The Gambia claims cure for HIV

The Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has said that dozens of HIVand AIDS patients in the tiny West African state have been cured using his secret concoction of boiled herbs, Reuters reports.

Jammeh first announced he had found a natural remedy to cure HIV and AIDS in 2007, stirring anger among Western medical experts who claimed he was giving false hope to the sick.

“Who am I to expect that everybody would praise me,’’ Jammeh said in a state television broadcast on Sunday evening, announcing that 68 patients had been cured and discharged from a treatment centre. “Just as the Prophet Mohammed prevailed and established Islam, I have also prevailed to cure HIV/AIDS to the point that 68 are being discharged today,’’ he said.

The World Health Organisation and the UN have said Jammeh’s HIV/AIDS treatment is alarming mainly because patients are required to cease their anti-retroviral drugs making them more prone to infection.

The president said the cured group was the seventh batch of HIV/AIDS patients undergoing his herbal remedy to have been discharged since the treatments began five years ago.

Jammeh came to power in The Gambia, a sliver of land on Africa’s west coast that is popular with sun-seeking European tourists, in a bloodless military coup in 1994. He is accused by activists of human rights abuses during his rule, and recently drew international criticism for executing nine death row inmates by firing squad.

Jammeh said on Sunday that his government would fully integrate “natural medicine’’ to all the country’s hospitals, to complement Western medical techniques. Other African leaders have drawn criticism for extolling the power of natural remedies to combat AIDS.

Via Punch

Full Text Of President Jonathan's National Broadcast Today

Fellow Nigerians,

Over the past few weeks, unprecedented floods have ravaged many parts of our country, rendering tens of thousands of fellow Nigerians homeless, and causing massive destruction of property, farmlands, and infrastructure across the country.

I wish to express our deep commiseration with all those who have lost loved ones; those who have lost their property; as well as all the affected communities and institutions.

It is sad that this global phenomenon of devastating floods has come to Nigeria at this time.

I want to reassure all Nigerians that the Federal Government is prepared to do everything possible to mitigate the impact of this natural disaster.

I had earlier set up a Presidential Technical Committee to visit all affected areas with a view to properly assessing the impact of the floods. The Committee has since submitted an interim Report.

The Report, which contained a number of recommendations, was presented to key stakeholders including the leadership of the National Assembly and Governors of the affected States.

The Technical Committee will continue to go round the country while the Vice President and I will also visit some of the affected communities. When we receive the Committee’s final Report, the Federal Government will further initiate medium and long-term measures to check future flood disasters.

In the meantime, relevant government agencies have intervened to provide relief to the affected persons in collaboration with the State governments.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has so far spent N1.314 billion to provide immediate relief materials. The Ministry of Works has spent N556 million on the repair of collapsed bridges and the construction of bye-passes; while the Ministry of Environment has spent N95 million on sundry relief measures.

In addition to this, the Federal Government has decided on a number of measures to further ameliorate the situation. These include the immediate provision of a total of N17.6 billion in direct financial assistance to the affected States and some Federal Government Agencies responsible for disaster management. The States will receive a total of N13.3 billion while the Federal Agencies will receive N4.3 billion.

Based on the present assessment, the States have been categorized into four groups: A to D. All Category A States will receive N500 million each; Category B States, N400 million each; Category C States, N300 million each; and Category D States, N250 million each.

Category A States: Oyo, Kogi, Benue, Plateau, Adamawa, Delta, Bayelsa and Anambra.

Category B: Jigawa, Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna, Niger, Nasarawa, Taraba, Cross-River, Edo, Lagos and Imo.

Category C: Kwara, Katsina, Gombe, Ogun, Ondo, Ebonyi, Abia and Rivers.

Category D: Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Yobe, Enugu, Ekiti, Osun, Akwa-Ibom, Borno and FCT.

To further intensify their intervention activities, the following agencies of the Federal Government have also been allocated funds as follows:

Ministry of Works – N2.6 billion

National Emergency Management Agency – N1.1 billion

Ministry of Environment – N350 million

National Commission for Refugees – N150m

Technical Committee on Floods Impact Assessment – N100 million

I have also set up a National Committee on Flood Relief and Rehabilitation to assist the Federal Government to raise funds to mitigate the pains and ensure the effective post-impact rehabilitation of victims. This Committee will be co-chaired by Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Mr. Olisa Agbakoba, while Dr. Mike Adenuga, Jr. will serve as the Chief Funds Mobiliser.

The full membership of the Committee will be announced immediately after this broadcast.

Fellow Nigerians, let me use this opportunity to thank State Governments, members of the National Assembly, private individuals, agencies of government, private sector institutions, NGOs, faith-based organizations, and philanthropic groups who individually and collectively have risen to the aid of persons and communities affected by the floods.

This humanitarian and compassionate spirit that has been on display in the past few weeks reassures us that, at critical moments, Nigerians are able to come together in pursuit of a common purpose.lk

My Fellow Compatriots, let me once again reassure you that this Administration remains fully committed to the welfare and well being of all Nigerians at all times.

May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

I thank you all.

Zuckerberg: More than one billion people using Facebook actively each month

Active accounts have become one of the hottest currencies online, especially for social networks. Previous boasts by Facebook have been quickly shot down, but this latest number is pretty hard to ignore. According to Zuckerberg himself the site now has 1 billion active monthly users. That's right, one in seven people on the planet logs on to the social network at least once a full moon cycle. The announcement comes via the site's official news blog, which if the numbers are true, could mean most of you have read this already. Zuckerberg broke the news originally in a Q&A with Bloomberg Businessweek, also claiming that the site now has 600 million mobile users.

Via Engadget

From University Dropout to ICT Millionaire

The Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Oxygen Broadband Networks, Nigeria’s first metro WiFi network, Mr. Wande Adalemo, is a young man who aspired to be a university graduate and get a job. But an event in 1998 changed the course of his life and he decided to pursue his dream of building an Internet company.

Today, he sits atop a N1bn broadband network company, which has just rolled out a WiFi network at the popular Computer Village in Lagos. He said his greatest challenge was funding, but the driving force had been the passion to ensure that all Nigerians have access to affordable Internet access through WiFi technology.

From the ground zero in 2005, dropping out of school along the line, Adalemo said he overcome the challenge and was able to attract investors, who believed in his dream and invested in the business. Adalemo said the company started with a $2m investment and as at today, had invested N1bn with a network infrastructure already in place and duly licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission.

“As we speak, we are currently at the Computer Village in Lagos, where we have our pilot network. In the last two months since we started, we have had over 20,000 connections sitting on our network,” he said.

In view of this, he said the company had laid out an expansion plan, which would see it invest another N200m in rolling out services in six locations across Lagos State before the end of 2012.

Via Punch

Terry retires from International Football

Former England captain John Terry has announced his retirement from internatonal football, less than 24 hours before a Football Association hearing into his alleged racial abuse of Anton Ferdinand.

Terry, 31, has endured a tumultuous career with the Three Lions in recent years, having twice been stripped of the captaincy by the FA.

He first lost the armband in 2010 in the wake of allegations that he had an affair with the girlfriend of former Chelsea and England eam-mate Wayne Bridge, before being deposed again this February after it was revealed he would stand trial for alleged abuse of QPR defender Ferdinand during a Premier League game.

Terry was cleared of any wrongdoing with regards to Ferdinand at Westminster Magistrates' Court in July but with the FA continuing to pursue the matter, and a hearing set to begin on Monday, the Chelsea skipper has chosen to quit international football.

"I am today announcing my retirement from international football," Terry said. "I would like to thank the England managers who have selected me for my 78 caps. I have had great pleasure in sharing that honour with all the players that I've played with.

"I would like to thank them, the fans and my family for their support and encouragement during my international career. Representing and captaining my country is what I dreamed of as a boy and it has been a truly great honour.

"I have always given my all and it breaks my heart to make this decision. I want to wish Roy [Hodgson] and the team every success for the future.

Via ESPN

It's been a while...

It's really been a while people, but I'm back. I have been kinda busy lately, trying to eke out a honest living in this corrupt economy. You'll be reading more from me soon. I'm out!

Patience Jonathan hospitalised in Germany

There were speculation on Sunday night that the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, might be undergoing treatment in Germany for food poisoning.

An online news portal, Saharareporters, had reported that Patience had been undegoing treatment in a German hospital for about four days. The news medium reports that Patience was airlifted to the hospital by an air ambulance last week under emergency medical conditions.

It also quoted Presidency sources who said that the “emergency airlift departed for Wisbanden, Germany” but could not confirm if “her treatment was being undertaken in that city”.

Via Punch