Thursday 4 July 2013

Mubarak-era judge set to take over as Egypt's acting president

Egypt's president, Mohammed Morsi, who was in office for one year as the country's first democratically elected leader, is no longer in power according to the military -- and his whereabouts are unknown.  Tens of thousands turned out in Tahrir Square to celebrate by waving flags, dancing and shooting fireworks, as it was announced that the constitution has been suspended. NBC's Richard Engel reports.
An Egyptian constitutional court judge appointed by Hosni Mubarak - the strongman leader ousted by the Arab Spring uprising - was due to be sworn in as acting president on Thursday after the military overthrew the country’s first democratically elected head of state.
Adly Mansour, chairman of the Supreme Constitutional Court, was to take office for an unspecified transitional period. The army stressed it had no interest in power and would seek to hold early elections but it was unclear when they would occur.
The country’s constitution, which opponents of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi claimed was rewritten to favor his Muslim Brotherhood movement, was also suspended on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood confirmed that Morsi was under house arrest at the Republican Guard Club. Most members of presidential team have also been placed under house arrest.
On Monday, the military gave Morsi 48 hours to meet the demands of millions of protesters who had taken to the streets demanding his resignation and fresh elections. On Wednesday, as the deadline ran out, the military moved to depose him.
Armored vehicles, tanks and troops were deployed throughout the Egyptian capital, including near the presidential palace. The army seized the headquarters of the state television and the state-run newspaper, which reported that Morsi had been told he was no longer president.
Mansour, 68, was appointed to the court by Mubarak, who was forced out in 2011 after some three decades in power.
Ayman Mohyeldin, NBC News foreign correspondent, talks with Rachel Maddow live from Tahrir Square in Cairo about what happens now that President Morsi has been removed from power after only a year in office, and what makes this popular uprising in Egypt different from the one that saw the removal of Hosni Mubarak.
However, Mansour was elevated to the chief justice post by Morsi and will be sworn in by judges of his court, The Associated Press reported.
Ahead of being sworn in as interim president, Mansour took the oath of office as head of the constitutional court Thursday. He was so recently appointed by Morsi that this had not yet happened.
The army has taken control of state media and blacked out TV stations operated by the Muslim Brotherhood. Mohamed Saad Katatni, the head of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, was arrested.
The Brotherhood were left to cry foul after their victory in last year’s elections -- deemed to be free and fair -- was overturned by the military.
A “new era of repression and tyranny, of an impending authoritarian police state” had begun, the Brotherhood’s website said, with TV channels shut down, arrests of politicians and “many citizens killed as they demonstrated peacefully.”
Katatni's son Muaaz Saad Katatni denounced his father’s arrest. “Those who claim to defend freedoms and democracy, invited my father for dialogue in the afternoon … then arrested him in the evening,” he said, according to the website, adding “Welcome to the new era of freedoms!”
Mohamed Beltagy, member of the Freedom and Justice Party executive bureau, was quoted on the website as saying that they had tried to stay in power and negotiate a solution not in “defense of any particular person or group, but to defend the will of the people which is … not expressed in mutual crowd-massing but using the tools of democracy which we accepted and they rejected.”
He said Morsi's followers had not resorted to violence but “our leaders and youths were killed, our offices – and even our homes – stormed, ransacked, burned and totally destroyed – not to mention the insults and obscenities we had to suffer.”
“As electoral and constitutional legitimacy is rejected, a certain viewpoint is imposed on all, and guardianship is enforced over the people against their clearly expressed will,” Beltagy added.
In a statement, President Barack Obama said the United States supported “a set of core principles, including opposition to violence, protection of universal human rights, and reform that meets the legitimate aspirations of the people.”
The president is asking Egypt's military to quickly return full authority to their democratically elected civilian government. The White House is now on the spot because of the perception among Egypt's protesters that the U.S. overlooked president Mohammed Morsi's crackdown on democracy.  NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.
He added: “We are deeply concerned by the decision of the Egyptian Armed Forces to remove President Morsi and suspend the Egyptian constitution. I now call on the Egyptian military to move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible through an inclusive and transparent process, and to avoid any arbitrary arrests of President Morsi and his supporters.”
Early Thursday, it remained unclear whether the U.S. government would define the military’s decision to oust Morsi as a coup as this could affect the $1.5 billion in aid given to Egypt annually.
U.S. law bans military or financial assistance “to the government of any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup or decree.”
Obama said in his statement that he had “directed the relevant departments and agencies to review the implications under U.S. law for our assistance to the government of Egypt.”
“No transition to democracy comes without difficulty, but in the end it must stay true to the will of the people,” he added. “An honest, capable and representative government is what ordinary Egyptians seek and what they deserve.”
The army insisted it had not carried out a coup, but had acted on the will of the people to clear the way for a new leadership.
Rampant crime, a crumbling economy and a revolution hijacked by Islamic fundamentalists all contributed to the country's unrest, prompting calls for change by many in Egypt, including those who had voted for Mohammed Morsi. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.
However, a statement from Morsi’s office’s Twitter account quoted the deposed president as saying the military’s measures “represent a full coup categorically rejected by all the free men of our nation.”
Little has emerged about Mansour's background.
Mohammed Hamed El Gamal, the former head of the State Council judicial body, in a statement to Al Shabab, an offshoot of state-run newspaper Al Ahram, said Mansoour was a “fair man” with allegiances only to “the constitution and the law.”
“I am certain that he will respect the will of the Egyptian people and legal and constitutional legitimacy … He will be cooperative, understanding and execute the will of the people as he has always done,” Gamal said, according to a translation on the Muftah.org website.
Mansour studied law at Cairo University, graduating in 1967. He also studied in Paris and was a legal adviser to the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Trade from 1983 to 1990, Muftah.org said. He became a judge in 1984.
Mansour became deputy head of the constitutional court in 1992, the BBC said. He was picked by Morsi to become chief justice and this was confirmed by the constitutional court's general assembly on May 19.

Wednesday 3 July 2013

ASUU begins nationwide strike

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday Monday July 1st commenced indefinite nationwide strike. ASUU national president Dr Nasir Isa Fagge told newsmen yesterday that they are embarking on the indefinite strike because 'The Federal Government reneged in the Memorandum of Understanding MoU signed with ASUU in 2009 to pay lecturers their earn allowance.'
"The strike starts today (Monday) and it is going to last for as long as the Federal Government wants it. The Federal Government has refused to implement some of the issues contained in a 2009 agreement it had with us. What we are demanding as the earned allowance is not more than N12, 500 per person, yet government is saying it cannot afford such." Fagge said
According to Fagge, the Federal Government, in 2009, promised to pay lecturers N12,500 per month as earn allowance but never did. The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, are also on strike

OJB responds to Juliet Ibrahim's query on raising $100k for kidney transplant

Last week, Ghanaian actress Juliet Ibrahim posted a message on her instagram page saying kidney transplant does not cost more than $50k and wondered why people raising funds for OJB were requesting for $100, 000. Well, OJB has responded to that.

The ailing music producer and singer told Encomium mag...
"The mistake she's making is that it depends on the hospital you are going to in India. She says she runs a foundation, they might give her a rebate. The procedure itself is $55, 000. When you take out $55, 000, you are left with $45, 000. What about the running cost of the procedure? You don't go to India only to come back and start asking for help again. At least, I need some money to maintain myself for the next one year. So when you factor in all these costs, add air tickets and lodging, you will appreciate what we are talking about.

247 comments:

1 – 200 of 247   Newer›   Newest»
staff said...
can you imagine? he's factoring money for flexing into his "hospital bill"
Alexies said...
Is it dt his family cannot raise d rest of d money, even if dey have to sell stuffs? Oda dan allow him suffer like dis
Sexily Endowed said...
He's rite but common guys, dnt take any of these too personal, she only said wat she knows well of, afterall Ojb u didn't say u needed money for maintenance, u said kidney transplant so dnt blame her much. Oya make una go sleep, M̶̲̅ε̲̣ wan sleep joor.

Update on Okiki, the child born without 50% of her skull

Update on Okiki, the child born without 50% of her skull

On May 13, 2010, a baby girl; Okiki(Jesu) was born to the Olawuyi’s in Ibadan, oyo state, Nigeria, with a rare medical condition subsequently diagnosed as ‘Congenital Cranial Deficiency’. In other words, she was delivered with at least 50% of her skull unformed. For the Olawuyi’s, that day marked the beginning of a 3year struggle against stigmatization, discrimination & near hopelessness. 

  
After rejections from several hospitals around the world, renowned neurosurgeon at the Johns Hopkins Medical International hospital, Baltimore, Maryland; Dr. Ben Carson agreed to lead a team of surgeons in performing a skull reconstruction surgery on 3 year old Okiki. After a review of her case history, the tentative cost of Okiki’s surgery was put at US$234,000 (Two hundred and thirty four thousand United States dollars). On receiving this estimate, GIPLC reached out to her local network of donors and phenomenally raised this sum of money in approximately 72hours.

3 year old Okiki and her parents under stewardship of Coordinator and Project Director of GIPLC journeyed to the US on May 4th 2013 to undergo her skull reconstruction surgery which was scheduled for the 22nd of May 2013 at the Johns Hopkins Medical International. However, complications have occurred following her over 14 hour’s initial surgery, as a result of inconsistencies in her medical history, in addition to the fact that it was a maiden attempt in paediatric neurosurgery. This has led to a further accumulation of medical bills totalling over US$500,000 (Five hundred thousand United States dollars), a figure that increases with each passing day Okiki spends at Johns Hopkins. 
Prior to the complications which have arisen, what made a determination of the full cost of Okiki’s surgery difficult is that in modern times, it is an extremely rare (perhaps singular) medical condition with no precedence to draw indicators from. This latter fact also means that it is equally difficult to tell what other medical complications may arise; just like the fluids that were retained in her cranial cavity has posed an unforeseen challenge and may have led to a fatal infection.
As Okiki may not be released from hospital until all outstanding bills have been paid on one hand, and as we and her parents are desirous of her condition being fully remedied before she does leave the hospital on the other, we would like to appeal to the global public to support our cause in ensuring that Okiki gets a full chance at life.
Your donations go directly to Okiki’s account with Johns Hopkins Medical International.
We thank you for your generosity.
GIPLC
For more info call GIPLC 08089693240, 08163183797, 08085101664
NOTE; The over 7 billion people that inhabit the earth, okiki is the first known patient to undergo such a treatment and still be alive, for her condition, on that scale.

The Global Initiative for Peace Love & Care (GIPLC) is a charitable organisation based in Abuja, Nigeria that works with orphans & vulnerable children aged 0-9 years. Over the last 7yrs, GIPLC in partnership with a broad network of supporters has raised the equivalent of US$2M through local fundraising initiatives toward increasing access to education, nutrition, health, water, hygiene/sanitation for over 4000 Nigerian children.

Ethiopian lawyers to sue BBA Housemate, Betty, for having sex in public

Some lawyers in Ethiopia are gearing up to sue BBA The Chase Housemate, Betty Aberra, for having sex in public. Betty had sex with fellow Housemate, Bolt from Sierre Leon, just three days after entering the BBA House.

According to a local radio show in Ethiopia called Ethiopikalink, if Betty is convicted, she could face up to six years in prison as it is an offense to have sex in public in the country. (Well, she had sex on a bed, in a room...Hehe)
 
The lawsuit is not the only thing Betty is facing since leaving the BBA House, she's also facing nationwide condemnation from groups who have asked the media and companies to boycott her.

Islamic group wants separate camps for male and female corps members

The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) has called on the management of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to stop mixing males and females in the National Youth Service Scheme physical exercise at orientation camps as it violates Islamic tenets and offends the sensibilities of Muslims.
This JNI Secretary General, Dr. Khalid Abubakar, said this at the end of a peace and unity conference for Muslim scholars in Kaduna State.
Abubakar called on the NYSC to respect the decency and chastity of female corps members during physical exercises and other activities at the orientation camps, and provide alternative camps for female Muslim corps members. (Nigerian Telegraph)
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Print

Print Friendly and PDF