Ukraine Prime Minister says "We Won't Give even a Centimeter of land to Russia"

KIEV –- Ukraine’s newly appointed prime minister vowed on Saturday to not give up “a centimeter” of land to Moscow, as dueling demonstrations turned violent in Crimea and Russian troops tighten their grip on the peninsula.Meanwhile, separatists stormed the regional government headquarters in the eastern city of Lugansk, in the latest sign that unrest is spreading.

"This is our land. Our fathers and grandfathers have spilled their blood for this land,” Arseniy Yatseniuk told thousands of Ukrainians who had gathered at the monument to the nation’s most famous poet Taras Shevchenko on Sunday, commemorating the 200th anniversary of his birth.

“We will not give a centimeter of it. Russia and its president should know that." Continue...

Dangote shares timeless business principle

The richest man in Africa and 23rd in the world, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has shared his timeless business principle. It is a principle he learnt from his grandfather, which has helped grow his business and make him the richest black man on earth with an estimated net worth of $25 billion as of March 2014. continue...

MTN Night Browsing Plan N2500(4.5GB) Now Works 24 Hours On PC

MTN night plan seems to be the best data plan to opt for if you wish to browse using your PC or SmartPhones

The MTN Night plan which gives 3GB of data plus a bonus data of 1.5GB goes for only 2500 Naira but note how it works because you can only use 1.5GB data bonus in the day and the bonus will be the first to be used up before the original 3GB plan which will now ONLY work in the night from 9PM to 6AM. Read more....

With BMW's First Electric Car, No More "Text Me When You Get There"

AUSTIN, Texas — I have news for you: Electric cars can do donuts. In a recent test drive inside BMW's new i3 electric car, we tested this theory in a small Austin parking lot. To be fair, we never truly "spun" around, but that's only because I was nervous about breaking a law and the driver cautiously held back.

The electric car, a small four-door, five-seater that gets 80 miles to a charge, is finally coming to the United States early this year — and it already has at least one nifty digital integration that could help make this sporty car more attractive to families. It's designed to help you keep track of, find and communicate with family members wherever they are. Life360, the family locator app that set up our test drive, now has dashboard-level integration with the new BMW i3, along with iPhone and Android handsets.

South Africa Suffers Widespread Blackouts

Blackouts started rolling across parts of South Africa on Thursday after a week's worth of rain soaked the coal supply of the country's state-run power company, making it too wet to burn.

The problem is familiar to South Africans, and it has the potential to be much more than a simple annoyance. Eskom, which supplies 95% of the nation's electricity, declared its third energy emergency in the last two weeks on Thursday, but this is the first time in six years the country will see rolling blackouts. Continue...

Who Really Suffers When You Don't Share Your Ideas at Work ?

Worried that someone at work might be stealing your good ideas? Relax. It doesn't happen as often as you think.

A study in the current issue of the Academy of Management Journal discovered employees have nothing to gain from hiding their insights from co-workers, and just end up hurting themselves by doing so. The study's authors said employees should reconsider and be careful about hiding knowledge from their peers, because what goes around comes around.

"More specifically, employees who intentionally hide more knowledge seem bound to receive such selfish behavior in return from their co-workers, which will ultimately hurt them and decrease their creativity," the researchers wrote in the study. Continue...

Use presidential powers to stop killing of innocent citizens— Sultan urges Jonathan

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to use presidential powers to stop the killing of innocent prople in North East and Benue.

Abubakar spoke in Sokoto on Saturday when Jonathan paid him a courtesy visit.

“Human life is sacred. I always express sadness over the insurgency in North East and the most worrisome of it is the killing of innocent school children in Yobe.

“This is the height of madness of the insurgency and the killing must be stopped immediately’’, the Sultan said.

He called on Jonathan to do everything possible to bring all political and religious leaders and all the ethnic nationalities together to tackle the insurgency.

The Sultan stressed that politics should not be played with the lives of Nigerians.

Abubakar appealed to leaders to be pious, honest and fair to all.

The monarch contended that 2015 was an issue that bothering all Nigerians.

“There should be atmosphere conducive for elections and there must be justice in whatever we do’’, he said.

Abubakar stated that the visit of the President would strengthen the unity of Nigeria.

Culled from Vanguard News

APC angrily sacked the Consultant Who Invited Dr. Oby Ezekwesili To their Summit

The All Progressive Congress (APC) angered by the speech from one of their guest speakers, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, has sacked the consultant that invited the former minister.

Ezekwesili in her controversial speech, said that APC's ethics and conducted do not represent the Change they claim to bring to Nigeria. This speech rattled and embarrassed the party's leadership and members as many of them left the venue in protest.

Later in the day, the Party leadership reminded their members of their ban on making public statement without clearance. A similar warning was handed over to Maj Gen Buhari in October, 2013, stopping him from making any public statement about his interest in running for the 2015 Presidential election.  Things to know about APC.........Read Below

Miracle Machine - Device That Turns Water To Wine!!!

Of course, there is an old comic story about a Miracle Machine but that is fictitious. However, don't be surprised that it now exist. This time it is a wine-making device. The device helps you create your own wine at home in only a couple of days. All you need is the gadget and a smartphone. Simply power up the Miracle Machine's iPhone app and select the type and style of wine you'd like to make.

The app then tells you which ingredients to put into the wine-making device and connects to it via Bluetooth. The app monitors the progress of your wine as it matures, and in three days or so, your wine should be ready for consumption. For example, you could choose to create a Cabernet Sauvignon with a "lively" character, and the app will generate your recipe.

The ingredients won't be hard to find once the creators behind the project launch their planned wine-making kits, which will contain the grape concentrate, yeast and other ingredients needed for a particular type of wine. Continue...

LG G2 Ranks #1 On Top 10 Smartphones

With all the much noise of Samsung and Apple devices, one will expect that either of the devices will rank number one on the list of top smartphones. However, with the review found on toptenreviews.com, it appears not so. The site rates smartphones based on different things, design, camera, battery life, internal specs and features.

It is quite interesting to see that LG G2 actually ranks #1 in the top ten smartphone review. The phone ranks the highest in features which include: 4G LTE, Tethering / Wi-Fi Hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, Gyroscope, Compass, Accelerometer, Near-Field Communication, Infrared Blaster, and FM Radio. Continue....

Samsung accounts for 55% of web traffic on Android devices

According to a report by Chitika, more than one out of two people browsing the web in North America on an Android device do so on a Samsung. This report also highlighted that HTC and Motorola usage share declined.

 

Based on web usage data, mobile ad network Chitika says Samsung accounts for 55 percent of web traffic on Android devices in the U.S. and Canada; a jump of 8 percent since the last such study in July 2013. HTC, which is hoping for a hit with its new HTC One later this month, lost 3.5 percent share and Motorola followed by losing 2.5 percent of its share since last July.

Microsoft Chair, Bill Gates Made Forbes Most Richest Again

Earlier this week forbes released an update on the list of the richest perons in the world. Topping this list is the chairman of Microsoft, Bill Gates with a net worth of $76 B. It is said that the Microsoft company is one of his sources of wealth. However, it is also said that he is a self made man.

 

Other Technology giants that made the first 25 include; Larry Ellison of Oracle with net worth $48 B ranked 5th, Larry Page of Google with net worth of $32.3 B ranked 17th, Jeff Bezos of Amazon net worth of $32 B ranked 18th, and following closely is Sergey Brin of Google with net worth of $31.8 B while the 21st is Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook with $28.5 B.

Facebook Messenger Arrives on Windows Phones

Facebook Messenger is now available on the Windows OS. Facebook Messenger for Windows Phone lets you send stickers and photos as well as share your location in your messages, and group messaging is also supported. Not all features are there yet, though; for example, voice messaging is not supported in this release.

Some of these features are already built into the Windows Phone platform, but with this release, Microsoft will replace that functionality with the Facebook Messenger app. We're likely to see those changes in the upcoming Windows Phone 8.1 update, which should be arriving in April 2014.

Anambra State Gov Peter Obi to give his 8-yr score card today

AS part of preparations for his hand over of power to the incoming administration in Anambra State on March 17, 2014, Governor Peter Obi will today in Awka present his score card for his eight years in office.

Termed “End of Tenure Report” to the people of Anambra State, the ceremony will take place at the Women Development Center in Awka.

The event, which will be on a live broadcast on Silverbird and AIT television from 10.30am, will be chaired by Chief Emeka Anyaoku as other Nigerians from all walks of life are expected to grace the occasion. Cuts in....

Anambra govt shuts down ‘babies’ home’ over alleged child trafficking

Anambra State Ministry of Women Affairs has closed down Umunna Street Motherless Babies’ Home, Onitsha in Onitsha South Local Government Area of the state for alleged involvement in the use of the home as transit point for child trafficking.

The Director of Child Development in the state Ministry of Women Affairs, Mr Emeka Ejide, told newsmen at the Home, while vacating about 14 motherless children from the home to Red Cross Motherless Babies Home also in Onitsha that the ministry would equally come back with the Department of Security Services, DSS to padlock and seal the home completely till further notice. Continue...

How Lagos Students escaped death after inhaling poisonous gas

Miss Omolade Ogungbamigbe, one of the 13 students of Ogba Junior Grammar School, Ojodu Local Council Development Area, LCDA, yesterday recounted how she and her mates escaped death after they inhaled poisonous fumes in their school.

The parents of the 13 pupils  however asked the state government to conduct a thorough investigation to detect the source of the emission and to forestall future discharge of the poisonous fumes. Cuts in...

Mobile money awareness still low in Nigeria –Report

A new survey by Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access has revealed that awareness and usage of mobile money in Nigeria still remains low.

 According to the study made available to our correspondnet, as of November 2013, only 12 per cent of Nigerians aged 15 and older were aware of mobile money, and less than one per cent of them used mobile money.

The study maintained “Mobile money awareness and usage was slightly higher in ‘Cash-less Phase II states (Abia, Anambra, Kano, Ogun and Rivers states, and the Federal Capital Territory).” Continue....

IMF predicts growth for Nigeria’s economy

Economic growth in Nigeria will accelerate this year, driven by sectors outside its dominant energy industry, while inflation will continue its downward path, the International Monetary Fund said on Friday.

The economy is set to grow 7.3 per cent this year, up from 6.4 per cent in 2013, the IMF said, a more optimistic outlook than the Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s projection for 6.75 per cent growth. Cuts in...

DR Congo warlord Germain Katanga found guilty at ICC

The International Criminal Court has found Congo militia leader Germain Katanga guilty of war crimes but acquitted him of sexual offences.

He was found guilty of complicity in the 2003 massacre of villagers in the gold-rich Ituri province of north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

He becomes just the second person to be convicted by the court since it was set up in The Hague in 2002.

He would have been the first convicted of sexual crimes. Continue...

Facebook's WhatsApp purchase challenged by Privacy Groups

Facebook's purchase of mobile messaging service WhatsApp has been opposed by privacy groups.

Mark Zuckerberg's firm is planning to buy the company for around £11bn.

Opponents want US regulators to stop the deal until Facebook provides more information on what it plans to do with the personal data of WhatsApp's users.

But Facebook said it will operate as a separate company and honour existing privacy arrangements, which include not collecting user data for advertising. Cuts in...

Winners emerge for 10 power generation firms

Top bidders for the 10 Niger Delta Power Holding Company of Nigeria electricity generation firms emerged on Friday as the Federal Government opened the financial bids for the power plants.

Investors whose bids were above the reserved price for each of the companies were announced at the bid opening ceremony, which was chaired by the Governor of Benue State, Mr. Gabriel Suswam, in Abuja.

The National Council on Privatisation and the governing board of the NDPHC had approved 42 pre-qualified bidders out of 66 bidding consortia for the 80 per cent equity in the 10 power generation companies. Continue....

HP releases another cheap Android tablet

HP has quietly announced a new tablet.Meet the HP 8. It’s a rather mundane tablet with a ho-hum screen and above par specs. It’s nothing special. But it’s cheap and cheap sells.

The HP 8 employs a 7.85-inch screen with a 1,024 x 768 resolution, which as Engadget points out, is a few pixels less than what’s found in competitor’s tablets. Inside, there is a quad-core chip, 1GB of RAM, and a rather small 3,800mAh battery.

HP is sticking to the smaller tablet size. The company launched the lackluster HP Slate 7 last year. It was garbage. But it was also cheap and likely allowed HP to get into the tablet game on the cheap. The HP 8 is more of the same in an updated package. HP likely doesn’t expect this to increase the company’s tablet marketshare, but rather test the waters while remaining active in this important market.

The HP 8 costs $170. At that price, it competes with the original (and dated) Amazon Kindle Fire and budget Samsung devices. It’s a smart move by HP.

It might be an uninspired tablet I’m digging the Hewlett-Packard branding under the screen, though. Classy and fresh.

Anambra tribunal strikes out parts of Ngige’s petition

THE Anambra State governorship election petition tribunal sitting in Awka yesterday agreed with Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, council to the governor –elect, Chief Willie Obiano of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA that many paragraphs in the petition filed by Senator Chris Ngige, the governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, in last year’s election were not issues to be determined by the election petition tribunal. cuts in...

This Woman Invented a Way to Run 30 Lab Tests on Only One Drop of Blood

Phlebotomy. Even the word sounds archaic—and that’s nothing compared to the slow, expensive, and inefficient reality of drawing blood and having it tested. As a college sophomore, Elizabeth Holmes envisioned a way to reinvent old-fashioned phlebotomy and, in the process, usher in an era of comprehensive superfast diagnosis and preventive medicine. 

That was a decade ago. Holmes, now 30, dropped out of Stanford and founded a company called Theranos with her tuition money. Last fall it finally introduced its radical blood-testing service in a Walgreens pharmacy near the company headquarters in Palo Alto, California. (The plan is to roll out testing centers nationwide.) Instead of vials of blood—one for every test needed—Theranos requires only a pinprick and a drop of blood. With that they can perform hundreds of tests, from standard cholesterol checks to sophisticated genetic analyses. Continue...

Google’s new Chromecast device that slings content from all sorts of devices to your TV

At an event where everyone was expecting a new Android tablet ( and got one) Google announced something far more interesting and important: The Chromecast, a small stick that jacks into the back of your television via HDMI and allows you to sling content via Wi-Fi from your phone, tablet or computer to the big screen. It costs $35, and comes with three months of free Netflix (even for existing subscribers), which means it effectively costs $11 plus shipping.* On paper at least, it’s the best device Google has ever announced.

Chromecast is delightfully cross-platform. It works with Android and iOS phones and tablets, Chromebooks, and the Chrome browser for Mac and Windows. The original device controls playback–so if you want to turn up the volume on your TV, simply turn up the volume on your phone. Any program that uses the Googlecast SDK can send content–Google specifically mentioned Netflix and YouTube, and says Pandora is on the way. The Chrome browser itself can also sling content via “Chrome tab projection.” cuts in...

NOKIA finally launches 3 new Android-powered smartphones

Although Nokia will soon be acquired by Microsoft, the company announced a triad of Android-powered smartphones Monday(24/02/2014) at the Mobil World Congress 2014.

Nokia's new phones, the Nokia X, Nokia X+ and the Nokia XL are powered by Qualcomm's 1GHz Snapdragon dual core processor, are Dual SIM and feature a Lumia-style design with a myriad of color choices.

The operating system of the phones is a modified version of Android's Jelly Bean, and the home screen looks similar to Windows Phone. The devices will not have access to Google's Play store but instead third-party app stores and Nokia's app store of its own. Continue...

Find your lost Keys with Nokia’s Tiny Trackers Scream

A colorful new accessory from Nokia will help you keep your modern-day treasures close at hand.Treasure Tags are square, matchbox-sized bits of plastic you can attach to anything you don’t want to be without, things like bags, wallets, keys, and purses. Each Tag pairs to your Nokia Lumia smartphone via NFC or Bluetooth. Once linked, both the phone and the Tag will emit loud alarms if either of them moves out of range of the other–typically about 40 meters.

Asia’s Richest Man Invests Millions in Fake Egg Startup

On one level, it’s a picture of a guy making scrambled eggs. But it provides a window onto a much bigger story.

In the photo above, Li Ka-Shing — perhaps the richest man in Asia — isn’t scrambling real eggs. He’s scrambling synthetic eggs produced by a Silicon Valley startup called Hampton Creek, and that’s Hampton Creek CEO Josh Tetick standing beside him. Ka-Shing, you see, just led a $23 million investment round in Hampton Creek as the company plans a major expansion into the Asian market. Continue...

Google Acquired Another Company To Battle Ad Fraud

Just about 24 hours after Facebook got into a deal with WhatsApp, Google announced its purchased spider.io, a 3-year-old company that will provide ad fraud-fighting technology to the search giant.

"Our immediate priority is to include their fraud detection technology in our video and display ads products, where they will complement our existing efforts," Neal Mohan, vice president of display advertising at Google, wrote in a blog post. Mohan added that Google hoped to improve its ad metrics over time to give advertisers a clearer assessment of how their campaigns are doing.

Google didn't disclose terms of the deal. Given Spider.io's size — the company has just seven employees — it's more of an aqui-hire.

Spider.io, which is based in London, was founded in 2010 by Douglas de Jager, who had previously cofounded another company called Byteplay, which was acquired by Zoopla. Spider.io made a name for itself in March 2013 when it identified a botnet called Chameleon that it claimed cost advertisers $6 million in revenues. Such botnets work by simulating clicks. Advertisers, who think the clicks are real, are charged anyway.

Pope to appoint new cardinals in Rome

Pope Francis is due to appoint 19 new cardinals at a ceremony in Rome – the first such appointments of his papacy.

Cardinals are the most senior Roman Catholic clergymen below the pontiff.Correspondents says the inclusion of prelates from places like Haiti and Burkina Faso reflects the Argentine Pope’s commitment to the poor.

The new cardinals will receive the traditional red hat and robes at a formal ceremony known as a consistory.

Sixteen of the new appointees are under 80, making them eligible to enter a conclave to elect the Pope’s successor. cuts in...

Worshippers battle over signatories to church’s bank account

Anglican Church leaders in the Diocese of Niger Delta North and foundation members of the Saint Matthew’s Anglican Church, Nkpogwu Deanery, Rivers State, have locked horns over who should be signatories to the church’s bank account.

The leaders of the church had frowned on a situation where only foundation members were signatories to St. Matterw’s bank account. Their argument was that the vicar of the church must be a signatory.

The issue escalated after a new vicar, Ven. Chiemela Samuel, assumed duty at the church and was not allowed to  be a signatory to the church’s bank account.

The leaders subsequently took on the foundation members, which led to a crisis in the church.

The crisis, however, took a fresh turn when the foundation members openly challenged the leaders at a peace meeting and embarked on a spontaneous protest outside the church premises. Continue...

Godwin Emefiele,Zenith Bank GMD Appointed As New CBN Governor

Following the controversial suspension of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria,the federal government has fowarded the name of Zenith Bank Group managing director (GMD),Mr.Godwin Emefiele as the new CBN governor to the senate.

The profile of Godwin Emefiele on Zenith Bank website shows he came the chief executive officer of Zenith Bank in August 2010. Until then he was the Deputy Managing Director of the bank, having been appointed into that position in 2001. Emefiele has been on the bank’s management team since inception and has held various management positions in the bank, including serving as the Bank’s Executive Director in charge of Corporate Banking, Treasury, Financial Control and Strategic Planning. cuts in...

Jonathan suspends Sanusi as CBN gov

President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday suspended Mallam  Lamido Sanusi as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. The suspension order was contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati.

Abati said Jonathan had found out that Sanusi’s tenure as the CBN governor has been characterised by acts of financial recklessness and misconduct which are inconsistent with his administration’s vision.

He named a Deputy Governor of the CBN, Dr. Sarah Alade, as the acting governor. He said Alade would remain in charge until the conclusion of ongoing investigations into breaches of enabling laws, due process and mandate of  the CBN. Conitnue....

Facebook buys WhatsApp for $19 billion

The balance of power in the mobile messaging space is about to shift in a big way -- Facebook has just announced plans to acquire WhatsApp for the equivalent of $19 billion in cash and stock. The deal will see WhatsApp run semi-independently, much like Instagram. The chat service will maintain its brand and existing offices, but it will take advantage of Facebook's "expertise, resources and scale." It's safe to say that the combined entity will have a lot of clout should the deal close later this year. WhatsApp already has over 450 million active users every month; combine that with Facebook Messenger and competitors like Line suddenly appear tiny by comparison. cuts in....

2nd Niger Bridge to take off on 5th of March 2014 --- Goodluck Jonathan

Work on the proposed N100 billion Second Niger Bridge is to commence next month.

Already, ministry officials said that preparations were in top gear for President Goodluck Jonathan to perform the ground-breaking ceremony on March 15, for work by the concessionaire, Messrs Julius Berger and AIIM to start. Continue...

Nigerian Breweries reveal new Star Lite

Nigerians woke up to a surprise announcement on Monday, February 10, 2014 as Nigerian Breweries’ the nation’s leading brewer, introduced a new crispy, truly refreshing and less filling beer into the market. 

The new brand called STAR LITE, a crisp and ice cold refreshing lager beer was unveiled at a trade event where media partners and key distributors who had no idea of the big announcement were hosted to an exclusive event at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja. Continue...

President Jonathan gives N50million to Nigerian Supporters Club

President Jonathan this morning announced the release of N50million to members of the Nigerian Football Supporters Club as they prepare to go cheer the National team in the forthcoming Brazil World Cup tournament which starts in June.

 

In a ceremony where he was decorated as the Grand Patron of the Nigerian Football Supporters Club, President Jonathan said his administration will not relent in giving the support required to sports men and women to excel in all international football competitions, this by extension includes the Nigerian football supporters club. He also promised to seek the assistance of private organizations to help sponsor and bring more supporters to Brazil during the football challenge.

See photos from ceremony which took place at the State House today after the cut...

Konga creates platform where everyone can sell anything online

Today marks a turning point for Nigerian businesses-roadside, small, medium and large, as Konga.com Nigeria’s largest online mall announces the opening up of its trading platform for all Nigerians to sell online. 

Konga which only last year announced the launch of Konga Mall, a revolutionary offering which gave select Nigerian businesses the opportunity to put their products online is finally opening up this opportunity for all classes of businesses in Nigeria. Continue...

Sleeping policeman shoots politician dead in Kwara

Tragedy struck at a hotel in Oro, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State about 11.15pm on Friday when a policeman,  Yunus Muideen, allegedly shot dead, a  popular politician in the LGA, Femi Awoyale.

Awoyale was said to be a former Irepodun LG chairmanship aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party. The tragedy was said to have resulted into pandemonium as youths of Oro town were said to have  protested when they heard of Awoyale’s
death. Our correspondent who visited the area with other journalists on Saturday however observed the presence of  anti-riot policemen and soldiers who had been deployed to the town to restore law and order...Continue...

Pictures Of Mexican Drug Lord's Home After Being Raided

There was a matched pair of these found.