Peter Okoye and Lola Omotola to Wed 17th of November

Peter Okoye will officially wed his baby mama and fiancée, Lola Omotayo on the 17th of November. According to Nigeriafilms, "Peter and Lola will be having their traditional marriage on November 17, 2013 at Arc Events Centre, Lagos while their white wedding will hold at a later date in 2014." The online portal also reported that "a representative of P-Square confirmed this to us when contacted...with this development, arrangements are already ongoing to make the day a memorable one."
You will recall that Peter Okoye only recently proposed to Lola Omotayo, with a brand new Range Rover SUV

The Girl with the Hottest Legs in Africa

                                                                        Sandra Ankobiah

 

Meet the Lady with the hottest Leg in Africa, People think she has the hottest legs in the entertainment seen, she used to be Brymo's girlfriend and a popular TV presenter in Ghana, what do you think?

Turkey lifts ban on Islamic headscarves in civil service

ANKARA: Turkey on Tuesday lifted a decades-old ban on headscarves in the civil service as part of a package of reforms by the Islamic-rooted government meant to improve democracy.

The measure was hailed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose wife wears a headscarf, as a "step toward normalisation" and came into effect after it was published in the Official Gazette.

"We have now abolished an archaic provision which was against the spirit of the republic. It's a step toward normalisation," Erdogan said in a parliamentary speech to his ruling party lawmakers.

"A dark time eventually comes to an end," he said. "Headscarf-wearing women are full members of the republic, as well as those who do not wear it."

But critics accuse Erdogan of lifting the ban to force his Islamic values on the majority Muslim but staunchly secular nation.

When plans to remove the ban were first announced last week, the main opposition party labelled it "a serious blow to the secular republic" created by modern Turkey's founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923.

Erdogan last week unveiled a package of democratic reforms mostly aimed at improving rights for minority Kurds, but he also used the opportunity to take on the highly controversial headscarf ban.

Female civil servants are now allowed to wear the veil while their male counterparts can sport beards, both symbols of Muslim piety.

However, the ban remains in place for judges, prosecutors, police and military personnel.

Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) pledged to remove the ban on the wearing of headscarves in all domains when it came to power in 2002. It has already relaxed the ban at universities.

The highly charged debate about headscarves lies at the heart of Turkey's divisions between religious conservatives, who form the bulk of Erdogan's AKP supporters, and more secular members of society.

In 1999, Turkish-American lawmaker Merve Kavakci arrived in parliament wearing a headscarf for her swearing-in ceremony. She was booed out of the house and had her Turkish citizenship revoked.

In stark contrast, a day after Erdogan's announcement of reforms, President Abdullah Gul's wife wore her headscarf to parliament

Shutdown heads south; Antarctic stations shuttered

WASHINGTON: The US government shutdown is reaching all the way down to the South Pole.

The National Science Foundation announced Tuesday that it is putting its three Antarctic scientific stations in deep freeze just as scientists are starting to arrive for the start of a new research season.

The NSF runs three stations in Antarctica spending just under $400 million a year there. It often takes weeks for some 1,200 researchers to get to the southern continent by boat or plane.

Scientists say October is when spring and summer research starts in Antarctica. A ship had been scheduled to arrive Wednesday with researchers, including those working on a long term study that has tracked penguins and other creatures since 1990.

Libya demands US return seized Qaeda 'operative'

 

 

 

TRIPOLI: Libya's top political authority demanded Tuesday the United States "immediately" hand back an alleged Al-Qaeda operative its forces captured in Tripoli, as activists urged that his rights be respected.

The country is bristling after the US operation to snatch Abu Anas al-Libi on Saturday, with the government summoning the US ambassador and Prime Minister Ali Zeidan insisting that all Libyans should be tried on home soil.

The case has embarrassed and put the Libyan government under pressure from its critics -- notably former rebel groups in the 2011 revolt that ousted and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

A General National Congress statement stressed "the need for the immediate surrender" of Libi, and described the US operation as a "flagrant violation" of Libya's sovereignty.

The text, which was passed by the GNC, also called for the "need to allow the Libyan authorities and their families to get in touch with him (Libi) and guarantee them access to a lawyer."

It was the first official statement from Libya that clearly condemns the operation, in which Libi was seized from his car by US forces in broad daylight in a Tripoli street on Saturday.

Libi -- whose real name is Nazih Abdul Hamed al-Raghie -- was on the FBI's most wanted list with a $5 million (3.7 million euro) bounty on his head for his alleged role in the 1998 twin bombings of two US embassies in East Africa.

He is reportedly being held aboard a US naval ship in the Mediterranean.

On Sunday, Tripoli said it had demanded an explanation from Washington for Libi's "kidnapping".

On Tuesday, the justice minister summoned US Ambassador Deborah Jones to answer questions about the operation.

"Salah al-Marghani summoned the ambassador of the United States on Monday morning to ask for answers to several questions relating to the case" of Libi's capture, his ministry said.

Marghani and officials from the foreign ministry met members of Libi's family, who were told of the meeting with Jones, the statement added.

Zeidan said that, while he valued Tripoli's "important" relationship with the United States, Libyans should not be tried abroad.

"We insist that Libyan citizens must be tried in Libya, and Libya will not deliver its citizens abroad for trial," Zeidan said in Morocco.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya backed Tripoli's calls for clarification.

"The government of Libya and the Libyan people have every right to know the circumstances of the abduction of the Libyan citizen... and to demand full respect of international and national laws," UNSMIL chief Tarek Mitri said.

'Hunt down and expel illegal foreigners'

Meanwhile, the Operations Room of Libya's Revolutionaries, a group of ex-rebels, said it was on high alert "in light of the deterioration in security and damage to the country's sovereignty by foreign intelligence bodies."

It ordered its fighters to be prepared for orders to "hunt down and expel foreigners who are illegally in the country."

US Secretary of State John Kerry has defended the operation to capture Libi, calling him a "legal and appropriate target".

Kerry said Libi had committed "acts of terror" and had been "appropriately indicted by courts of law," but refused to say whether Libya had been informed of the raid in advance.

Rights groups have criticised the operation, urging the United States to respect Libi's rights and to give him access to legal advice.

Human Rights Watch called on the United States to ensure Libi is charged quickly in a civilian court.

"The US needs to respect his rights so that he can be fairly tried in a civilian court," said HRW's Laura Pitter.

"That means ensuring he gets a lawyer during any questioning and that he is promptly brought before a judge and charged."

A day earlier, Amnesty International sharply criticised Libi's capture, saying it violated "fundamental human rights principles".

The operation in Tripoli was one of two US raids at the weekend.

Navy SEALs launched an attack on a stronghold in the southern Somali port of Barawe of the Al-Shebab, targeting an elusive Kenyan commander.

Their success was unclear, as they were forced to withdraw before they could confirm whether they had killed their target.