Virginia TV journalists shot during WDBJ7 live report

Two US journalists have been shot dead during a live TV report in Virginia.

WDBJ7 TV reporter Alison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, were killed during an interview in the town of Moneta, the TV station said.

   

                                             

man, apparently a disgruntled former 
employee of the TV station, uploaded a video of himself shooting the reporter at close range on social media.

US media reports say he has subsequently shot himself - but is still alive.

Live updates on manhunt for gunman

Augusta County Sheriff's Office has named the suspect as Vester Lee Flanagan.

Image captionThe Twitter and Facebook accounts of Bryce Williams have been suspended

Known professionally as Bryce Williams, police said he was a former WDBJ7 staff member. His Twitter and Facebook accounts have now been suspended.

The attack took place at a large shopping centre, Bridgewater Plaza, near Smith Mountain Lake.

Image captionThe live footage apparently captured the gunman

Ms Parker was starting a breakfast TV interview about tourism at the shopping centre when suddenly eight shots rang out, the camera spun and dropped to the ground, and her screams could be heard.

The footage then captures what appears to be a fleeting image of the gunman, who is wearing black trousers and a blue top - and holding a handgun.

The station said the woman who was being interviewed, Vicki Gardner of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce, had survived the attack but was in hospital and required surgery.

"Alison and Adam died this morning at 06:45 shortly after the shots rang out. We do not know the motive or who the suspect or the killer is," the station's president and general manager, Jeffrey Marks, announced on air.

"I cannot tell you how much they were loved by the WDBJ7 team... our hearts are broken," he said.

He added that the station's building was in lockdown, under police protection.

"Police have advised us that as long as this person is on the loose, we should stay in the building. We have police protection," he told the Associated Press news agency.

WDBJ7 anchor Chris Hurst revealed that he and Ms Parker had been in a relationship and had planned to marry.

"We didn't share this publicly, but @AParkerWDBJ7 and I were very much in love. We just moved in together. I am numb," he said on Twitter.

"We were together almost nine months. It was the best nine months of our lives. We wanted to get married. We just celebrated her 24th birthday.

"She was the most radiant woman I ever met. And for some reason she loved me back. She loved her family, her parents and her brother."

He added that Ms Parker had worked on a regular basis with Mr Ward, and that he was heartbroken for his fiancee, a producer at the station.

---

Alison Parker

• Aged 24
• Reporter for WDBJ7's Mornin' show
• Grew up in Martinsville, Virginia
• Attended Patrick Henry Community College and the James Madison University, edited university newspaper The Breeze
• In her spare time, liked whitewater kayaking and attending community theatre events
• Was dating station anchor Chris Hurst

Adam Ward

• Aged 27
• Cameraman
• Graduated from Salem High School in Salem, Virginia, and Virginia Tech
• Engaged to station producer

Source: BBC

MTN Android One Data Plan – 1GB Internet for 500 Naira

    

MTN as a key Google Partner in the launch of Android One in Nigeria is introducing a special data plan for Android One phones offering 1GB data for just 500 Naira ($2.50) starting with the first, the Infinix Hot 2.

To activate the MTN Android One data plan, text A1 to 131.

1GB data for 500 Naira

Android One phones in addition to offering high quality designs also promise timely Android updates and security patches.

The new MTN 1GB data plan is targeted at the Infinix Hot 2 and will probably be available to other Android One phones when they launch.

The new 1GB data plan is the most cost effective MTN data plan and one of the best priced internet plan in Nigeria. When you consider that MTN is currently offering 260MB for 1,000 Naira ($5), you can understand why this is a big deal.

For comparison, Etisalat currently offers a 1GB data plan for 1,000 Naira, and Glo, Etisalat, and Airtel all have 2GB data plans for 2,000 Naira ($10), which makes the MTN Android One data plan very pocket friendly.

The MTN Android One data plan offers 1GB for ₦500 for a period of 12 months, which suggests that after 12 months you will have to revert to normal data plans.

For now, I am not sure whether the 12 months starts from the day of purchase or the day of first data activation.

Another great thing about the MTN Android One data plan is that Android updates will be downloaded for free. Which means you will not use-up your precious data for downloading future Android updates as MTN will offer it for free.

To activate the MTN Android One data plan, text A1 to 131.

To enjoy the new 1GB for 500 Naira plan, you have to buy the new Infinix Hot 2. You can checkout the gorgeous Gold model here with 2GB RAM.

Source: Naija Tech Guide

Mourinho in line to be sacked

CHELSEA manager Jose Mourinho has seen his odds of becoming the next Premier League manager to be sacked slashed following his team’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday.

File: Jose Mourinho

Odds released by Betfair Sportsbook on Monday show the Portuguese tactician is now 7/1 second favourite – previously 25/1 – to leave his post behind Sunderland coach Dick Advocaat.

Mourinho had to also deal with heavy criticism in the build-up to the clash on Sunday for demoting first-team doctor Eva Carneiro after she had attended to Eden Hazard in the dying minutes of the draw against Garry Monk’s side last Saturday.

Despite the Portuguese manager only signing a new four-year dealearlier this month, odds from Betfair suggest Mourinho could be on his way out of Stamford Bridge if Chelsea do not get their title defence back on track in the coming weeks.

Football Trader for Betfair, Michael Bowers, said: “Jose is struggling to get off on the right foot this season, after a poor game against Swansea and an even poorer game against the new title favourites

Manchester City, he has gone from 25/1 to 7/1 second favourite as the next manager to leave the market after heavy backing.

“The club will remain loyal to Mourinho for the time being, but if the blues don’t start picking up some points after four or five games, even The Special One could face the chop.”

Source: Vanguard Nigeria

MICROSOFT IS ALLOWING ITSELF TO DETECT PIRATED GAMES ON YOUR WINDOWS 10 PC

Despite being generally well-received, Windows 10 has been confronted with some bitter criticism concerning a series of alleged privacy obstructions. The latest of these stems from Microsoft’s End User License Agreement, or EULA, with WinBeta reporting that Microsoft has reserved the right to check your system for “playing counterfeit games, or using unauthorized hardware peripheral devices.”

                       

For an operating system that runs an array of utilities which, mind you, can also be pirated, it’s bizarre to think that Microsoft would only be targeting games in its analyses. One might wonder why the company would not also check for ubiquitously pirated productivity suites such as Adobe Creative Cloud and Microsoft Office.

Of course, it may (also) be a case of Microsoft cracking down on the modification of its Xbox game consoles, a popular trend seen in the days of the original Xbox and its successor, the Xbox 360.

To accomplish this, gamers download software to their PCs, deploying it to their consoles via an external media device. Microsoft thus may be taking these steps in an attempt to prevent similar instances with the Xbox One as a means of suppressing hacking tool possession.

This would make sense since online communities have been trying to exploit the console since its launch in 2013. However, the language used in the agreement is reportedly too vague to discern Microsoft’s likely intent, and we can be sure the firm’s top-notch lawyers chose that ambiguous language knowingly.

Also ambiguous is whether Microsoft intends to share with law enforcement the information they obtain concerning users downloading “counterfeit games,” or if they simply plan to disable the stolen software.

Likewise, now that Windows 10 is used more liberally across platforms including PC, mobile, Xbox, HoloLens, and Surface Hub, EULAs are assembled more broadly. They must now include written safeguards against stolen phones, Xbox mods, enterprise security, and required updates.

The pervasiveness of Windows 10 is bringing with it not only technical challenges, but also legal challenges in producing a single, intelligible agreement.

Returning to the basics with Windows 10, Microsoft has pleased its customers, new and old. But with that out of the way, it’s now time to transparently acknowledge our concerns. Enough silence, Microsoft, what are you doing with our data?

  Source: Digital Trends

Yahoo’s silent video messaging app rolls out globally

Yahoo debuted its silent video messaging app called Livetext last month in Canada, France, Germany, the US and UK.

As of today, Yahoo is taking things up a notch as it rolls out globally.

                                 

The company says it supports all major languages, but Arabic and Japanese are not available immediately and will be added at a later date.

Source: The Next Web

ABIA GUBER PRE-ELECTION POLL – ALEX OTTI IN STRONG LEAD OVER OKEZIE IKPEAZU

A recent survey conducted by NOIPolls Limited shows a significant lead in the Abia State Governorship race between the top two contenders; candidate of APGA, Dr. Alex Otti and the PDP candidate Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, with a twenty-seven percent point gap between the two.

When asked who respondents will be voting for in the coming February 2015 governorship elections in Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti led the list of candidates with 45 percent, while Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu had 18 percent, indicating a significant 27 percent lead by Dr. Otti. Other candidates such as Chikwe Udensi and Anyim Nyerere had 2 percent and 1 percent respectively. However, 32 percent of those polled are either undecided (19 percent) or sought confidentiality (13 percent) to their choice of candidate; and could be key in deciding a winner.

The survey results also show that Dr. Alex Otti appears to have support of voters across all age groups; particularly from first time voters of between the ages of 18 to 21 (70 percent). Furthermore, 24 percent of voters in Abia-South and 21 percent in Abia- Central senatorial districts remain undecided as to their choice of candidate.

The survey shows that almost 9 in 10 eligible voters are registered to vote in the February elections, with about 8 in 10 (86 percent) being absolutely certain that they will vote. Similarly, the working class of between 30 to 60 years, as well as Senior Citizens of age 61+, are absolutely certain they will vote.

At Least One Dead As Violence Erupts In Ekiti

Early this morning, members of the All Progressives Congress led by some of their leaders including the Governor Kayode Fayemi were out on some form of campaign when they were allegedly attacked.

Residents say they heard gun shots, but details on the cause of the violence may still be sketchy at this time. Police men in the state are said to be around at the scene, while Channels TV staff at the scene got injured in the process of the skirmish.

Hon. Oyetunde Ojo from the House Of Representatives and Senator Ojudu were also at the scene.

The state government has called for the immediate transfer of the commissioner of police Ekiti state command, Felix Uyanna and the O.C MOPOL.

Addressing journalists in Ado Ekiti, the chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Ekiti State, Jide Awe said for the interest of peace in the forthcoming governorship election, the president must intervene fast.

Dora Akunyili Dies in India Aged 59

Former Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and ex minister of Information, Professor Dora Akunyili, has died according to a family source.

Dr. Akunyili died in an India Hospital where she has been receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment. She was aged 59.

From Sahara Reporters

Biography

Dora Nkem Akunyili was born on July 14, 1954 in Makurdi, Benue State. She was the former Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and also the former (Dec 17, 2008 – Dec 15, 2010) Nigerian Minister of Information and Communications.

She was a renown pharmacist and governmental administrator. Her work in pharmacology, public health and human rights has helped her gain awards and recognition internationally.

She once ran for the senatorial chair for Anambra Central on the All Progressive Grand Alliance [APGA] platform in April, 2011, but she was defeated by Chris Ngige.

Awards received (Source: Wikipedia)

Some of the awards Prof. Akunyili has received are:
· Time Magazine Award 2006( "One of the eighteen heroes of our time")- Time Magazine Inc.
· Person of the Year 2005 Award - Silverbird Communications Ltd, Lagos, 05-01-2006
· Award of Excellence - Integrated World Services (IWS), Dec. 2005
· Award of Excellence - Advocacy for Democracy Dividends International, Lagos, 17-12-2005
· Meritorious Award 2005 - St. Michael’s Military Catholic Church, Apapa, Lagos, 04-12-2005
· African Virtuous and Entrepreneurial Women Merit Award 2005 - African Biographical Network, Dec. 2005
· Award for the Best Government Parastatal - National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), December 2005
· An Icon of Excellence Award - The African Cultural Institute and Zenith Bank Plc, 08-12-2005
· 2005 Grassroots Human Rights Campaigner Award London Based Human Rights Defense Organization. 08-12-2005
· Most Innovative Director Award Federal Government College, Ijanikin, Lagos. Oct. 2005.
· Integrity Award 2003 - Transparency International.

North Korea Holds American Over Bible Left in Hotel, Reports Say

An American tourist is being held in North Korea reportedly for leaving a Bible in a hotel room as he was leaving the country, according to news reports in North and South Korea.

He was identified in Korean without providing the English spelling, but it translates to Jeffrey Edward Fowle. "The U.S. citizen, who entered the DPRK (North Korea) on April 29 as a tourist, engaged in activities that were in breach of DPRK's laws," the country's official Korean Central News Agency said today. South Korea's Yonhap News quoting sources in North Korea said he had left a Bible in the hotel upon departure. He is the third American currently held in North Korea.

North Korea Holds American Over Bible Left in Hotel, Reports Say (ABC News)          Watch here

In April, North Korea said it had detained a 24-year-old American for improper behavior while he was being processed to enter the country as a tourist. He was identified as Miller Matthew Todd, possibly putting his surname first. It said he entered the country on April 10 with a tourist visa, but tore it up and shouted that he wanted to seek asylum. The brief report said he chose North Korea "as a shelter."

North Korea has been holding a Korean-American missionary Kenneth Bae since November 2012. Bae was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for what the North says were hostile acts against the state.

Last year, American tourist Merrill Newman, an 85-year-old Korean War veteran, was held for a month as he tried to leave North Korea after a visit. North Korean finally let Newman leave after the American apologized for training and advising a U.S.-led North Korean partisan unit during the Korean War.

Newman, of Palo Alto, Calif., was pulled from a plane Oct. 26 while preparing to leave the communist nation after a 10-day tour. Newman, a former finance executive, has a heart condition and his family had been worried about his health since he was detained while trying to leave the country on a tourist visa.

North Korea has been pushing to promote tourism as part of efforts to earn badly needed foreign currency, but the country is also extremely sensitive about how visitors act while in the country.

Today's announcement came as tension on the Korean Peninsula remains high with North Korea keeping up rhetoric against the U.S. and South Korea following its series of missile and rocket launches earlier this year. The North's state media have also unleashed racist and sexist slurs against U.S. and South Korean leaders.

The peninsula is still in a technical state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea to deter potential aggression from North Korea.

The U.S. and North Korea do not have diplomatic relations, but Sweden, which has an embassy in Pyongyang, oversees consular issues for the United States there.

In March, North Korea deported an Australian missionary detained for spreading Christianity in the country after he apologized for anti-state religious acts and requested forgiveness.

Credits: Yahoo

Nigeria’s Ladi Emeruwa, others for Shakespeare’s 450th birthday

LONDON (AFP) – William Shakespeare’s plays are to be performed in mid-air as Britain celebrates the 450th anniversary of his birth this week, while a tour of “Hamlet” aims to reach every country on Earth.

Shakespeare, the English language’s greatest playwright, was baptised on April 26, 1564, and his birthday is traditionally observed on April 23.

The anniversary is being marked with attempts to bring the legendary bard to fresh audiences and capitalise on one of Britain’s best cultural exports.

The Reduced Shakespeare Company comic troupe was to attempt to set a world record on Wednesday by performing a one-hour version of his complete works at 37,000 feet (11,300 metres).

They were to perform on an easyJet flight from London to Verona in Italy — where some of Shakespeare’s plays were set.

Back on the ground, the Royal Shakespeare Company was to launch a fireworks display from the roof of their theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s home town, to mark his birthday after Wednesday night’s performance of “Henry IV, Part 1″.

Shakespeare’s Globe, the re-creation of his wooden theatre on the banks of the River Thames in London, is launching a two-year tour of “Hamlet” that will take in around 200 countries.

Naeem Hayat is one of two actors who will play the title role, reciting the tragedy’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy, one of the most famous passages in the English language.

“‘Hamlet’ as a story is such a beautiful, human story full of discovery and humanity, people will be able to relate to it regardless of where we are and what language they speak,” the Londoner told AFP.

The tour begins Wednesday at The Globe, and will finish with a performance at Elsinore Castle in Denmark — where the tale of deferred revenge is set.

In between, it will play in national theatres, on the beach in Nauru and the Bahamas; in Greek and Roman amphitheatres; on a roundabout in Romania, and will inaugurate Poland’s Gdansk Shakespeare Theatre.

It will also play in a Lithuanian royal palace; in the main square in Marrakesh; in Norway’s Tromso, north of the Arctic Circle; and at a theatre built into the rainforests of St Lucia.

- More recognised than queen -

The company is touring with a stripped-down set. Each actor has a case with their suitcase, costumes and props in, and the containers will be used as part of the set.

Ladi Emeruwa

Canvas screens form the backdrop, with musical instruments and coats hung on them to fill in the scene.

The 12-strong cast includes Ladi Emeruwa from Nigeria as Hamlet, Jennifer Leong from Hong Kong, and New Zealand’s highly respected Maori actor Rawiri Paratene.

“So much of what you do is informed by the audience and that’s going to be a wonderful thing, to have that energy change at every place we go,” said Hayat.

“There’ll be things that resonate with certain audiences more in certain countries,” he said, anticipating different nationalities finding different things funny or poignant.

“There will be a constant fresh energy and that’s an absolute dream for an actor.”

A survey of young adults across Brazil, China, Germany, India and the United States, for the British Council cultural agency, found that Shakespeare was the name they most associated with British culture — way ahead of Queen Elizabeth II and football icon David Beckham.

“As the most widely read and studied author in the English language, Shakespeare provides an important connection to the UK for millions of people around the world,” said chief executive Martin Davidson, announcing plans for an international festival in 2016.

Four and a half centuries on from Shakespeare’s birth, it is “shocking how relevant, pertinent and powerful he still is”, said the Globe’s artistic director Dominic Dromgoole.

“I can only see that continuing… because there’s now a huge enthusiasm for Shakespeare in China, and it’s growing in India.”

Tamsin Palmer, the tour’s associate producer, said the poet’s enduring appeal was two-fold.

“On the one hand, it’s really simple. He talks about characters and situations that we recognise and in that sense he speaks to the part of us that we know in ourselves, and that we see around us,” she told AFP.

“On the other hand, there’s a certain air of mystery. There’s something he does with his writing that keeps people coming back.”