill boxes with soggy clothing, ruined electronics and woeful fragments of children's toys.

Perhaps a third of this city of 50,000 residents, a city that took decades to build, was unbuilt in a matter of moments by the killer tornado, which left at least 117 people dead and hundreds more injured. Clean up is a phrase that doesn't compute. In the coming weeks and months, Joplin will have to scrape bare a blasted hole in its heart.
Many hundreds of houses are gone. Restaurants, strip malls, grocery stores, drugstores, big-box outlets - gone. The high school is a wreck. St. John's Hospital is gutted. Power poles are snapped. Steel fence posts are bent flat to the ground. Thousands of cars are crumpled like soda cans. A forest of big, beautiful trees is uprooted, denuded. (See a video of the Joplin, Mo., tornado.)

On May 23, people spoke in whispers and left sentences half finished. Jim Winters, 51 - Joe's dad - kept telling the story of watching a stranger bleed to death after he and several other would-be rescuers lifted a wall that was pinning the man's body. "His skin just went white," he said. "I've watched a lot of horror movies, but ..." Jim's voice trailed off with a quick shake of his head.
What is there to say?
A small dresser of clothes survived, askew in the rubble of what used to be a bedroom. Joe Winters hoisted it and loaded it into a van. Hollie Hounschell regarded a cell-phone charger plucked from a mess of sodden plaster, then looked away.
May 24 dawned clear and sunny. Exhausted search teams trooped back into the ruins, hoping to complete their hunt for buried bodies, living and dead, "house by house, car by car, block by block," as Missouri Governor Jay Nixon told NPR. The governor expected the death toll to rise, and he hoped the grim business could be finished before evening, when the clouds would boil up again.

• The Joplin tornado, which killed at least 125 people, is thought to be the worst since records began 60 years ago
  

Following the devastating tornado which ripped though Joplin at the weekend, these satellite images show the extent of the damage.

After and before aerial photos show the shocking extent of the damage caused by the twister in the Missouri city - this image show a six-block path of destruction.

At least 125 people were killed by the twister on Sunday, which authorities say is the deadliest single tornado in America since modern record-keeping began over 60 years ago.

Devastation: The satellite image on the left shows where the tornado ripped through Joplin and left the six-block scar across the city - and on the right was the Missouri city as it was before the tragedy

A further 750 people were taken to hospitals in the area and these images show lucky some people were, and how close they came to having their homes destroyed.

Joplin is reckoned to be the eighth deadliest in U.S. history - The so called Tri-State Tornado which hit Missouri, Illinois and Indiana on March 18, 1925, is believed to be the most deadly. That four-hour twister killed 695 people.

Meanwhile powerful storms roared through middle America again yesterday, with weak tornadoes touching down in isolated spots and severe thunderstorms threatening such strikes in several states.

The National Weather Service issued tornado watches and a series of warnings in a dozen states, stretching northeast from Texas though the Mississippi River valley to Ohio.

Rick Warren of Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, CA) has written seven principles of project management that he learned from Nehemiah’s rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls. In summary:

1. Simplification
   Nehemiah kept his plan simple. He organized around natural groupings of people already associating together, such as the priests, the men of Jericho, and the sons of Hassenaah. If an organization already naturally exists, try to work through it and with it.
2. Participation
   Work with those who want to work. Nehemiah’s response was to ignore the shirkers.
3. Delegation
   When you’re organizing, you should make specific assignments. Break down goals into smaller tasks. Develop clear job descriptions. Match the right person with the right task. Somebody needs to assume specific responsibility.
4. Motivation
   When you organize any project, help people “own” it.
5. Cooperation
   When we cooperate together, when there is teamwork, there is great growth. Cooperation is a greater motivator than competition, and it lasts because you feel like you’re together on a winning team.
6. Administration
   Even after you delegate, you must supervise the work. Good organizations establish clear lines of authority. People do what you inspect not what you expect.
7. Appreciation
   Do you know who’s doing a good job in your organization? If you do, are you telling them they’re doing a good job?

“There are no words to match this moment,” Oprah said Wednesday as she brought down the curtain on her syndicated daytime talk show, while all around her, media reports rained down about The End of the Oprah Winfrey Era.
“Today, there will be no guest,” Oprah told Wednesday’s gaily dressed studio-audience members, who’d been instructed to wear bright colors, according to news reports.

“This last hour is about me saying thank you. It is my love letter to you. I want to leave you all with the lessons that have been the anchor for my life and the ones that I hold most precious,” she said in the finale of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” dressed in an elegant peach sheath, diamonds bobbing brilliantly off her wrist and ears.
That, in marked contrast to the excesses of her show’s Monday and Tuesday broadcasts, which, under the umbrella name “Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular,” had featured wave after wave of celebrities making the pilgrimage to the United Center in Chicago to praise her. On Wednesday, she called the two-day walk-up to the finale a “love intervention on steroids for me.”
“You will not be getting a car or a treat,” she told her very last studio crowd pretty much right off the bat. That was smart, because there is an expectation on the part of “Oprah” audiences that they will receive new cars, or Vera Wang wedding gowns, or honeymoon packages if they’re lucky enough to be in the studio when Oprah is marking momentous occasions — such as the first episode of this last season, when she gave every audience member a trip to Australia.
Some in the audience for the finale had worked hard to get there, submitting essays on Oprah.com about why they should be among the lucky ones to snag tickets, according to news reports. The final episode was taped Tuesday.
On the other hand, they would get to tell their grandchildren that they were there the day the queen of daytime talk TV abdicated after 25 years to devote herself to her ratings-hungry Oprah Winfrey Network on cable. OWN, in fact, went dark at 4 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday; viewers instead saw a placeholder directing them to watch “The Oprah Winfrey Show” finale on their local broadcast station. (OWN is a venture with Silver Spring-based Discovery Communications.)
“Everybody has a calling, and your real job in life is to figure out what that is, and get about the job of doing it,” Oprah told viewers Wednesday.
“Don’t waste any more time,” she urged. “Start embracing the life that is calling you, and use your life to serve the world.”
During her hour-long master class on life, Oprah also addressed the culture of victimhood.
“Nobody but you is responsible for your life. It doesn’t matter what your mama did; it doesn’t matter what your daddy didn’t do. You are responsible for your life. . . .
“ ‘Jerry Maguire’ was just a movie — no one completes you,” she told her studio audience, which listened somberly.

Full coverage: Oprah’s Final Shows



“There are no words to match this moment,” Oprah said Wednesday as she brought down the curtain on her syndicated daytime talk show, while all around her, media reports rained down about The End of the Oprah Winfrey Era.
“Today, there will be no guest,” Oprah told Wednesday’s gaily dressed studio-audience members, who’d been instructed to wear bright colors, according to news reports.

“This last hour is about me saying thank you. It is my love letter to you. I want to leave you all with the lessons that have been the anchor for my life and the ones that I hold most precious,” she said in the finale of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” dressed in an elegant peach sheath, diamonds bobbing brilliantly off her wrist and ears.
That, in marked contrast to the excesses of her show’s Monday and Tuesday broadcasts, which, under the umbrella name “Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular,” had featured wave after wave of celebrities making the pilgrimage to the United Center in Chicago to praise her. On Wednesday, she called the two-day walk-up to the finale a “love intervention on steroids for me.”
“You will not be getting a car or a treat,” she told her very last studio crowd pretty much right off the bat. That was smart, because there is an expectation on the part of “Oprah” audiences that they will receive new cars, or Vera Wang wedding gowns, or honeymoon packages if they’re lucky enough to be in the studio when Oprah is marking momentous occasions — such as the first episode of this last season, when she gave every audience member a trip to Australia.
Some in the audience for the finale had worked hard to get there, submitting essays on Oprah.com about why they should be among the lucky ones to snag tickets, according to news reports. The final episode was taped Tuesday.
On the other hand, they would get to tell their grandchildren that they were there the day the queen of daytime talk TV abdicated after 25 years to devote herself to her ratings-hungry Oprah Winfrey Network on cable. OWN, in fact, went dark at 4 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday; viewers instead saw a placeholder directing them to watch “The Oprah Winfrey Show” finale on their local broadcast station. (OWN is a venture with Silver Spring-based Discovery Communications.)
“Everybody has a calling, and your real job in life is to figure out what that is, and get about the job of doing it,” Oprah told viewers Wednesday.
“Don’t waste any more time,” she urged. “Start embracing the life that is calling you, and use your life to serve the world.”
During her hour-long master class on life, Oprah also addressed the culture of victimhood.
“Nobody but you is responsible for your life. It doesn’t matter what your mama did; it doesn’t matter what your daddy didn’t do. You are responsible for your life. . . .
“ ‘Jerry Maguire’ was just a movie — no one completes you,” she told her studio audience, which listened somberly.
She has been able to do the show for 25 years without missing a workday, she said, because of “my team and Jesus. Because nothing but the hand of God has made this possible for me.”
Wednesday’s finale enjoyed a huge promotional push. Ads ran on the season finale of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” and the season’s final performance episode of Fox’s “American Idol,” among other shows. The ads compared Oprah and her farewell to broadcast-news legend Walter Cronkite, late-night TV icon Johnny Carson and the series finale of “M*A*S*H,” which remains the most-watched TV broadcast in history in terms of percentage of the country’s population tuning in.
“I won’t say goodbye,” Oprah said Wednesday as the hour came to a close. “I’ll just say, ‘Until we meet again.’ To God be the glory.”
By “until we meet again,” she means January 2012, when OWN has said it will launch the prime-time show “Oprah’s Next Chapter,” on which Oprah is expected to be seen regularly, globe-trotting with celebrity pals — although OWN has been sketchy on the details.
But before that, in September, OWN is scheduled to start presenting reruns of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” which will be selected by Oprah and some of her famous friends. Oprah will appear in introductions to those episodes.

The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide to the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) the list of local contractors engaged by the commission to print ballot papers used in the presidential election.

The tribunal had, on Tuesday, granted the application of CPC seeking its order directing INEC to allow it unfettered access to ballot papers and other electoral materials in the custody of the electoral body used in the April presidential election.

Based on agreement reached by the principal counsels to the Presidential Election Petition at their meeting on Monday, and brought to the court on Tuesday, the electoral body was ordered to give the CPC and its agents unfettered access to the database and the election materials used for the April 16 presidential elections.

Ayo Salami, chairperson of the tribunal, on Tuesday, said CPC's application was granted in view of the agreement reached by all the parties in the matter.

The CPC filed a petition at the tribunal to challenge the result of the April presidential poll, alleging irregularities and non-complaince with the 2010 electoral act. The party is contesting the result of the election in about 20 states of the federation and are to call 151 witnesses to prove its case.

Joined as defendants in the suit are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), 1st defendant; chairman of INEC, Attahiru Jega (2nd defendant); winner of the election and Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan (3rd defendant); his deputy, Namadi Sambo (4th defendant); the Peoples Democratic Party (5th defendant) and the Resident Electoral Commissioners for the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory, (6th-42nd respondent).

The tribunal granted an order yesterday "directing the 1st, 2nd, and 4th -42nd respondents to provide to the applicant for its use for its petition, the list of local contractors engaged by INEC to print ballot papers used in the Presidential Election and copies of contract papers used in Presidential Election and copies of contract papers executed by INEC evidencing the award of the contracts to them."

Following the agreement reached by the lead counsel, the tribunal also gave an order directing the 1st, 2nd and 6th to 42nd respondents to seal all the Direct Data Capturing Machines (DCC Machines), ballot papers, and ballot boxes used in the Presidential Election held on the 16th day of April, 2011 so as to preserve same for forensic test in the course of the petition to be filed shortly.

Provide results and data base

It also granted an order directing the 1st and 2nd respondents to produce for the inspection of the applicant and permitting the applicant to take copies of the documents/materials/ballot papers used in the conduct of the Presidential Election held on Saturday, the 16th day of April, 2011, as shown out in the schedule to this Motion.

Furthermore, it granted an order "directing the 1st and 2nd respondents to allow access to the petitioner, her solicitors, her agents and her biometric experts access to Biometric Data base of all registered voters in Nigeria in the presence of the respondents for the purpose of cross checking the finger prints on the face of the ballot papers cast in the states, local governments, wards, polling units in respect of complaints in this petition and to compare them with finger prints, entries in the Biometric Database already in the custody of 1st respondent, for the purpose of making analysis for use in evidence before the tribunal."

Mr Salami granted an order directing INEC to provide the CPC a list of accredited local and international observers for the purpose of monitoring the presidential elections. The tribunal further granted an order directing INEC to provide to CPC, for its use for its petition, un-coded EXCEL application templates used in computer summation of the result for the presidential election used across the nation on the 16th April, 2011.

It also directed INEC to provide to the CPC all the thumb printed ballot papers in all the polling units used across the nation in the presidential election of the 16th April, 2011.

From the waterways to the highways, surviving the world's fastest growing megacity takes enterprise and drive, as this glimpse of the city shows
Filmmaker: Joe Loncraine

Lagos, Nigeria's financial capital, is one of the fastest growing megacities on earth. Every day thousands of people arrive in the biggest city in Africa to start a new life and forge a new, better future. Many come from outside Nigeria.

Jean and Christian, both teachers, are from Benin. They came to Lagos to seek their fortunes and live and work in one of the most famous slums in Africa, Makoko. Here they take us on a journey of their adopted city, showing us the spirit of enterprise and survival that its residents need to make a living.

A canoe or a motorbike can make a huge difference, while those with a generator or those scavaging the rubbish heaps all try to get by in this tough, vibrant city.

Street Life in Lagos can be seen from Tuesday, May 24, at the following times GMT: Tuesday: 2230; Wednesday: 0930; Thursday: 0330; Friday: 1630; Saturday: 2230; Sunday: 0930; Monday: 0330; Tuesday: 1630.

Watch Video here !

http://www.9jamovies.com/play.php?vid=1158

The Eliezer Test:

Eliezer devised a test in order to find the right wife for Isaac. As he stood at the central well in Abraham's birthplace with his men and ten camels laden with goods, he prayed to God:

"Let it be that the maiden to whom I shall say, 'Please tip over your jug so I may drink,' and who replies, 'Drink, and I will even water your camels,' her will You have designated for Your servant, for Isaac" (Genesis 24:14).

To his surprise, a young girl immediately came out and offered to draw water for him to drink, as well as water to fill the troughs for all his camels. Rebecca continued to draw water until all the camels were sated, proving her kind and generous nature and her suitability for entering Abraham's household.

The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. - Abraham speaking to his servant, Genesis 24:7
Text: Genesis 24:14, 34-67
Prop: a gold bracelet or a poster of camels
Summary: The story of how Rebekah became Isaac's wife. We learn to trust Jesus by trusting our parents when they make decisions for us.

Today I want to tell you the Bible story of Isaac and Rebekah. It is a love story of promises made and promises kept, a story of trust and patience, and a story of how Jesus works in your life in ways you may not realize. Sometimes your parents make decisions for you. If you go to buy clothes, they help you choose the right clothes to wear. If you need to be in bed at a certain time, they decide what time is best. You may not always agree with their decision, but they love you and try to do what is best for you. You show Jesus that you love him when you obey your parents. You learn to trust Jesus by trusting your parents when they make decisions for you. But what if your parents decided whom you would marry? Would you trust them for that? Today young men and women choose whom they will marry. A long time ago that was not how it was done. The parents would choose for them. That doesn't sound very romantic, does it?


A very long time ago, God made a promise to Abraham. God kept his promise by giving Abraham a son named Isaac. When Isaac was forty years old, Abraham decided it was time for Isaac to marry. Abraham kept Isaac at home and sent his oldest servant to find a wife for Isaac and bring her back. He wanted a wife for Isaac that knew the true God, that was from his own people. The servant left Hebron and traveled over 500 miles to Abraham's home city of Nahor. He took ten camels and everything he needed for the long journey. It probably took two months to get there. When he arrived it was late in the day. He stopped at a well just outside the city. He prayed and asked God to show him whom to choose. [Read Genesis 24:14.] 

Abraham's servant had not even finished praying when a beautiful young woman named Rebekah came to the well. Rebekah gave him water to drink after he asked. Then she offered to fill the trough with water for his camels. Whew! Rebekah was not only kind but also a hard worker because ten camels can drink a lot of water! God had prepared her heart for this day. She had no way of knowing that she was an answer to prayer. Then the servant gave her a gold nose ring and two gold arm bracelets for her kindness and asked for a place to stay the night. [Show children the gold bracelet. Explain that women wore nose rings instead of earrings and gold bands on their arms.] Rebekah ran home and got her brother Laban to come back with her to the well. Then they invited Abraham's servant home to meet her father Bethuel. They all sat down to eat and the servant told what happened and how God answered his prayer (see Genesis 24:34-49).

Rebekah listened as Abraham's servant explained he was on a mission to find a wife for his master's son, who was a wealthy man, blessed by God. He asked Rebekah's father and brother for permission for Isaac to marry Rebekah. By the way, Rebekah and Isaac had never even seen each other!* Bethuel and Laban said the thing proceedeth from the Lord and gave their approval. Then the servant gave Rebekah gold jewelry, silver jewelry, and expensive clothes; he also gave her brother and mother precious things. In those days it was a custom for the father of the groom to give presents to the bride's family. It took a lot of faith for both Rebekah and Isaac to trust their parents to make this decision. The next day Rebekah left to return with the servant and meet the man she would marry.

A few months later back in Hebron, Isaac was in the field at sunset spending some quiet time with God. He had waited patiently for nearly four months while the servant was gone. He must have been happy to see the caravan of camels coming home, hoping to meet his bride! Rebekah saw a man waiting across the field. She was so excited that she slid down off her camel. Somehow I think she knew it was Isaac even before she asked who it was. She covered her face with a veil so he would be surprised how pretty she was later on their wedding day. That is how God brought them together in an amazing way, even though they grew up miles apart. They fell in love and lived happily ever after.
This story has some similarities in how God works in our lives today. The descendant of Isaac was our Lord Jesus. God the Father sends the Holy Spirit, asking us to accept Jesus as Lord, and become the bride of Christ. When he finds us he asks us to leave behind our old life and come join him in a new life as a Christian. We have to decide if we will follow him or not. It is our choice.
Let's pray. Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me. Help me to trust my parents when they decide things for me. Help me to trust you more each day. Amen.
* Although Rebekah was a granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham's brother, she may have been close in age to Isaac because he was born when Abraham was 100 years old.

ok Folks If you need Eliezers Number or email address please inbox me lol  ! 

Low income earning families in Calabar, Cross River State now find it difficult to include bread in their menu following the rise in the price of the commodity.

Since November last year, the price of flour, sugar, salt, butter, vegetable oil, yeast, fire wood has remained on the rise with members of the Master Bakers and Caterers Association operating in the city saying they have found it difficult to break even.

Calabar:

"We decided to increase our prices a little owing to the high cost of bakery materials and other household items for bread production. Since the commencement of this year, price of flour has been increased three times. The worst part of it is that when manufacturers and distributors of these materials increase their prices, we master bakers are not consulted," chairman of the association in Calabar, John Madu said in an interview.

He revealed that between November and now, a bag of flour increased from N5,100to N5,500 and now N6,500. Sugar that sold for N6,000 per 50 kilogramme bag now goes for N12,000. He added that master bakers were wondering what they were going to do about this continuous increment in the price of materials for bread making.

Cost of production

According to him, last year, 400 pieces of fire wood cost N8,000; 200 pieces N4,000 but now the prices have doubled. "Because of this, the association met and agreed to review upward the prices of our products. While other state branches went on strike to protest the increment in price of materials, we in Cross River State decided to use the period to clean up our bakeries as directed by the Ministry of Health and NAFDAC," he added.

Besides, Mr Madu said bakery workers have been asking for increment in pay and better wages, a development that has caused production problems for bakers. Some bakeries have closed shops as a result. One of them is Superior Foods Ltd.

"Most bakers work with low income hence we buy flour and other materials from distributors at Etim Edem Motor Park. We cannot afford to buy 600 bags of flour from Dangote Flour and Flour Mills of Nigeria as fixed by them. Thus, we buy from distributors who patronise them," he said.

Bread consumers in Calabar said the increase in price has affected their consumption of bread.

"Everyday, I buy bread for my kids but since last week, I space the days I buy bread for them," a father, John Etim said and advised the state government to intervene before bread is removed from the dinning tables of low-income earners.

Benin:

In Benin city prices of Bread soared last week and into this week .This was supposedly due to a strike by bakers in the Region . In Bauchi we earlier carried out a story just after the elections on the rise of prices of Bread in the region some adjudged it as apt after the callous way residents meted out Jungle Killings on corpers and christians owing to the failure of their candidate General Buhari at the just concluded Presidential Polls ..

Photo by next

The National Assembly yesterday reversed its decision on the 2011 budget - criticised by the executive as high - and began considering amendments that will reduce total national budget by N600 billion and cut lawmakers’ allocation by more than 50 per cent.

The House of Representatives approved two swift readings on Tuesday while the Senate took one reading of a review sent by President Goodluck Jonathan the same day, proposing that federal spending be reduced from initially passed N4.97 trillion to N4.41 trillion.

If the final readings, expected today from chambers are given, the bulk of the budget slash will come from the National Assembly allocation, which the lawmakers arbitrarily moved during earlier appropriation from N112.24 billion to N232.74 billion - more than 100 per cent raise.

The sharp increment drew criticisms and the executive warned that the total budget, with about N1.9 trillion deficit, was not sustainable and needed a review.

In the proposed reduction, the National Assembly budget was reduced to N120 billion, a little above the original figure submitted by Mr Jonathan in November 2010.

Mr Jonathan’s amendment now comes as the legislature winds down its session, amid unresolved financial crisis rocking the House of Representatives over unpaid allowances and corruption charges against its leadership.

As of Tuesday, lawmakers speaking unofficially confirmed the House had not still sourced much-needed funds to clear members’ allowances owed after the released money was confiscated by a bank in lieu of unauthorised loan allegedly taken by the Speaker, Dimeji Bankole.

The loan, which makes it hard for the leadership of the House to pay the entitlements of members, is at the heart of restiveness among the lawmakers, some of whom have launched efforts to sanction Mr Bankole. The other leaders of the House have, however, rallied around the Speaker.

Eseme Oyibo, the spokesperson of the House, said this was done to ensure that the session ends without rancour.

With no bank willing to grant fresh loans, according to sources, one of the options remained for the House to speedily facilitate a compromise on the budget, from where the backlog could be cleared from subheads that received rolled-in allocation.

Final approval

Though obviously affected by the large reduction, the House read Mr Jonathan’s amendment twice on Tuesday and is expected to give a final approval today. The Senate took only the first reading, but is also expected to pass the amendment today for presidential assent before May 29.

“We will consider this tomorrow, 10am, after the committees looked into them,” Mr Bankole said after the second reading of the bill.

The new budget is expected to help deal with an overhanging deficit by trimming a perennially overbloated overhead and running cost. The oil benchmark, increased by the lawmakers from $65 per barrel to $75, is also to be reversed.

At several fora after the first budget was passed, the minister of finance, Olusegun Aganga, has warned that increasing the benchmark from $65 could hurt the economy should the oil price fall in the year, since the excess crude oil account was almost completely depleted.

In the new amendments, big budgetary heads like defence, police formation and commands, and the presidency, are to be reviewed downward, although with low margins compared to the National Assembly. Education received a reduction too from N311 billion to N304 billion.

Photo:3 Top nollywood Actresses Mercy Ini & Oge !

Asked whether she will quit acting after her wedding, the sultry actress answered in the affirmative, declaring that “I’m going to quit acting.” She disclosed however that she is planning to go into television and also, to turn a movie producer. The actress is getting married in a four-day event this August. The court wedding on the 25th, the traditional on the 26th, the white wedding on the 27th, and the thanksgiving on the 28th.
If this report is to be believed, it means another talented actress is forsaking her blossoming career after getting married. Hopefully she's quitting because it's what she wants and not because she's being forced to. Will you be sad to see her leave Nollywood ?

From her answers it looks like she wont QUIT !