How it happened: Tracing Typhoon Haiyan's havoc in the Philippines

A woman comforts a crying relative as a plane leaves the airport during evacuation operations in Tacloban, Philippines, on Tuesday, November 12. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms in recorded history, laid waste to the Philippines. Officials say as many as 10,000 people may have died in the storm.

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Premier League: Chelsea slip lets Arsenal move clear at the top

Aaron Ramsey celebrates after scoring Arsenal's second goal in Saturday's 2-0 win at home to Liverpool.

The last time Arsenal led the English Premier League by as much as five points, it was February 2008.

So it's no surprise that Arsene Wenger, whose last silverware came three years before that, is not getting carried away.

The veteran manager knows, after all, that a few days is a long time in football.

On Tuesday his team lost 2-0 to Chelsea in the League Cup, which many trumpeted as a sign that Jose Mourinho's side had taken the ascendancy and would be the dominant force this season.

But on Saturday Mourinho's men crashed 2-0 to Newcastle, which had lost to the EPL's bottom side Sunderland the previous weekend, and Arsenal earned a five-point lead at the top with a comprehensive win by the same score against another title hopeful, Liverpool.

Arsenal's pre-season target Luis Suarez and fellow in-form striker Daniel Sturridge barely had a look-in for Liverpool, which had scored 12 goals in the past four games.

Santi Cazorla volleyed a 19th-minute opener after his header hit the post, and Aaron Ramsey joined Sturridge on 10 goals in all competitions just before the hour mark when the Wales midfielder was given time to shoot from outside the penalty area.

"I am always confident, but of course there is a long way to go," Wenger said. "Today was an important win for the team.

"It was vital to win, I said that before the game and I don't change my mind, because had we not won people would say 'Yes, Arsenal at home they cannot win the big games.'

"The Chelsea game was an important game but not of the importance of today's game. But still, it was a disappointment and it was important to respond today, to convince people that we can win these big games.

"We had a good solidarity, a good focus, and I believe we have plenty of other big games coming up and this will help us deal well with them."

On Wednesday, the Gunners will travel to Germany to face Borussia Dortmund in a match which will have a big bearing on the London club's hopes of progressing to the knockout stage of the Champions League.

"Who would have said that Chelsea would lose today at Newcastle after Tuesday night? But that's the Premier League and it's down to consistency," Wenger said.

"We are consistent since the first of January 2013, with the same group (of players). We have shown since our massive blip against Aston Villa (at the start of this season) that we have been very consistent. We have 10 games, 25 points."

While Wenger appears calm, Mourinho admitted to being worried after the Newcastle defeat left his Chelsea side in second place, above Liverpool on goal difference.

"I'm angry because I don't understand it," said the former Real Madrid manager, who won two EPL titles in his first season at the London club. "Of course I am worried, and I read in previous years it happened the same.

"Chelsea were successful in cup competitions but not successful in the Premier League. Last year in December, they were not in the race for the title because they were already 20 points behind."

Mourinho made nine changes to his team, and complained: "I made 11 mistakes. I should have picked another 11 and not this one."

While the Portuguese coach's fortunes may have momentarily dipped, those of the Manchester clubs soared this weekend.

Defending champion Manchester United won 3-1 at Fulham, the fourth victory in a row in all competitions for under-pressure manager David Moyes -- who saw Antonio Valencia, Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney score in the first half as his side stayed eighth.

Manchester City moved up to fourth -- six points behind Arsenal -- with a 7-0 thrashing of third-bottom Norwich, having lost at Chelsea last Sunday.

England goalkeeper Joe Hart was dropped following his costly blunder at the end of that match, and his Romanian replacement Costel Pantilimon has now kept two clean sheets following the midweek League Cup win at Newcastle.

Sergio Aguero's eighth league goal this season moved the Argentina striker to the top of the scoring charts alongside Sturridge, while Yaya Toure hit his fifth, Alvaro Negredo his fourth and Edin Dzeko his third among seven individual scorers.

Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic was also a notable name on the scoresheets after his wind-assisted effort deceived Southamptoncounterpart Artur Boruc after just 13 seconds.

The Bosnia international became the fifth keeper to hit the target since the EPL began in 1992, while Jay Rodriguez's equalizer left Saints in fifth place, behind City on goal difference.

"As a manager that is the first time I've had to experience a moment as unlucky as that," said Southampton's Mauricio Pochettino.

"I don't blame him at all. I think it had more to do with the weather conditions.

"He didn't apologize for anything because he didn't have to. The wind was changing gusts completely all the time and it is a ground which is open on three sides, which makes it even more windy."

West Brom moved up to 11th with a 2-0 win that dropped Crystal Palace to the bottom of the table, despite nine-man Sunderlandlosing 1-0 at 10th-placed Hull.
West Ham drew 0-0 with Aston Villa in Saturday's other match.

Continuing Our March to an AIDS-Free Generation and Improved Global Health

Ambassador Goosby Delivers Remarks on Global AIDS

Secretary Kerry Delivers Remarks at High-Level PEPFAR Meeting in New York

Secretary Clinton Embraces Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation's Florence Ngobeni-Allen on World AIDS Day

Former President Bush Visits a PEPFAR-Supported Clinic in Tanzania

It is with a degree of sadness but also an enormous debt of gratitude that I post my final blog as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and head of the Office of Global Health Diplomacy.

I am deeply grateful to President Obama who gave me this extraordinary chance to serve and to Secretaries Clinton and Kerry for their exceptional leadership in this historic endeavor -- and for the faith they put in me with these two positions. These past four and a half years have been among the most fulfilling of my 30-year career in HIV/AIDS.

I want to express my sincere appreciation to former President Bush, whose bold vision launched U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and brought the full weight of American power and capability to the global effort to combat this epidemic, and to the United States Congress for its leadership, from both sides of the aisle, which has consistently and courageously stood behind this country’s global AIDS efforts.

I also want to also send my heartfelt thanks to my staff and to all the incredible men and women with whom I have served -- Americans of all backgrounds, as well as colleagues around the world. These committed and courageous people are living proof that through determination, dedication, and unfailing effort all things are truly possible.

And, above all, I want to thank my family, who stood by my side and gave me the strength to carry on not only in recent years, but for the past three decades of my involvement in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

I am extremely proud of all that we have accomplished together. Since 2008, we have more than tripled the number of individuals receiving lifesaving anti-retroviral therapy through support from PEPFAR. We have surpassed one million babies being born without HIV due to PEPFAR-supported programs. And perhaps most importantly, we have arrived at a moment in which creating an AIDS-free generation is truly within our reach.

Through our collective efforts, we have also all been a part of transforming the way that development is done. While continuing to rapidly expand access to lifesaving HIV services, we have moved PEPFAR from an emergency state to a more sustainable footing. We have helped establish a robust health care delivery capability -- often where little to none previously existed -- that is being used not only to address HIV, but also a broader range of health issues. We have helped elevate issues of health and development into the upper echelons of diplomatic dialogue. And we have evolved our relationship with host countries to a true and enduring partnership -- one that positions them to assume greater ownership of their national HIV response.

All of this has only been possible because thousands of committed and compassionate individuals wake up each day and go to bed each night thinking about how we can all do more and do it better. The global AIDS community is truly unlike any other that I have known. I am honored and humbled to have played my small role in this unprecedented worldwide movement.

One day in a future we can now clearly see, we will achieve the dream of an AIDS-free generation. When we do, it will mark the completion of an incredible and improbable journey from those terrifying early days of the epidemic in San Francisco.

This epidemic has wrought untold harm on our world, stolen millions of lives, destroyed families and entire communities, and very nearly entire nations. But it also brought out the best in people -- in the United States and around the planet.

We can find no better way to honor those we have lost than to keep pushing forward, and to complete the task that we began more than thirty years ago. We must also ensure the lessons of this fight are truly learned and applied to many of the other challenges our world faces. In this way, we can build a future that is not only healthier, but also more peaceful, more just, and more secure for generations to come.

About the Author: Eric Goosby serves as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, leading all U.S. government international HIV/AIDS efforts, and director of the Office of Global Health Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State.

Kerry: U.S. ties with Egypt 'vital'

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held a joint press conference with Egypt's Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy in Cairo.

U.S. ties with Egypt go deeper than aid, America's top diplomat said Sunday.

"Let me make it clear here today: President Obama and the American people support the people of Egypt," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said. "We believe this is a vital relationship."

Kerry's visit marked the highest-level U.S. official trip to Egypt since former President Mohamed Morsy's ouster in July. It was also his first trip to the country since the U.S. suspended significant military aid to Egypt over the bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.

After meeting with Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy, Kerry pushed for reforms as he defended the U.S. decision to suspend hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance.

"It's not a punishment," Kerry said. "It's a reflection of a policy in the United States under our law."
He described aid as "a very small issue."

"Our hope is that we can make the progress we need on democracy, the rights of people, the protections of people, the ability of the country to have its civil society strengthened and restored, and then we will march together hand in hand into the future, with Egypt playing the vital role that it has traditionally played in this region," Kerry said.

Kerry stressed that U.S. humanitarian support to Egypt continues, in addition to counterterrorism efforts with the military and work to ensure safety in the Sinai Peninsula.

The aid suspension last month roiled Egyptian officials. Fahmy told CNN's Christiane Amanpour at the time that the decision raised concerns about the U.S.-Egypt relationship.

"This has been a relationship that has a continuity to it, especially on strategic issues like military cooperation. And any disruption in that continuity raises concerns. ... This is a very important relationship to both countries, and we need to work to enhance it, because it serves both sides," he said.

Kerry's visit to Egypt was the first stop on a 10-day trip to the Middle East, Europe and Northern Africa. From Egypt, he is scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia.

‘US spies on Nigerian security agencies’

Indications emerged on Saturday that the United States has been spying on the Nigeria’s security agencies, especially the State Security Service, and probably the Presidency.

In a report published in New York Times, Edward Snowden, an American computer specialist, who worked for the US Central Intelligence Agency and as a contractor with the US National Security Agency, stated that Nigeria’s SSS was one of the security agencies across the globe that the N.S.A. had been listening in on.

He said briefs on the information gleaned from intercepting of telephone conversations and hacking of computers of the SSS, other security agencies in Nigeria and other countries are delivered to the office of the US President, Barrack Obama every morning.

“By many accounts, the agency provides more than half of the intelligence nuggets delivered to the White House early each morning in the President’s Daily Brief — a measure of success for American spies. One document boasts that listening in on Nigerian State Security Service had provided items for the briefing “nearly two dozen” times. In every international crisis, American policy makers look to the N.S.A. for inside information,” Snowden told New York Times.

The release of documents that proved that the NSA had been eavesdropping on the communications of world leaders, including US allies, had caused diplomatic rows, with Germany and some other countries protesting.

Snowden also noted that the NSA had obtained thousands of classified documents, containing secrets of governments around the world, pointing to a possibility that it might have obtained secret documents of the Federal Government of Nigeria, or tapped President Goodluck Jonathan’s phone conversations.

Snowden, who is on a temporary political asylum in Russia, disclosed classified details of several top-secret United States, Israeli, and British government mass surveillance programmes to the press.

He started releasing the NSA’s documents in June and the documents he has released so far show that the US has been spying most countries in the world.

Pakistan summons U.S. envoy after death of Pakistan Taliban leader

Taliban leader killed, replacement named

The U.S. ambassador to Islamabad was summoned to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry on Saturday, a day after Pakistan Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud was killed by a U.S. drone strike.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry did not explain why the envoy was summoned. A U.S. State Department official confirmed the meeting to CNN but would not disclose details about it.

The State Department official would not discuss U.S. operations in Pakistan but stressed the Pakistan Taliban's 2009 attack on a U.S. base in Afghanistan and claims of responsibility for a failed attempt to bomb Times Square in New York.

The official was not authorized to speak publicly and is not being named by CNN.

Pakistan: Peace talks will go ahead

Pakistani Information Minister Pervez Rasheed insisted that Mehsud's death would not delay proposed peace talks between the government and the Pakistan Taliban, amid concern that anger about the strike might derail the process.

Rasheed condemned the use of drones in Pakistan. "Drones are used for killing, but they will not let the peace process be killed with it," the minister told reporters.
Mehsud, who had a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head for his alleged involvement in the 2009 attack , was killed in a drone strike in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, senior U.S. and Pakistani officials told CNN.

He was buried overnight, though the body was burned beyond recognition, Taliban sources said. The organization was scheduled to meet Saturday to pick a new leader, the sources said.

The Afghan Taliban condemned the drone strike as "cowardly" and "barbaric" in a statement posted on its website Saturday, the SITE intelligence group said. The statement urged the Pakistani government and people to take measures to stop the attacks.

A new leader?

No official announcement has yet been made on who will be the new chief for the Pakistan Taliban. But a number of names have emerged, as different factions and individuals jockey for position.

Saleem Mehsud, a journalist who is close to the Mehsuds and familiar with the Pakistan Taliban, told CNN on Saturday that the central shura, or council, of the Pakistan Taliban has approved Sheheryar Mehsud as its new chief.

Sheheryar Mehsud is from the Jangara area of South Waziristan and belongs to the Shabikheil sub-tribe within the larger Mehsud tribe, he said. That's the same sub-tribe that Baitullah Mehsud, who led the Pakistan Taliban before Hakimullah Mehsud, belonged to.

Sheheryar Mehsud, who's 33 years old, has been involved in fighting in Kashmir and Afghanistan, he said.

Pakistan braces for reprisals

There are fears the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud may spark a surge in violence.

This is in part because the attack in Afghanistan in 2009 -- in which seven U.S. citizens died -- was launched in response to the strike that killed Baitullah Mehsud four months earlier.

The Haqqani Network, designated by the United States as a terrorist organization, vowed to avenge Meshud's death. Spokesman Ahmed Yousaf said the group will launch attacks within a few days.

The network is blamed for more than 1,000 U.S. casualties in Afghanistan.

Security around Peshawar, the capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan, is being beefed up as police and security brace for reprisal attacks, Home Secretary Akhtar Ali Shah said.

"Since this drone strike, we are waiting for a reaction," he said. "We know the reaction will be strong. We have strengthened security in Peshawar, especially at the entry points in to the city. We have extra security on patrol with sniffer dogs."

Strike hit Taliban stronghold

Three other people were killed in Friday's strike, Pakistani intelligence sources and tribal officials said.

They described the incident as a suspected U.S. drone strike in a remote area of Pakistan's North Waziristan region, a Taliban stronghold bordering Afghanistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

One missile hit a compound, and another struck a car nearby, the Pakistani sources said.

This is not the first time Hakimullah Mehsud -- who took the reins of the Pakistan Taliban in 2009 -- has been reported killed after a drone strike. In February 2010, multiple sources said he had died after being hit in a drone strike in Pakistan a month earlier.

But reports that he was alive surfaced in April of that year, and in May 2010 he appeared in a video in which he vowed attacks on major U.S. cities.

The fact that senior Pakistani government officials have commented so quickly on the news of his death this time adds credence to the reports.

Pakistan Taliban claimed Times Square plot

The Pakistan Taliban, which has long been conducting an insurgency against the Pakistani government, claimed responsibility for the December 2009 suicide bombing at the United States' Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost, Afghanistan. Five CIA officers were among the seven U.S. citizens killed, and a member of Jordanian intelligence also died.

The U.S. Justice Department charged Hakimullah Mehsud in the summer of 2010 for his alleged involvement in the attack, and U.S. officials offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.

The group also claimed responsibility for a failed May 2010 attempt to detonate a car bomb in New York's Times Square. The following September, the U.S. State Department designated the Pakistan Taliban a foreign terrorist organization.

Mehsud took over from Baitullah Mehsud, a fellow clan member, in 2009 after the latter was killed in a U.S. drone strike.

Peace prospects

Hakimullah Mehsud's death could make progress in proposed peace talks between the Pakistani government and Pakistan Taliban more difficult.

A relatively young and charismatic leader, he held together a disparate group with different tribal and other allegiances.

There had reportedly been talks about him being involved in peace talks with Pakistan's government.

His killing may upset some elements within the Pakistan Taliban if they believe that the Pakistani government was involved.

The Pakistan Taliban could also pose an increased security threat if it splinters into smaller groups, which could be harder for security forces to detect.

There has been a series of suicide bombings in the region over the past couple of years.

IMF warns FG against oil price shock, capital flow reversal

The International Monetry Fund, IMF, yesterday, called on the Federal Government to implement timely policy actions to avert risk of oil price shock and reversal of foreign capital inflow looming over the country and other s in the sub-saharan Africa region.

IMF Director, African Department, Antoinette Sayeh made this call in Lagos at the presentation of the Africa Regional Economic Outlook for the region.

But Deputy Governor, Economic Policy Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mrs Sarah Alade, said that the CBN is aware of these risks and has put in place a framework to mitigate them.

In a presentation titled, “Sub-Saharan Africa: Keeping the Pace”, Sayeh identified the risks to the growth of the Nigerian economy as commodity price risk and the reversal of foreign capital inflows. She said these risks have increased not only in Nigeria but in the Sub-Saharan region significantly over the years.

“Looking forward, fiscal consolidation is expected to be strengthened in Nigeria with more moderate oil price projections. As a result, fiscal balance for 2013 and 2014 in Nigeria is projected to remain around 1.8 per cent of GDP, almost the same as in 2012.

“In Nigeria, government expenditure reached a cyclical maximum.

The risk of debt distress in many countries in our view remains low.
“Without significant policy measures, a prolonged negative oil price shock or a permanent real GDP growth shock could undermine the recent progress that had been made in achieving macroeconomic stability.

Given Nigeria’s strong position, it is important for the country to take timely policy actions to be able to avert future sustainability problems that can arise from such shocks.

“Portfolio flows have gained attraction in some countries and mostly in Nigeria. Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, in Nigeria in 2013 and 2014 are expected to remain relatively unchanged.”

I’ll reply Atiku in my book – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday said he would respond to the claims made by his erstwhile deputy, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, on their political relationship, in his soon-to-be published book.

Abubakar had, in an interview published in Hausa language by a newspaper, disclosed that he “blasted” Obasanjo over his bid to run for a second term and had argued vehemently with him on his (Obasanjo’s) bid to go for a third term.

He also claimed he snubbed Obasanjo, who had visited his residence to plead for his support for a second term. He disclosed that Obasanjo gave him a Quran to swear as a pledge of his loyalty to him, during one of their arguments.

When contacted for Obasanjo’s response to Abubakar’s claims, the former President’s media aide, Mr. Vitalis Ortese, simply told one of our correspondents, “Wait for our book.”

Also, Obasanjo’s Chief of Staff, Mr. Victor Durodola, said the former President did not want to respond to the things Atiku said in the interview.

“There is nothing to respond to. What was published was taken out of context, from an interview. He (Atiku) did not come to say it directly, so it is not something we can respond. My principal does not want to respond to it,” he said.
When asked if Atiku’s claims were correct, Durodola said, “There is nothing to correct.”

Unstoppable Arsenal swept Liverpool aside

A goal in either half from Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey eased Arsenal to a deserved 2-0 victory over Liverpool at the Emirates and established a five-point cushion at the top of the Premier League table for Arsene Wenger’s men.

After an unconvincing start from both sides in the top-of-the-table clash, Arsenal took the lead on 19 minutes when Cazorla’s header bounced back off the post and into the path of the midfielder, who made no mistake with an expertly placed volley.

Liverpool had the better of the latter part of the first half without creating a truly clear-cut chance, but Arsenal came out fired up after the break and extended their advantage with a scintillating half-volley from Aaron Ramsey for his sixth league goal of the season.

The result means Arsenal will be top of the league after next weekend’s games regardless of the outcome of their match against Manchester United, but they could move 11 points clear of the reigning champions with victory at Old Trafford.

Eaglets booked their place in the semifinals of the Fifa U-17, beating Uruguay in Sharjah

Three-time champion Nigeria booked their place in the semifinals of the Fifa U-17 World Cup in UAE with a 2-0 win over Uruguay in Sharjah.

Taiwo Awoniyi – deputising for the injured Success Isaac – scored both goals in a game that was a true test of the Golden Eaglets’ title aspirations. Nigeria will now meet Sweden in the semifinal round, in a replay of their 3-3 Group F draw.

Uruguay had the first chance of note after only six minutes when Enrique Etcheverry crossed low through the penalty area. The impressive Leandro Otormin got a boot to the ball, but could only direct his effort wide of goal.

Nigerian, who scored 18 goals in their four games heading into the quarterfinal round, opened the scoring from a fabulous piece of creative interplay.

Kelechi Iheanacho, scorer of five goals at these finals, laid a wonderful through ball, perfectly weighted, from deep in midfield that was latched onto by Taiwo Awoniyi, the striker made no mistake, hitting home to the back post for his second goal of the tournament.

Stunned into action, the South Americans had a decent spell shortly after. Kevin Mendez and Otormin both tested Dele Alampasu from distance with powerful efforts. But it was Nigeria who controlled most of the possession and created the more dangerous chances. Captain Musa Muhammed’s cross from the right after 34 minutes was only just missed on the doorstep by the tall and rangy Awoniyi.

The second half started with a flurry of chances for Nigeria, Awoniyi and Musa Yahaya both going close to scoring after creating space for themselves at the edge of the penalty area. Uruguay were hanging on, absorbing wave after wave of Nigerian attacks. In the 68th minute, Iheanacho turned and fired from the edge of the box only for his shot to come flying off the back of a brave Uruguayan defender.

The knockout blow finally came in the 79th minute, and it followed the same pattern as the first Nigerian goal. Iheanacho picked up a perfect pass at the edge of the area from Chidiebere Nwakali and carried the ball toward goal with an elegant touch. The Uruguayan defence collapsed on the No 10, but he had the presence of mind to pull the ball across the face of goal, where Awoniyi stabbed home inside the far post.

Nigeria now move on to their seventh U-17 World Cup semifinal, where they will face another thorough examination in the form of the organised and talented Swedes in Dubai.

6-yr-old burnt to death in Lagos fire

A six-year-old boy was burnt to death in a fire that engulfed a building in Iyana-Ifako area of Gbagada Lagos, Tuesday night.

The deceased, identified simply as Abbey, was said to have been sleeping when the incident occurred.

Two of his elder brothers were said to have been rescued by sympathisers. The fire affected 10 rooms in the building located at 3, Ogunde Street, off Somori, Iyana-Ifako.

The cause of the fire, said to have started at 9p.m., could not be ascertained.

While occupants of the buildings scampered from their respective apartments for safety, eyewitnesses said shouts for help from some children in one of the rooms were heard.

Some of the sympathisers said to have gone for rescue mission, discovered that the door was locked.

One of the eyewitnesses said: “Their parents locked them inside and went out. Nobody knew where they went to. The door was forced opened and two of them rescued, though one of them was slightly burnt.

“It was while they got outside that the rescued children said their brother was still inside. By then the fire had engulfed the whole building and nobody could go in again.”

The Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Mr. Rasaq Fadipe, said fire trucks from Ilupeju and Ikeja responded to the distress call. He said the charred remains of the six-year-old boy was recovered.

I don’t hate Obasanjo, we both played politics – Fayose

Former governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose tells ADEOLA BALOGUN andNONYE BEN-NWANKWO why he appears to be enmeshed in diverse controversies

Have you settled with the PDP leaders in Ekiti State over the use of consensus arrangement to select the party candidate for the governorship election?

In a contest, there are so many angles to it; so many intrigues, and so many interests and you won’t blame anybody. It is the way Nigerian politics is structured. Even a man, who is jobless today will tell you he is a politician and he could equally tell you that he is a governorship aspirant. Sometimes, people that manage the affairs of the party will want to first fill their stomach; they don’t put the interest of the party first. They will tell you one story 10 times differently and their actions and inactions would obviously give them out as people who want to eat at the expense of the survival of the corporate entity which is the party. So, talking about consensus, selection or arrangement, whatever name you call it apart from the constitutional provision, it will not work. Nigeria’s democracy is about 15 years old, I will not accept anything unconstitutional.

I am not in politics for the fun of it. I am there to assert the truth; to express myself and to do exactly what is right. Nobody is funding my election; nobody is giving me money. I have not taken a dime or contract from anybody, so there is no way I will accept or submit to anything different from due process. Fifteen years of stable democracy, we must all be ready to face it squarely and sometimes those people who want to impose are always our albatross. So, let me make it clear, when people talk of consensus or selection, I pretend as if I don’t hear. I have told the chairman clearly that it will not work.

You accused the state party chairman of demanding a Range Rover from you, is that true?

Events or issues on this matter have come up on several occasions and as a leader of the party and a former governor, you don’t say it all. Your mission is not to kill the party. If I start talking about the chairman, I will be giving him unnecessary mileage. So, it is most unnecessary whether he demanded or he denied demanding or I have accused him wrongly, events have overtaken that. So, let us face the fact. Some said they want zoning, it is a legitimate agitation; some said they want consensus, it’s their own position. Whether it will work, how it will work, the possibility is another story.

But if you go into the primaries and you lose…

I will even like all of the other aspirants, with all due respect, to come together as one and face me. In fact, they signed a communiqué sometime ago stating that they all supported my purported suspension and consensus but I have said to all of them, they should all come together as one and put all their resources in one person; with all due respect, I will still defeat them.

Is it that you have the money, power or what?

It is not about money. I left the PDP for five and a half years, I came back and won the congress. Forget about who is betraying who, I defeated all of them.

Why are you always jumping from one party to the other?

That is the unfortunate thing about Nigerian politics. When you are oppressed, you must find a way to fight back. Let me give you an instance even though I really don’t want to dabble into APC matter. Opeyemi Bamidele said he wanted to contest and that he should be given the right to contest the primaries, and the party said no. So, if he can win election and because some party leaders say no, he should bury his future? What if he is the person Ekiti people want? So let us realise that most of our leaders want their will, not the will of God. All what I am trying to say is not about ideology or not believing in your party, but we should not murder people’s future. We should stop this idea of this is the position of the leadership. As good as the position of the leadership could be, remember they were at one time in stages like this when they wanted to find their feet. What if they could not find their feet at that time, would they be claiming leadership (today?) My position is very clear about it, when you move to another party, a party is germane. If you want to move from Lagos to Ekiti and you cannot walk, you need a vehicle to get there.

So, it is true that you are part of the problem in Ekiti?

I will always be part of Ekiti problem; I must be, either positive or otherwise. I have told some of the people, I am somebody you can’t ignore; you ignore me at your own peril and that is the truth. In terms of party politics in Ekiti today, it’s not easy to ignore me. Anybody can tell me to go to blazes but let them try and ignore me.

Maybe it is because you cannot be trusted.

It’s not about trust. Why would you set up a media house and look for eggheads to manage it? I am an egghead in Ekiti. When you are good on your job, people will look for you. If I enter Ekiti today, seven years after leaving office in the most controversial circumstances, people still love me. A lot of people have been governor for eight years, they are no longer known or remembered by their people.

But Niyi Adebayo, your predecessor, said all those popularity claims are false.

Niyi Adebayo is saying the truth. The reason for saying so is because he is speaking for his own candidate and then he is speaking from the position of the opposition. It is important to note that I defeated him; history cannot change that fact.

But he said you don’t have any legacy left in Ekiti…

He can talk like that; do you want him to be praising me? He is not supposed to praise me. Adebayo is a gentleman, I respect him a lot but he cannot forget the fact that I defeated him and he cannot like me for that.

He said you didn’t win any election but that you were rigged into the position.

I agree with you; I don’t like to argue that with people. Life is about your position and the way you see things but whether it is right or wrong, I remember that I defeated Adebayo and he did not challenge my victory; he only challenged my name. I am the only person that defeated an incumbent governor without any recourse to court. And that is why among the PDP aspirants in Ekiti, I have three things others don’t have: I am a former governor; I am the only one that has touched lives directly or indirectly and I am the only one with experience.

But at a time you said you worked for Kayode Fayemi to become Ekiti State governor.

I did not say so, it is public knowledge. You can lie but history doesn’t change. I did not work for Fayemi, I brought Fayemi to that stool. Somebody can turn out to be unappreciative of what you did for him but what goes around must come around. This is a natural law; you cannot use money or power you have acquired through the backdoor to build an enduring legacy. The issue remains that Fayemi today might not pick my call, deny that I worked for him; he might tell you that he didn’t have any agreement with me, but conscience is an open thing.

What was the agreement you had with him?

This is also public knowledge. We met and agreed that the ACN (now in APC) would not field anybody for senatorial election and secondly they agreed that I would be given one third of the local governments to put my people there. But let me tell you, I am glad they didn’t keep the agreement because I would have been part of the failing government in Ekiti State. Today, Fayemi himself knows that he is running a failed government; he is no longer popular. Forget about propaganda and pictures in the media; let me reassure you, I don’t believe too much in propaganda because beneath the propaganda is the truth. Whatever any good anybody does for you, courtesy, fairness and equity demand you reciprocate the goodness. Apart from that, even if I didn’t help Fayemi, I am a former governor; he will be a former governor one day. Fayemi went to the state House of Assembly and told them not to pay me my gratuity and entitlement, claiming that I did not finish my term. As I said, Fayose is a former governor today. Fayemi went as far as removing former governor Oni’s picture from the roll call of former governors of the state, saying that Oni was not known to law. If he removed Oni’s picture, why didn’t he remove all the roads that Oni built? Fayemi should remember that the unborn child will still be governor of Ekiti; what we sow today will germinate tomorrow.

Why are you always fighting people? You fought the Ayo Arises of this world, even Segun Oni you are talking about now.

Power is about struggle. When you say somebody is fighting, do we say Fayemi is not fighting when he went to attack Opeyemi Bamidele? People can brand you any name they like. I remember during the rerun when I was working for ACN, I wasn’t fighting that time; I was a good boy. But now when I want power back, I am fighting everybody. I was wrongfully removed from office and as a result, I believe I can still make it and I will make it. I believe I can still be restored through the votes of the people, so I still have to struggle. And in the course of struggle, people may perceive you as fighting. If you are not important, they will not be shouting your name. They are shouting my name. if I am not important, why are they fighting me too? Why don’t they leave me alone? It is because I am an issue they have to deal with. I am not a pushover. When you are blunt and frank, people will give you names. I am a very frank person, I don’t lie; I don’t play to the gallery; I want to tell people the way it is. I know people don’t say that in politics but not saying it has put Ekiti where we are today.

You said you were wrongly removed from office.Was Obasanjo the person that removed you?

There is no point mentioning names seven years after. I am out of office, either rightly or wrongly; what is important is that I want to go back and I am making efforts to go back.

Is it because you don’t like being pushed around that you hate Obasanjo so much?

Let me tell you, I don’t hate Obasanjo. Obasanjo played politics and I too played politics. The fact still remains that Obasanjo has made his mark and I have made my own mark in my little way. If we don’t put all this behind, we won’t get anywhere. There is no way I can wish Obasanjo away and there is no way Obasanjo can wish me away, even in Ekiti politics. Even if Obasanjo doesn’t want me back and God wants me back, what can he do? So, if I become governor today, I will still go and look for him because he is a statesman.

But you wanted to beat him up sometime ago.

Well, what you are talking about is now history; let’s put more energy into the future. Obasanjo remains a leader to be associated with and whatever you call him, he has done his bit. There is no way we will not fight; we fought; we reconciled and we moved forward.

You are angling to become governor again, have all the court cases against you been cleared?

Are you saying that a man is guilty before the courts say so? The law says the man is assumed innocent until the courts prove otherwise. I have never been absent in court; I didn’t run away.

But can you clear the air concerning the poultry project that went awry?

There is no air to clear. When you charge a man to court, the man is not supposed to be talking about the case; it is subjudice. So, I can’t be talking about the case but the fact remains that a man remains innocent until otherwise proved. But let me remind you, the current governor of Abia State was in EFCC net until the day he was sworn in. Atiku was facing charges when he contested; Iyiola Omisore was in Agodi prison for murder when he won election as senator. I want to tell you that the president of Kenya is currently facing a criminal case at the international court; so let us throw away all those things. They are only political tools in the minds of weaklings who are afraid of the political will and strength of the opposition. I stand to tell you again that if it is the will of God that I will contest this election, nothing is stopping me. And don’t forget that I contested senate election even when the case was going on and nothing stopped me.

Even for the senate election, Adebayo said nobody rigged you out but that Ekiti people rejected you.

It’s his opinion; he cannot be praising me because I defeated him. A woman that was driven out from the house would not have kind words for the man. Adebayo has an axe to grind with me but one thing that is clear is that history will put it down that I was the one that defeated him.

We learnt that you did not finish from the polytechnic in Ibadan. Are you a dropout?

I was taken to court over this same issue when I became governor and the court ruled that it was all falsehood. I have defeated an incumbent before and I have the key to do that again. Like a man said, ‘Ayo Fayose, since they did not allow you to spend your four years, nobody will be able to do anything again.’ But I said it is not like that; it is only that people love me.

It is believed that your popularity claim is false, that you only possess nuisance value.

Yes, nuisance is part of the game. There are a lot of politicians in Abuja, they are nuisance but they are the ones ‘chopping’ our money. The rascality here and there, what of people coming out to say they are going to bring Nigeria down? Are they not nuisance? If a nuisance stays in front of your house now and says you are not coming out, what can you do?

But today in Ekiti, apart from the incumbent governor who is likely to run for second term, the only name that is so visible for the governorship post is Opeyemi Bamidele; are you saying you can stand him in an election?

I am not going to talk about MOB; I respect all our leaders. Niyi Adebayo is a wonderful leader in his own right; he has done his bit. Segun Oni is a wonderful leader. Forget about politics, everybody that has served even if it is for one hour, has tried. To coordinate people and lead them is not easy. I have a lot of respect for Adebayo, if we see now, we will greet each other. MOB too is contributing where he is.

Would you say that you did well for Ekiti people as governor?

That is not good in my mouth; it is left for other people to say that. Forget about politics, go and ask from those that benefitted from me or Oni or Adebayo or Fayemi, the local people. They are the people that can tell you who did well but I can say that I opened up Ekiti. I gave it a beginning that they can never forget.

Can you describe how you were taken away from the government house in a car boot as governor?

Again, if we start opening one thing, it will lead to another. The fact remains that in the course of survival, you do so many things as long as you are alive. As long as you still have opportunity, it will make you a better person. What happened to me during my removal is most regrettable. During the Obasanjo regime, governors were hunted; that was his style but things have changed today. Not because the governors cannot be hunted but because democracy has grown stronger. The people are conscious of their rights. Before, no court could remove any governor but today, governors are being removed so easily. Maybe if I had been wiser, I would not have been removed from office.

Was it because governors were being hunted during Obasanjo regime that made you not to greet him when you met even as an elder?

Let me put it this way; enough has happened and the best way to live life especially when you still need people is to equally remember that what you say and don’t say matter. Whatever it is today, Obasanjo remains a leader; we have had our differences but we still have to move on.

But you didn’t greet him that time even as a leader from Yoruba.

That is not the issue here; whether I greeted him or I didn’t greet him, that has been overtaken by events. Everybody has the right to reaction but the fact remains that those reactions, either rightly or wrongly have come. If I had overdone it, I am not a perfect person. Obasanjo too today would have made one or two mistakes in life and I am sure that in his own closet, as strong and powerful as he may be, he must have reflected on that. But above all, he is an elder statesman and we will continue to appreciate him.

When people raised doubts about your true father in those days, would you regard that as the greatest political war anyone could fight against you?

If my father is not my true father, I was born into this world. I have a mother and whoever made love to my mother; that is between them. That is not an issue with me; I have made a good name and I am an asset to anybody that gave birth to me for being a governor. At least, they cannot deny that I have a mother. But thank God my father came to court to clear all this and in law, whatever is settled is settled. But the fact remains that it was all made up story. Even in Igboland, if a man does not come out to claim a child, the mother gives her father’s name to him. Does it mean that child is a bastard? Even if you call me a bastard, I don’t mind because somebody put me in her stomach and I live and now I am an asset to my mother. My mother is very happy to give birth to me whether it is for the right man or the wrong man, it is not important. But thank God, my father came to court and sorted that out. But it is stupid to call someone a bastard; somebody who has come out to be somebody in life; I would go and claim that child and apologise even if he is not my own.

But how does your wife cope with a man who is a direct opposite of her?

That woman is a gift of God, a rare gift of God and I want to tell you that I owe everything to God and her. I will not deny the fact that I am tough and that is the way we are as a family but God has a way of keeping a balance. My wife is exceptional; even when she was the governor’s wife, she was not a loud person. I want to tell you that I will marry that woman again and again. If you are fighting me, one problem you will have is that my wife will finish you with prayer. Have you not noticed that all the battles I have had for the past seven years, if it had been somebody else, they would have overcome me? If my wife says I should slap you now, I will slap you seven times and nothing will happen. If people are giving me problems now, she will be telling me to send prayer requests, she will be on her knees nonstop 24 hours. As I am speaking to you, she is on her knees. When she wakes up in the morning, she will hold my two legs and my hands and she will be praying and I might be snoring away. You study my life, when people give me hassles, one way or the other, the storm will just go down. My wife will tell me that those people are wasting their time. I have seen it happen several times; people would give me problems and they ended up with problems because my wife had told me they would pay dearly for it.

But you beat this wonderful woman, why?

That is a reckless question and I can not answer it; how can I beat my wife?

At least it was reported.

I don’t know and I wonder that you are reading such junk papers; I cannot answer such question. How can a responsible man who is governor beat his wife? You know in Nigeria, when people are not punished for certain things, they continue to say it all because they give them silly money to destroy images. I can’t be defending what my dogs are saying. I can’t bring my wife down to such level; how can I beat such a virtuous woman?

Supposing you are schemed out and fail to clinch the ticket, are you ready to jump to another party to achieve your aim?

I won’t be schemed out. I don’t look at life from negative perspective; I believe that my journey will end well. I will be candidate of the party and I will step forward to win for the PDP. Even if I don’t win, those people who are saying that Fayose will jump are wasting their time. I will not leave PDP, whatever happens.

You have been there before, why do you want to go back?

Because I am entitled to it. I was removed at the prime of my time and today I am still viable and willing to assist the people. The responses from my people are still positive; I am still popular.

Owing to the ordeals you went through, hasn’t your wife asked you to forget about governorship and enjoy a quiet life?

My wife came to Ekiti about a year ago to proclaim that her husband will come back; I don’t want anybody to ignore that. My wife’s pronouncement will happen. What happened to me in office towards the end of my administration, my wife warned me. She warned me against certain things and certain people that would betray me and it happened. I have started this campaign for some time and she called me and asked whether I really wanted to be governor again and I said yes. She said she was going to pray about it and after her prayer; she went to Ekiti to proclaim it that her husband was coming back and it was reported in the media. That prophesy must happen; when she says it, it happens. My wife is a virtuous woman.

What were you doing specifically before you entered into politics.

I don’t have to answer that question because events have overtaken it. The question you are asking me should be what to ask me 10 years ago, I am a prominent Nigerian today. This is how I see what you are asking me: A man who was a school certificate holder became a degree holder, then he became a masters degree holder, then a PhD holder and then a professor and you are now asking him what happened before he became a school certificate holder.

At God’s market in Benin: Ritual items everywhere!

Relics of normal life in time past are much sought after in sacrificial preparations. Some of these objects and materials, to the uninitiated, are very hard to come by. To the uninitiated, seeing a tortoise could probably be at the zoo, but for those who indulge in sacrificial practices, they know where exactly to go, they know the right market and they know the right people to call on.

The traditional Oliha and Ekiosa markets in Benin City are the right places to go if one needs those rare animals, native chalks, coins and several other materials which have spent over two hundred years. Feathers of rare birds like ostrich, sparrow and even vulture, all of which have different connotations, as investigations revealed, you can get in these markets also.

Things that were hitherto used as means of exchange in the days of old including cowries have now become ingredients of sacrificial preparations. Invariably, earthen pots serve as vessel for the preparations. Earthen pots are still very popular in Benin because they keep food steamy. Local restaurants serve delicacies like black soup, banga soup or even pepper soup in earthen pots. Whereas earthen pots play major role in the preparation of several sacrifices performed by traditionalists, these sacrifices are kept mainly in junctions because they believe that many legs cross such places.

The practice continues among Binis, according to a resident. “The practice is still very relevant here, basically, because we love our tradition which includes sacrifices”, he boasted. There was a time Bishop Margaret Idahosa of Church of God Mission was asked to comment on the proliferation of churches in Benin City, and she said, “Is it not better we have that than the usual sacrifices we see in the streets?”

Investigations revealed some of the reasons people resort to the agelong practice of sacrifice include protection, search for luck, down turn in circumstance. Others do it to seek the face of the gods against conditions such as bareness, stagnation or to even ward off evil or unpalatable situations. On a collective note, individuals or groups gather to make sacrifice like in cases of annual festivals such as the Igue festival in Benin Kingdom or other customary or periodic ones.

Some of these sacrifices are believed to be capable of appeasing the ancestors or the gods of the land. In other instances, sacrifices have been made to bring or stop rain depending on the situation.

Situations have been seen in the past where celebrants who have invested heavily in coming ceremonies including burial, birthday parties, call traditionalists to offer sacrifice to avert rain during the occasions. In such instances, curious observers can see at a corner of a big party or event people making wood fire and pouring palm oil and local gin to seek the face of the gods and avert rain. We have the Osun Oshogbo festival in Osun State, the Olokun festival in the South-west and even in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, which all serve as pointer that people are still enmeshed in sacrificial offerings, if not obligations. Elsewhere people sacrifice to deities which they connect to, including Ogun, Olokun,Yemoja, all of which investigations showed still have active priests watching as gatemen in their (the gods) continuous existence.

To further buttress the import of these deities and sacrifices in Benin Kingdom and even other parts of the country, the people of Ikhuenebo in Uhumwonde Local Government Area of Edo State, recently, vowed never to cede any of their shrines to the people of Iguomo. Iguomo had claimed that the land, where over twenty shrines are located in Ikhuenebo community, belongs to them. The chief priest of Ikhuenobo, Chief Enawakponmwhem Aighobahi, who took Sunday Vanguard round the shrines, said they will rather die than give up the shrines.

He narrated, “Our shrines were founded by Oba Ewuare the Great who led Benin Kingdom from 1440-1473. Where I am standing now, Oba Ewuare is the founder of this Okwuainebenaka shrine. This shrine is number two in the hierarchy of all Okwaihe in Ikwe. We have been here since over one thousand years ago, we are not strangers. You can see the structure of the shrine. I am the Ohen; among the top 16 Ohen chief priests, I am the second in hierarchy. The senior one is at Ewiekoyu.

I am a descendant of Ohiobonikwe on that lineage because the title is hereditary. So it came to us as a shock that Iguomo community said that the whole of Ikhuobo land belongs to them”.

One could see that the community had not relented in their efforts to give the gods what belongs to them through daily sacrifices. This observation led Sunday Vanguard to Kemwinkemwin market, as the line where the sacrificial materials is called in Oliha and Ekiosa markets.

The visit was quite revealing. Sunday Vanguard went with a Bini interpreter, Ogieva Oyemwenosa, because those who deal in these materials are elderly women who are traditionalists and don’t speak English. It was learnt that the materials are used for sacrifices both for good and evil, while those who deal in them are also pure traditionalists who worship different gods. Walking round Kémwinkémwin could be scary because you see the skulls of monkey, owl, pigeon, sparrow, hyena, live tortoise and their skulls too. Any customer around the line definitely came to buy one sacrificial object or another. Foreigners also come from Europe and America to purchase these things because Sunday Vanguard was informed that some white people also worship Olokun (river goddess).

At the Kemwinkemwin line of Oliha market, 76-year-old Madam Christianah Oliha explained some of the materials to Sunday Vanguard: “What I am holding now are the Azáolokun, Adá and the Ebèn, used for worshipping Olokun. This one is Uleko, someone that has had his bath with juju is the one that wears it. I have taken that bath, so I am free to wear it.

What about native chalk. What is it used for?
“Native chalk (Orhue) is used for juju dance; it can be ground and eaten. When you grind it, you put it in your hand and use it to praise God. Whether you go to church or you serve juju, when you pour
it out in your hand, you add salt to it and you use it to praise God to guide you and your family.

What about cowries?
“Ikpigho (cowries) are used to worship Olokun. We use them for good things, we don’t throw them away. You can use them for Orunmila (god served with white clothes), you can use it for Sángo, and you can also use it to plant evil.

How long have these things been in existence?

“It has been long, over two hundred years. I grew up to meet them. When I was growing up, Anini (Benin coin used those days for transactions) was used to buy things. Initially, cowries were being used for transaction. From the cowries, we started using Anini. It was the Anini that I grew up to meet. From Anini, we moved to Ekpini. All of them are here. From Ekpini, we started using Kobo. Cowries were used for transaction during the time of my forefathers.

Alligator pepper
“It is used when one wants to perform a juju ceremony. Alligator pepper mixed with Afòr, native chalk (Òrhue) and ash (Emuè) is used to clean abomination. With native pepper, you use it to cleanse yourself before you start the juju ceremony. This is what was applicable in the days of old. You grind the native chalk, put your leg on it and count six, take it round your neck which signifies cleansing before entering inside for the main juju ceremony”.
Asked when she started the business, Madam Oliha explained that she was into yam and goat business before she “entered the juju properties (Kèmwinkèmwin) business and so far it has favoured me and my family”.

She continued: “This business has been good for me. It has improved the life of my children, it has given me all I require in life. People started the business before most of us, our mothers were in this market before they died but today it is our turn. I have spent over 15 years in the business”. Explaining some of the materials in her shop, she said: “This is the head of a goat used for sacrifice. This is the head of a bush meat (Akwághá), it can cure epilepsy. This is called Akwá. This one is medicinal; it can be used to cure people suffering from pile and cough when burnt”. Asked what the clothes in her shop represent, she said: “The red is for worshipping Satan or Olokun. If you want to worship Olokun, it is the dark red that you will use to sew a very big skirt and shirt (Bulukú). For Sango (god of thunder), you take both the red and white. For Ogun, you add the red; black and white together in sewing the skirt and shirt. The broken eggs are used for child bearing while the native pot is used for bathing when performing juju, you can also use it for cooking medicine”.When Sunday Vanguard tried to find out whether she goes to church, she asserted: “I am not a Christian. I am a juju worshipper. Not that I don’t believe in God, I do. A clean mind serves God. My intentions are good toward men and women; I don’t feel hatred for anybody. I will not see a rich man and be angry with him. I feel the pains of others and I will always beg God to assist them. I am not a devil, I worship juju. My mind is even cleaner than the so-called Christians who attend church every Sunday. Juju worshipping is our tradition and you are punished when you do evil to an innocent person”.

Jehovah’s Witnesses
At Ekiosa market, Kèmwinkèmwin blossoms too. Madam Rose Omorodion, who declared that she was a juju priestess, started by narrating the history of the market. According to her: “Ekiosa market started with the Jehovah’s Witnesses; this was where they built their church when they came to Benin and that is why it is called Ekiosa meaning God’s market. When they left, we came here and started selling provisions, yam, plantain, beans, rice and this our business also started. The market started like that before government came to build it for us; then it caught fire. We did not know what caused the fire but this is the second time they are building the market. This is the Kémwinkémwin line of Ekiosa market; it is a place where you can find the things of the old including the native pot (Ákhá).

The native pot can be used to worship Olokun which we serve in the river. This one is the statue of the Olokun (displaying it to Sunday Vanguard), called Aza. This one is the white man’s money while the other one is the cowrie used for business transaction in the days of old. After the cowrie, we had the coin. So we said the cowrie cannot be destroyed because of its importance and we decided to keep it. This one is Unién. You can use it to cook and it is also medicinal. This one is the statue of Sángo (Ukiisángo). The other one here is Ekò. It is chewed when a man or woman’s stomach is hot, especially pregnant women. We have the olden days knife used in the shrine of Orumila. We use the tortoise to prepare serious juju medicine”.

Asked why she took to this trade which is against the Christian faith, Madam Omorodion declared she had no apologies being a juju priestess. “I am a real juju woman, a river goddess. So I can be called upon at any time if Sango is troubling someone. I can heal the person. I can also deal with people that are being troubled by the river, I can bath the person and it will stop. Traditional healing of river spirit which is called Ogbanje by others is better than what they do in churches.

If we traditionalists want to bath a child from the river, we fetch some leaves, squeeze them together and use it to bath the child. When I was a child, I used to die every day due to spirit. But when an old man from Kokori was invited, he bathed me and showed me how to deal with the river goddess after he said I am a goddess from the river. I became okay and since that time I have never been sick and I am over 60 years now. I have the powers today and that is why I help people with similar problem. Some people come from abroad for help, I bath them and when they go back they are never sick again.” Asked to react to the comment that the tortoise is a powerful animal for rituals, she stated: “Yes. Even when a person is cursed by Ogun to die, the tortoise can be used to relieve the person from that curse because, since the tortoise is a tricky animal, the curse on that person is averted by the tortoise”.

On her part, Madam Mary Erhese told Sunday Vanguard that that the materials they sell also help in preparing rituals for Benin sons and daughters who travel abroad. Her words: “There are mothers who come to us for help for their children who travelled and have not reached their destination. They will come to us to give them materials and, when we do, before one month, that child will get to where he or she is going”.

Syria conflict: Israel 'carries out Latakia air strike'

"There's every likelihood that this was the squadron that carried out the attack", reports Quentin Sommerville

Continue reading the main story

Israeli aircraft have carried out a strike near the Syrian coastal city of Latakia, a US official says.

The official said the strike targeted Russian-made missiles intended for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Latakia is a stronghold of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, where his Alawite community is concentrated.

This is believed to be sixth Israeli attack in Syria this year. Israel does not comment on specific operations.

Israeli officials have repeatedly said it would act if it felt Syrian weapons, conventional or chemical, were being transferred to militant groups in the region, especially Hezbollah.

Continue reading the main story      Analysis

Kevin ConnollyBBC News, Jerusalem

Israeli air-raids on military targets inside Syria have become one of the strangest sub-plots of the civil war.

This is thought to be the fifth or sixth such attack this year but it is Israeli policy not to offer any public comment on specific operations.

Syria too - for all its decades of hostility towards Israel - hasn't offered any military response and has tended to say little or nothing about the operations.

Israel has said publicly that it won't allow the Assad regime in Damascus to transfer powerful rockets and missiles to its allied Shia militia Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where they could threaten targets in Israel.

The Syrian government caught in a grinding civil war of attrition within its borders does not have the capacity for any kind of military confrontation with Israel - avoiding public comment may be a way of reducing pressure from its own people and from the wider Arab world for some form of retaliation.

Israel's silence gives it some kind of deniability - even if no-one really doubts it is responsible.

The US, Israel's closest ally, may be a little concerned. The consignment of expensive weapons destroyed is thought to have come from Russia, and Washington won't want to see Russian displeasure provoked at a moment when its co-operation is needed to keep alive any hope of peace talks.

Reports of the strike came as the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said all Syria's declared equipment for making chemical weapons had been destroyed, one day before a deadline.

Action by the OPCW was agreed following allegations, denied by the Syrian government, that its forces had used chemical weapons in civilian areas - and after the US and France threatened military intervention.

Delicate moment

A US official said the Israeli strike took place overnight from Wednesday into Thursday.

Reports circulated on Thursday of explosions near Latakia, but the cause was not clear.

"Several explosions were heard in an air defence base in the Snubar Jableh area," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist network.

Neither Israel nor Syria have commented on the reports. Earlier this year, Mr Assad had promised to respond to any future strikes by Israel.

One unnamed US official told the Associated Press that the missiles targeted by Israel were Russian-made SA-125s.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says the reports come at a delicate moment, with the Russians - who apparently made the weapons that Israel is said to have targeted - working closely with the US to get a peace conference on Syria off the ground.

Russia has been a key backer of President Assad's, continuing to supply his government with weapons during the conflict in Syria.

Lakhdar Brahimi: "We are making progress. Whether that progress will be enough... is not certain"

The UN Joint Special Representative for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, has told the BBC he believes progress was "certainly being made" on preparations for an international peace conference in Switzerland - widely referred to as Geneva 2.

'Constructive partner'

But he said it was not certain if it was enough for the conference to take place, as planned, on 23 November. He said he hoped to announce a date soon.

Speaking in Damascus, at the end of his first visit to the capital since December, he said "people are realising more and more there is no military solution and don't see any way of getting out of this horrible situation except through Geneva".

On Thursday, the OPCW said in a statement that its teams had inspected 21 of the 23 chemical weapons sites in Syria.

It said two sites were too dangerous to visit, but equipment from those sites had already been moved to places where it could be inspected.

Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told the BBC that his government was co-operating, and was making a contribution to freeing the Middle East of weapons of mass destruction.

Lyse Doucet reports from Damascus

"I hope those who have always thought of us negatively will change their minds and understand that Syria was, is, and will be always a constructive partner," Mr Mekdad said.

Syria's next deadline is mid-November, by which time the OPCW and the Syrians must agree a detailed plan to destroy the country's chemical weapons stockpile.

Syria has until mid-2014 to destroy the chemical weapons themselves.

Syria's arsenal is believed to include more than 1,000 tonnes of the nerve gas sarin, the blister agent sulphur mustard and other banned chemicals, stored at dozens of sites.

The uprising against Mr Assad began in 2011. More than 100,000 people have been killed and more than two million people have fled the country, according to the UN.

South African Anene Booysen rapist jailed for life

Johannes Kana, 22, admitted raping Anene Booysen but not killing her

A South African man found guilty of the rape and brutal murder of a 17-year-old girl has been sentenced to two life terms in prison by a court near Cape Town.

State prosecutors had requested this sentence - without parole - for 22-year-old Johannes Kana.

Anene Booysen died in February, hours after she was mutilated in a case that caused national outrage.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of sexual violence in the world.

'Shocking and inhumane'

Continue reading the main storyAt the scene

Shortly before his sentence was handed down I approached Johannes Kana and asked him how he was feeling. "I feel good because I know I'm not guilty of killing Anene," he said confidently. He confessed to assaulting and raping the teenager during the trial but denied killing her.

He did not show any emotion as Judge Patricia Goliath referred to the brutality of his attack on Anene Booysen. She said the "barbaric attack gave the court an idea of the type of person Kana is" and that the 22-year-old "did not show any remorse for the crimes he committed".

When the judge handed down the sentence, some of Miss Booysen's relatives started sobbing quietly. But Kana's uncle reacted by clapping his hands and laughing. He described the verdict as "a joke".

The attack sparked anger and outrage over the high levels of violence against women in South Africa. The government and police often come under fire for the low conviction rate of sexual offenders. But this time things were done differently: the trial was fast tracked and a stiff sentence was handed down.

"This is a joke," he said, adding that the system was unjust.

Many of those attending the trial feel justice has been served, our correspondent says.

But some in the community have raised questions about whether Kana was the only person involved in the attack as Ms Booysen told police before she died that there were several assailants, our reporter says.

She was left for dead at a construction site near her house in Bredasdorp and later died in a Cape Town hospital after she had been raped and disembowelled.

At the time President Jacob Zuma described the attack as "shocking, cruel and most inhumane".

He called for courts to impose the "harshest sentences" for sexual crimes.

During the trial, doctors who treated Ms Booysen described her horrific injuries - one said they were the worst injuries she had ever seen.

Just before she died, she said in hospital that five or six men had been involved in the attack.

But state prosecutors say that at the time she was intoxicated, in pain and under heavy medication so she may have been confused.

Three suspects were initially arrested but only Kana stood trial.

Anene Booysen's rape and murder outraged South Africans

He confessed to raping Ms Booysen but denied killing her.

Meanwhile, charges against four of five men accused of kidnapping, raping and killing two young girls in Diepsloot, a shanty town north of Johannesburg, were withdrawn at the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Friday.

The state prosecutor said evidence showed the men were not in Diepsloot at the time of the crime last month.

A fifth man remains in custody and the case was postponed until 27 November to allow for further investigation.

Last year, South African police figures show that 64,000 incidents of rape were reported last year.

Police say that a child is raped every three minutes in the country.

Germany hopes for details from Snowden on US spying

A summary of US spying allegations brought about by Edward Snowden's leak of classified documents

The German government says it is keen to hear directly from the fugitive NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden about the US spy agency's activities.

Reports that the US bugged Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone for years have caused a diplomatic rift.

Mr Snowden's lawyer said there could be a meeting with German investigators in Moscow, but not Germany.

Earlier the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, said that in some cases, US spying had gone too far.

He said he would work with President Barack Obama to prevent further inappropriate actions by the National Security Agency.

Mr Snowden, 30, fled to Russia in June after leaking details of far-reaching US telephone and internet espionage. He has temporary asylum, allowing him to live in Russia, until July 2014.

"If the message is that Mr Snowden wants to give us information then we'll gladly accept that," German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said on Friday.

The German chancellor's anxiety about US spying overshadowed last week's EU summit, when she remarked with irritation that spying on friends is "really not on".

In a surprise move, a German Green MP, Hans-Christian Stroebele, met Mr Snowden in Moscow on Thursday and revealed the former intelligence contractor's readiness to brief the German government on NSA spying.

Mr Snowden set out his position in a letter, which Mr Stroebele showed to reporters at a news conference in Berlin on Friday.

The scale of the alleged US espionage has provoked international concern and calls for tighter supervision.

Asian countries have protested at claims that Australia was involved in a US-led spy network.

China has demanded an explanation of the reports, while Indonesia has summoned the Australian ambassador to Jakarta.

In other developments:
Major technology companies including Google, Apple and Yahoo have called for the US government to do more to rein in the NSA's activities
Indonesia's foreign minister said reports that the NSA used Australian embassies to eavesdrop on Asian countries would indicate a "serious breach" of diplomatic rules.

'Amazingly talkative'

Mr Stroebele said Mr Snowden would be ready to go to Germany if it could be guaranteed that he would not be extradited to the United States, where he is wanted to stand trial for revealing official secrets.

The Bundestag - the lower house of the German parliament - has the power to decree that someone addressing it has immunity but it is not clear whether Mr Snowden would get legal protection in Germany.

However, Mr Snowden's lawyer Anatoly Kucherena later said his client would not go to Germany.

"This is not possible because he has no right to cross Russian borders," Mr Kucherena said.

"Within the framework of international agreements Snowden can give testimony in Russia but this should be decided by the German authorities," Mr Kucherena said.

Mr Stroebele had suggested that investigators could question Mr Snowden in Moscow about the NSA.

The German government says it would welcome a meeting with the whistleblower.

"We will find a way, if Mr Snowden is willing to talk,'' Mr Friedrich said. "Any clarification, any information and facts that we can get, is good."

Speaking to German ARD television, Mr Stroebele said that Mr Snowden had "made it clear that he knows a very great deal."

Mr Stroebele described the former intelligence contractor as "amazingly talkative - he has a mission, an urge to communicate, he wants things to be put back on a legal basis".

Mr Snowden is starting work on Friday for a major private website in Russia, his lawyer has said.

Mr Kucherena would not disclose which site has employed Mr Snowden, citing security concerns.

Mr Stroebele (right) met Mr Snowden at a secret location in Moscow

Shooting reported at Los Angeles airport

Aerials of the scene at Los Angeles airport

Several people have been wounded by gunfire at Los Angeles International Airport.

The Transportation Security Administration confirmed one of its employees had been shot.

Emergency vehicles and heavily armed police are on the scene. Officers were reported to be searching and clearing the terminals.

Passengers were ordered to evacuate the airport, some onto the tarmac.

All outbound flights have been cancelled.

The incident was initially reported after 9:30 local time (16:30 GMT).

The Los Angeles Fire Department said it was assisting police at a "multi-patient incident".

Witness Robert Perez told a CBS affiliate that airport security officers ran through the terminal yelling that a man had a gun.

"I heard popping and everybody dropped to the ground," Mr Perez said.

Another witness, Brian Keech, told the Associated Press news agency he heard "about a dozen gunshots" from inside the security gate at Terminal 3.

The White House confirmed President Barack Obama had been briefed on the incident.

A witness captured images of civilians on the Los Angeles International Airport tarmac following reports of a shooting

A security vehicle was seen on the airport tarmac following reports of a shooting

Pakistan Taliban say chief Mehsud killed in drone strike

Mehsud became leader of the Pakistani Taliban in 2009

The leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud, has been killed in a drone strike, a high-ranking Taliban official has told our reporter.

The strike targeted a vehicle used by Mehsud with four missiles in the north-western region of North Waziristan.

Four other people were killed in the strike, including two of Mehsud's bodyguards, intelligence sources say.

Several previous claims of his death, made by US and Pakistani intelligence sources, have proven untrue.

Mehsud became leader of the Pakistani Taliban in 2009, aged 30, after his predecessor died in a US drone strike.

Hakimullah had come to prominence in 2007 as a commander under Baitullah, with the capture of 300 Pakistani soldiers adding to his prestige among the militants.

Mehsud had a $5m FBI bounty on his head and was thought to be responsible for the deaths of thousands of people.

The attack targeting him comes on the same day that the Pakistani government announced it was about to send a delegation to North Waziristan to try to get peace negotiations with the Taliban under way.