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That use of the word "Myrtus" — which can be read as an allusion to Esther — toname a file inside the code is one of several murky clues that haveemerged as computer experts try to trace the origin and purpose of therogue Stuxnet program, which seeks out a specific kind of command modulefor industrial equipment.

There are many competing explanations for myrtus, which could simply signify myrtle, a plant important to manycultures in the region. But some security experts see the reference asan allusion to the Hebrew word for Esther, and as a warning in amounting technological and psychological battle as Israel and its alliestry to breach Iran's nuclear project. Others doubt the Israelis wereinvolved and say the word could have been inserted as deliberatemisinformation to implicate Israel.

Carol Newsom, an Old Testament scholar at Emory University, confirmed the linguistic connection,noting that Queen Esther's original name in Hebrew was Hadassah, whichis similar to the Hebrew word for myrtle. Perhaps, she said, "someonewas making a learned cross-linguistic wordplay."

"The Iranians are already paranoid about the fact that some of their scientists havedefected and several of their secret nuclear sites have been revealed,"one former intelligence official who still works on Iran issues saidrecently. "Whatever the origin and purpose of Stuxnet, it ramps up thepsychological pressure."

New U.S. sanctions.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration stepped up pressure against Iran's governmentWednesday, slapping financial and travel sanctions on eight Iranianofficials and accusing them of taking part in rampant human rightsabuses.

Under an executive order signed this week by President Barack Obama, the State and Treasury departments jointly announced thesanctions that target Iranians who "share responsibility for thesustained and severe violation of human rights in Iran," notably afterlast year's disputed presidential elections.

The move bars the eight Iranians from entering the United States, blocks any of their U.S.assets and prohibits Americans from doing business with them..

Additional material from The Associated Press.

TORONTO — Canada's justice minister says the federal government will appeal an Ontario court ruling that struck down key provisions in Canada's prostitution laws in a case that could set a precedent for the country if the provincial ruling is upheld.

Rob Nicholson said Wednesday prostitution harms individuals, and the government will appeal an Ontario Superior Court's order to decriminalize many aspects of prostitution earlier this week.

Prostitution itself is not illegal in Canada, but communicating for the purposes of prostitution, pimping and operating a brothel were considered criminal acts. An Ontario Superior Court judge said Tuesday these prostitution-related laws are unconstitutional and said laws set up to protect prostitutes actually harm them..

The Ontario court judgment is subject to a 30-day stay during which the law remains in place.

An official of the dreaded Lagos State Traffic Management Agency was forced to act in a tragic drama on Thursday. The setting of the drama is the Third Mainland Bridge while the playwright is an expatriate whose appearance suggested he was an Asian. Photo:Recent Unfortunate lastma official battered by Navy .

At the Obalende end of the bridge, some LASTMA officials were stopping and passing some vehicles. That was how the one in question waved the Asian – some people actually believed he was a Chinese – to stop. But as soon as the chap stopped, he produced a long knife from his car and challenged the traffic officer to move closer to him.

Perhaps because the traffic guy did not wear a knife-proof - or the kind of charm that Yorubas call okigbe – he decided to, borrowing a statement from Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman, hold a rapid dialogue with his legs. But as if it was a scene from a Chinese or an Indian film, the knife-wielding expatriate began to chase him, while he continued to run for dear life. What happened after? Honestly, one can’t say yet.

Huhuonline.com can disclose that thousands of residents of the Federal Capital Territory were wounded in Abuja as they scrambled for free bags of rice imported by the First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan to boost her husband’s campaign.

A highly-placed source said: “The Outreach Programme is designed to mobilize Nigerians, especially women, nationwide but it has backfired on the first day.“This is a challenge to us to go back to the drawing board to fine-tune the scheme.”

The Pictures below tells the story better.

John Dabiri, a 30-year-old Nigerian biophysicist and Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Bioengineering Division of Engineering and Applied Science with the California Institute of Technology has being named among 23 new Fellows of MacArthur foundation for 2010, with each receiving a $500,000 "genius" grant.

The funds will be provided as a "no strings attached" support for the next five years. The MacArthur fellowship offers an unusual level of independence without stipulations and reporting requirements and unprecedented freedom on how to use the fund, thereby allowing recipients to "reflect, create, and explore" to underscore the spirit of freedom intrinsic to creative endeavours. Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Adichie, was a 2008 recipient of the MacArthur grant.

His work

Mr Dabiri works on a wide range of fields, including theoretical fluid dynamics, evolutionary biology, and biomechanics to unravel the secrets of one of the earliest means of animal locomotion. His biography, according to the foundation, reveals that "he studies some of the simplest multicellular organisms, jellyfish, which propel themselves by contracting cells in their bell-shaped outer skin and generating jet forces in the tail end, with tentacles trailing behind..

"His research has invented a method that allows divers to use tiny reflective particles to visualize, with high speed and fine spatial resolution (the fluid dynamics of propulsion by jellyfish in their native habitats). The research is believed to have profound implications not only for understanding the evolution and biophysics of locomotion in jellyfish and other aquatic animals, but also for a host of distantly related questions and applications in fluid dynamics, from blood flow in the human heart to the design of wind power generators."

Mr Dabiri received a B.S.E. (2001) from Princeton University and an M.S. (2003) and Ph.D. (2005) from the California Institute of Technology, where he is currently an associate professor of aeronautics and bioengineering. His scientific articles have appeared in journals such as Nature, the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, the Journal of Experimental Biology, and PNAS.

Dr. Ayo Akinyelure, a chartered accountant, is aspiring to represent the people of Ondo Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly. In this interview, the Labour Party (LP) chieftain speaks about his ambition, lessons from past elections and politics of the Sunshine State. ESTHER BAKARE met him.

AS a chartered accountant, what informed your interest in politics?
As a matter of fact, I have succeeded in my career as a Chartered Accountant. Over the years, I have used the little I made from my practice to empower the people of my constituency and beyond. Moreover, when you have passion for something and if you have a vision that has not been fulfilled, you are not a complete person. As politicians and professionals, the passion and vision we have of developing our people cannot be fulfilled except we’re in power. So, that is what spurred me to go into politics.

How long have you been in politics?

I joined politics nine years ago in Ondo State. As a matter of fact, I am a progressive politician to the core. I

have been in politics in Lagos where I have also been President Olusegun Obasanjo who see elections were a do or die affair and gave instruction to his party men couldn’t have done better. Iwu was given instruction by the man who appointed him and he had to follow the bidding of his boss. We just pray President Goodluck Jonathan would see reasons why this country must move forward. Even if it is a saint that is appointed to be the chairman of INEC, he would only do the wish of he whoever appoints him.

So, we are still praying for a truly independent INEC that will be able to stand out to conduct elections that are free and fair that even if the chairman does not listen to the dictates of the president nobody can sack him. It is only independent INEC that can operate like a professional accountant in public practice.

Do you believe in the electoral reform?

Yes, absolutely. For 2011 elections to be free and fair the Justice Mohammad Uwais’ recommendations on the electoral reform must first be implemented and the right calibre of candidate be made to head INEC to conduct credible election.

Are you saying that Prof. Attahiru Jega is not the right person for the INEC chairman?

I am not saying he is not the right person, I only believe his appointment should be independent and not by the president who is also contesting because he will only listen to the dictates of the person who appointed him.

What do you think will be the fate of the Labour Party in Ondo State in the coming elections?

Labour Party is the largest political party in the state. There is no state without Labour leaders. We have started educating the people that it is not carrying placards that make them Labour leaders but their readiness to get to power. That is what our convention has sold to many labour leaders across the country, to support good representation in government. Mimiko is loved by the people, not only in Ondo state but across the globe.

You can see his landmark achievements within one year and I must state here that the popularity of the Labour Party does not revolve around him alone but around the implemented programmes of the party in the state. All his achievements are not done by him alone but by the party as a whole. The Labour Party has a dynamic and visionary governor who is working with young professionals and dedicated cabinet members who know what is good for our Sunshine state.

You mentioned that one of the visions of the LP is to clinch power at the Federal level. How possible is this for there seems not to be any concerted efforts from any of the opposition parties to wrest power from the ruling party?

Labour Party was only three months old when it seized power in Ondo State. It was like a dream to the PDP. They have all the instruments of power, the army, the police, money and political god-fathers across the country. But with God and the support of the masses we chased the PDP out of Ondo State.Yes, people will be wondering how a party that is controlling only one state out of 36 states will capture power at the federal. It is a gradual process, watch 2011 and you will see that LP will capture not less than seven states. That is how it will continue till we get to the federal level. Governor Mimiko’s achievements in less than two years is a testimonial.

In year 2007 you contested for the senate in Ondo Central District which you lost to the PDP candidate at the Appeal Court. You are aspiring to vie for the same position next year, what are your programmes for your people?

Basically, I have a 4-point programme tagged SEED”: Service to the people, Education, Enterprise and Development. In my private endeavour, I singularly got a licence to establish a private tertiary institution known as Allover polytechnic in Ogun state but I know this dream has not been fully manifested. By enterprise, I mean people should be able to go to universities and polytechnics, graduate to create jobs and not to be applicants.

That is my dream. Education for what? Education for responsibility, for self reliance and for job creation. When I graduated from YABATECH with an Upper Division in HND, I was already a chartered banker. When I could not get a job I decided to use the skills I had acquired as a professional accountant to create jobs for others. I took that bold step to rent a 2-room apartment for N40:00 in a shopping centre in Ogun State in 1985.

I started training students as chartered accountants, it is that 2-room apartment that metamorphosed into Allover Central Polytechnic today where I employed over 200 workers. Through this, I have been able to solve the problem of unemployment for those people. I believe when I get to the Senate I shall make a big difference.

One suspected member of a fleeing three-man robbery gang has been shot dead in Kano State by a police Corporal, Abba Hussaini.

Hussaini shot and killed the robber shortly after the gang attacked and killed a shopkeeper.

The gang was said to have invaded a shop, belonging to Tasiu Kura on Bello Dadago Road, Kano, during which they killed the shop keeper, identified as Saidu Salisu. The suspected robbers were said to have opened fire on the victim, after they ransacked his shop, but found no cash as expected.

The Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Gana, who confirmed the incident, disclosed that on the fateful day, the three robbers gained entry into the shop, met the Shop attendant performing ablution and demanded for cash.

According to Gana, the shop attendant told the bandits that the shop owner had earlier in the day collected and gone home with the day’s proceeds. Not satisfied, they dragged him into the shop, and ransacked all the drawers but failed to find any cash.

Apparently angry, one of the robbers shot and killed the shopkeeper at close range, before fleeing the scene in their get-away motorbikes.

Moments after the robbers fled, the police were immediately alerted, during which they promptly mounted Stop-and-Search road blocks within the vicinity and closed in on the robbers.

Gana explained that one of the police officers in the ‘Stop-and-Search’ squad, after accosting the robbers, demanded to search a bag, which one of them was holding.

When the robbers resisted a search, the policeman quickly smelt a rat.

Seeing the determination on the face of the policeman, the robbers decided to do something fast before they all sink.

One of the robbers attempted to bring out a gun and open fire, but unfortunately for him, the eagle eyed policeman, noticed the movement of his hand and instantly gunned him down. The pistol was recovered from the slain robber, while others fled.

Gana recalled that the gallant police officer, sometime in July recovered two pistols, while on a Stop-and-Search operation within the Kano metropolis, a feat that earned him a commendation letter from the Command for his gallantry.

The slain robber had been identified as Isah Sani of Rijiyar-lemo quarters, while Auwalu and Surajo, his partners in crime are presently at large.

NO leader, no matter how passionate, can develop a country, without successfully tackling corruption.

The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Justice Emmanuel Olayinka Ayoola, said this in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.

Fielding questions from newsmen shortly after the opening of the second edition of the National Conference of Anti-Corruption Committees in Nigerian Legislatures and Heads of Anti-Corruption Units in Government Establishments, he said that ICPC was poised more than ever to fight corruption in all ramifications in the country.

“We are starting with corruption because however passionate a leader is to develop our nation, to lead us to progress, to provide welfare, however passionate a leader maybe, if he doesn't tackle corruption he will fail,” the ICPC boss said.

Ayoola regretted that government has embarked on many beautiful programmes and invested huge sums of money in such programmes for the development of the country but they were destroyed by corruption.

According to him, the ICPC is mobilising other institutions including the media to fight corruption.
He said that the fight against corruption was not the responsibility of the commission alone, but the responsibility of all Nigerians.

But speaking on the trend in politics where many politicians defect from one party to the other, Ayoola said it was not a corrupt act for any politician to dump one political party for the other.
But such politicians, according to him, lack integrity.

The ICPC boss argued that defecting from one political party to another is a matter of individual choice and does not in any way amount to corruption.

Ayoola, however, said that ICPC was building a new culture whereby political parties would tell the electorate what they stand for.

He regretted that the ICPC or the electorate did not know what the political parties in the country stand for, maintaining that the current scenario does not augur well for a democratic setting.
When asked how many persons ICPC has prosecuted in Nasarawa State so far, the chairman said he could not give accurate.

He, however, disclosed that ICPC is currently investigating cases of corruption against a few government officials in the state.

Abuja — One of the key contenders for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential ticket, former military president Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has alleged attempts by unidentified persons to blackmail him and perhaps frustrate his bid for the presidency.

Making this revelation in a release signed by one of his aides and made available to LEADERSHIP SUNDAY, IBB described the attempted blackmail as not only wicked and ill-conceived but could have been the handiwork of politicians desperate to destroy him.

According to the release, the presidential aspirant was accused, through a GSM text message being circulated among Nigerians, of being behind a purported plan by Muslims to attack their Christian neighbours resident in the northern part of the country.

Excerpts of the release signed by the IBB campaign's director of press, Prince Kassim Afegbua, and entitled 'Count IBB out of any planned attack on Christians and Muslims', read: "Our attention has been drawn to a very damaging, spurious, untrue ill-motivated and orchestrated text messages being circulated by people who are desperate to blackmail our presidential aspirant Gen. IBB, linking him to a purported attempt by Muslims to attack Christians in the north.

"To all intents and purposes, this latest blackmail is not only wicked and ill-conceived, but further goes to show how desperate politicians could go to blackmail people. No matter the motive, it is conceived in bad taste and should be condemned in all its ramifications. Gen. IBB has been in the forefront of those crusaders who believe in religious harmony in the country. As a president, he was able to reopen bilateral relations with Israel which paved the way for our Christian brothers and sisters to go on Holy Pilgrimage. He neither discriminates against Christians nor does he engage in anything that tends to undermine the unity of the nation.

"For anybody for whatever motivation to link him with such dastardly intention of creating bad blood among Muslims and Christians is a clear-cut attempt to blackmail him to dim his soaring popularity in the build-up to the 2011 election. We abhor this ill-conceived intention in all its entirety. We condemn wholly the motive. We say tufiakwa to anyone who nurtures such devilish intention. Nigeria's secular status has come to stay and anyone who tries to undermine such recognition might just be inviting crisis to the country.

"We therefore call on all to disregard the ill-conceived text message and join hands with IBB in his quest to provide sound and purposeful leadership to the country through the ballot box. We call on everyone to be more vigilant in order to arrest this ugly situation and those behind the purported text message".

Gen. Babangida's chief campaigner Chief Raymond Dokpesi recently alleged plans by government agents to assassinate him, drawing a stern denial by the presidency. Only penultimate week, IBB publicly declared his intention to seek the PDP ticket in the 2011 presidential election.

THE widely acclaimed group of loyalists of former military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida who were known in his days in office as Babangida Boys, have joined the push of the influential figures moving to see the former military leader out of the 2011 presidential race.

Sources in the political circles disclosed at the weekend that the former military top brass who displayed their unflinching support for General Babangida while in office had reached out to their former boss and declared the need for him to serve as a bridge builder in the 2011 presidential race rather than being a loser.

It was gathered that while the former military governor of Kaduna State, Colonel Abubakar Umar, had written to Babangida, asking him to withdraw from the race, others had chosen different means to inform the Minna General to quit the race.

Sources also confirmed that the President of the Senate, Mr David Mark, had asked to be counted out of IBB’s political moves long ago. He is said to be of the belief that the time has come for IBB to play the role of a statesman, who could be consulted on issues rather than being an active participant that would hold an executive position.

It was further learnt that most of the acclaimed IBB Boys had distanced themselves from his repeated bid to return to Aso Rock because they believed that such a move would rake up old wounds.

A source close to a number of the generals who are known as IBB Boys said that with the manner in which Babangida left office in 1993, there would always be controversy whenever he attempted to regain the presidency.

“We cannot deceive ourselves, there was commotion leading to IBB’s stepping aside in 1993. Those who felt aggrieved by his actions leading to the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election would wish themselves dead rather than see IBB return to office. It is a potential issue that could further polarise the country,” a source who has been monitoring the exchanges between IBB and his former boys said.

The source said that former military officers who served under Babangida had not been enthusiastic about his possible return to office because of the larger effects such a development would have on the country.

Another source also said that rather than live the life of a statesman, Babangida had decided to throw himself into the race where younger figures like President Goodluck Jonathan and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu were already making waves.

“Many of us were also not happy that while a lot was expected from IBB during the crisis that engulfed the nation as a result of the prolonged illness of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, he remained in the dark and only declared interest in the presidency after Yar’Adua’s death.

“The period of Yar’Adua’s illness would have provided the best opportunity for Babangida to bounce back into positive reckoning of Nigerians when they would easily have forgotten his past errors. But because he was not seen as having played a stabilising role at that time, his past has continued to make the headlines,” the source said, adding that rather than being seen as one of those who stabilised the nation, IBB was mentioned as one of those who allegedly masterminded the secret return of President Yar’Adua to Nigeria on February 24, even when his health had not improved.

Sources said that while key former IBB Boys, including Senate President Mark, Senator Tunde Ogbeha and former military governor of Lagos State, Brigadier-General Raji Rasaki, had identified with President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2011 race, others who were not that visible politically had told Babangida to avoid being humiliated in the race.

“It would have been better for his political image if he was defeated by somebody like former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was his senior in the force. But for him to be defeated by younger elements, that would diminish his political standing and rubbish his ego. The well-known IBB would be demystified and that is not good for him, that is why many of his close associates are advising him to withdraw from the race,” a source close to many IBB Boys said.

It was gathered that many of his military loyalists were already advising IBB to utilise the opportunity of the consensus option by the North to disqualify himself from the race and then start playing the role of a statesman.

Another option said to have been suggested to IBB was that he could capitalise on the so-called ambiguity in the zoning formula of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to withdraw.

“When these guys were serving in the military, nobody talked of North or South. It remained a united Nigeria. But you can see that IBB is now reducing himself to fighting a sectional cause. It is painful to those you refer to as his boys,” a source said on Sunday.

However, General Babangida, has described the report as a campaign of calumny aimed at discrediting his image before Nigerians in the build up to the election.

Reacting through Prince Kasim Afegbua, the Director of Communications, IBB Campaign Organisation, the former military president said that it was far from the truth that his loyalists in the Army were mounting pressure on him to withdraw from the presidential race.

“There is nothing like that. We took a decision and we will pursue it to a logical conclusion. Why are they afraid of IBB?,” Afegbua said.

Meanwhile, 51 members of the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) in the country have warned General Babangida not to campaign in any of the Yoruba-speaking states, including part of Kwara and Kogi states, as he prepares for the 2011 presidential election.

Chairman, Kwara State chapter and National Executive member of the YCE, Senator Suleiman Salawu, disclosed this while speaking with newsmen in Ilorin, at the weekend.

According to him, General Babangida should forget the race, to Aso Rock for now because the people of Nigeria, particularly the Yoruba-speaking race would never forgive him for his role in the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election, the death of Dele Giwa, Chief MKO Abiola and other prominent people in the country during his rule as military president.

He said: “If Babangida wants to come to Yoruba-speaking states to campaign for his presidential ambition, then the only ticket that can enable him to come is to bring along Dele Giwa and Chief MKO Abiola alive.”

Senator Salawu, who is the national chairman of the Action Alliance (AA), also alleged that it was the period of the Babangida regime that the naira depreciated drastically.

He said it was a pity that the man, who allegedly devalued the Naira and encouraged corruption, would want to come back and rule the country again.

“What does he want again, he was there for eight years and could not save the country; all he did was to devalue our currency, while our economy suffered seriously. Corruption was everywhere, he should forget his ambition, we don’t want him,” he said.

The senator said that his party, AA, was solidly behind President Good-luck Jonathan in the 2011 presidential race.