George Zimmerman, who has been in hiding since he was acquitted of murder in the death of Trayvon Martin, emerged to help rescue a family who was trapped in an overturned vehicle, police said today.
Zimmerman was one of two men who came to the aid of Dana and Mark Gerstle and their two children, who were trapped inside a blue Ford Explorer SUV that had rolled over after traveling off the highway in Sanford, Fla. at approximately 5:45 p.m. Thursday, the Seminole County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
The crash occurred at the intersection of I-4 and route Route 46, police said. The crash site is less than a mile from where Zimmerman shot Martin.
By the time police arrived, two people – including Zimmerman – had already helped the family get out of the overturned car, the sheriff's office said. No one was reported to be injured.
Zimmerman was not a witness to the crash and left after speaking with the deputy, police said.
It's the first known sighting of Zimmerman since he left the courtroom following his controversial acquittal last week on murder charges for the death of Martin. Zimmerman, 29, shot and killed Martin, 17, in Sanford, Fla., on Feb. 26, 2012. The jury determined that Zimmerman shot Martin in self-defense.
The acquittal prompted dozens of protests across the country this past weekend and his lawyers have said that Zimmerman has been the subject of death threats. His lawyers said Zimmerman has been wearing a bullet-proof vest when he ventures out in public.
Zimmerman's parents told ABC News' Barbara Walters they too have received death threats and have been unable to return to their home.
"We have had an enormous amount of death threats. George's legal counsel has had death threats, the police chief of Sanford, many people have had death threats," Zimmerman's father, Robert Zimmerman said."'Everyone with Georgie's DNA should be killed' — just every kind of horrible thing you can imagine."
An indication of the animosity toward Zimmerman is the number of threatening phone calls being received by a woman in Winter Park, Fla.
Lori Tankel told ABCNews.com that someone had incorrectly posted her cell phone number online thinking it was Zimmerman's. She said she started receiving threatening calls within an hour after the jury had reached a verdict on July 13.
"They were saying things like, 'Zimmerman? Is this George? We're going to get you, we're going to kill you,'" she said.
Her cell phone number is only one digit off from Zimmerman's, she said.
Tankel said she received at least 80 phone calls within one day of the jury's not guilty verdict. While the threats died down during the week, she said they ramped right back up again on Friday and continued through the weekend.
"Those phone calls were extremely malicious," she said. "I think at that point, they kind of knew it wasn't George Zimmerman's number, but they were still going to harass me."
Tankel said she initially reported the threatening calls to the the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, but was told to follow up with law enforcement in Orange County, Fla., where she lives, to file a report, she said.
But Tankel she said she won't be changing her number anytime soon.
"I'm a sales representative for several different horse-related companies, and I have five states in my territory," she said. "To change business cards and contact everybody, it's not that simple."
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The Senator representing Ondo Central, Ayo Akinyelure, on Monday apologized to the people of the state for supporting underage marriage law.
He said he voted in error.
The Senator, who was summoned to a stakeholders’ meeting at Adegbemile Cultural Central Hall in Akure, to explain why he backed the law, urged the people to count it as part of human errors which could be committed by anyone.
Akinyelure, who is popularly known as ”Allover” could not control himself as he wept profusely like a baby in the presence of his people after prostrating to them, seeking forgiveness.
The lawmaker, while defending himself on the issue, claimed that he mistakenly pressed “NO” instead of “YES” when the lawmakers embarked on voting since the voting style was electronic.
He said, “Nobody is above human error. What happened has made me to become wiser, because nobody is perfect except God. I will like to make the following clarification on the subject matter to correct the wrong allegations of voting in favour of underage marriage as widely reported in the national dailies.
“Before this issue occurred, what the Senate considered for determination under the review of the Nigerian Constitution was renunciation of citizenship under the Constitution as contained in section 29 (4b) which provides that ‘any woman who married shall be deemed to be a full age.’ it is worthy of note that full age has been defined under section 29 (4a) to mean the age of 18 years and above.”
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Crisis rocking the Catholic Church in Edo State took a turn for the worse as Edo chiefs of Bini extraction, led by Iyase (Prime Minister) of Benin, Chief Sam Igbe, on Friday, called for the immediate removal of the Archbishop of Benin Catholic Diocese, Augustine Akubeze.
The call, according to Igbe, becomes necessary over the alleged refusal by the Archbishop to conduct mass in the local dialect and his disrespect for the Benin monarch.
A group, Edo Liturgical Group, had last year called on the Catholic Pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI, to remove Akubeze, who is of Igbo origin. It also demanded use of Bini language in church officiating.
Igbe, in a prepared speech, called on the pope to urgently effect Akubeze’s transfer out from the diocese.
The statement read in part, “We, the Edo people see the archbishop’s appointment as a conquest of the Benin archdiocese and we want our honour restored, we cannot allow a missionary tribal ruler priest to dilute the moral strength of the Church.”
Igbe stated that Catholic priests of Bini origin were being overlooked, while others were imported from Eastern Nigeria.
He said, “We find it unacceptable that the Catholic Church and Augustine Akubeze decided to treat our revered king and our people with such disdain and disrespect. In consideration of all these and the desire to create an enabling environment for honest evangelisation, we have come to the inevitable decision that Akubeze cannot continue to remain as a shepherd of the Catholic Church in Benin."
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
I love Nigerians so much; we have an amusing way of overheating any situation and when it occurs, most of the agitators often barely know why they are throwing tantrums! I have been watching with so much awe how Nigerians have been hitting their heads against the wall for the right course but in the wrong direction. I know this agitation over the ongoing child marriage palava will end like every other protests in the country’s history book. ?
?I’ve been pondering, wondering and imagining if the agitations would actually put paid to the frequent incidence of no fewer than 39 per cent, that is, 6,888,570 Nigerian girls below the age of 18 being married off every year. Sincerely, I don’t think so. ??Yes, the Nigerian constitution is as sick as the country itself but I am very certain that the Northern part of the country, which is often accused for the dastardly act, is not the only producer of the 6,888,570 girls that are married off every year. Other parts of the country are as guilty as the North! ? ?Don’t get me wrong, I am not holding brief for Senator Yerima who would rather give a baby penis rather than a pen. But this issue of child marriage dates back to more than four years ago when our dear Senator acquired his latest child bride. My paternal grandmother got married at the age of 13, had many kids and lived a very fulfilling life. All her kids are doing well in their various fields of endeavours. Mind you, my grandma- may her soul rest in peace, was never for a day a Muslim. She was Anglican until she passed on several years ago. ?
I recall during the funeral of my childhood friend’s mother which took place May this year, I learnt for the first time while reading her biography that she got married at the age of 13. It would interest you to know that her husband who is still alive was already a Pastor when he took her for a wife. He is still a pastor and presently lives in the United Kingdom where he oversees a popular church. Her family, just like mine, have no traces of Islam; we are all spirit filled and tongue speaking born-again Christians. They are from Edo state, while I am from Delta state. ?
?Again, it would interest you that even those from the Eastern parts of the country equally give their daughters out in marriage before the age of 18. My hairstylist who is not up to four years in marriage was 16-years-old when she became a bride. Mind you, her husband is neither an Alhaji, nor a Mallam. She is married to an Igbo man. ??Indeed, the section of the constitution which is now giving some Nigerians reasons to be excited and act as if they really care has always been there though many never knew about it. But now that we know- certainly not everyone knows, the big question is what next? ? ?
Before the question of what next is addressed, me thinks the female Senators who want to petition, sue and pull down the heavens on the head of Yerima and other Northerners, are exerting much energy in the wrong direction. I still cant help but ask: where were they four years ago when Yerima acquired another baby bride? Why is it four years down the line that the various groups have woken from the slumber? Why…? ?
?There were protests on Saturday in different nooks and cranny of Nigeria over that clause in the constitution being removed. I learnt the protesters in Abuja didn’t mind the rain. It sounded really fantastic to me; as in, here goes another Nigerian habit! I really wished I was there at the protest, I had and still have just a question to ask: if and when that clause is removed from the constitution, what next? Will that stop Nigeria from occupying the 14th position among countries in the world with notoriety for such act? I don’t think so. ? ?
I don’t think so because even while that clause remained a secret to most Nigerians, child marriages were being transacted easily and effortlessly all over the country. When the clause is removed, it would be as ineffective as when it was there as more fathers would give their baby girls out while more men will go seeking unripe brides.
Rather than exert and dissipate our energies on a clause and possibly without a replacement- an effective one at that, me thinks all the energies should be directed in educating and assisting parents on why and how to stop marrying off babies! At least, clause or no clause, there must be a seller for a transaction to take place! When such education takes place and is imbibed, no matter the position of the constitution, there would be no seller, hence, buyers will adjust their shopping list.
Studies so far indicate that many parents who indulge in the act of giving out child brides most times operate from the position of ignorance. Definitely, of late, much has been said about VVF- a well known consequence of early child birth, but have there been campaigns, advocacy and all the likes as being given to HIV/AIDS? We need more of education and re-orientation to win the social-cancer which is fast becoming a norm. ? ?
Again, affluent parents who know where the next meal is coming from and still have left overs and more don’t give their babies out in marriage. Thus, poverty is a major fertiliser enabling the social vice thrive. When jobs are created and other necessities to ease living provided, there would be a drastic reduction and subsequent eradication of the vice. Doubt me? Go seek Yerima’s baby girl’s hand in marriage and behold what happens to you! No wealthy man or anyone who has a means of livelihood will give his baby girl out. ? ?
Until these anomalies are corrected, every girl child must get married! Until more and practical attention is given to child marriage through the declaration of a state of emergency on it, the same way it was done to HIV, our girls must continue being married off. Until parents are tutored on a one-on-one basis about other consequences that go with marrying off babies, as they have and are still being taught about HIV, let the tide continue. Until violence against women is made, perfected and effected as a crime which must be punishable in reality, let the noise making cease as even educated women who got married in their 20s, 30s, and even 40s are battered and violated in their marriages.
Clause or no clause, when the environment is fertile for poverty, more babies will be married off!
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
After the unfortunate events when a two storey building collapsed in on Sunday morning at 29 Ishaga Road, Surulere Lagos which killed three people and five victims taken to the Lagos State University Teachinh Hospital, Ikeja.
As rescue efforts continued, Ibrahim Farinloye, NEMA South West Spokesperson, said that the agency was “chased out” of the accident scene by Wale Ahmed, the Lagos State Commissioner for Special Duties. “NEMA (was) chased out of rescue site by Lagos Commissioner for Special Duties after we have rescued 3 alive and 4 dead,” Mr. Farinloye said .
“He said he will ask his people to deal with us if we are not careful,” he added. Mr. Farinloye said he was granting an interview to a Nigeria Television Authority reporter when Mr. Ahmed, who arrived alongside the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), threatened to send the Rapid Response Squad after him.
“I contacted headquarters and they said I should leave for peace to reign,” Mr. Farinloye added. However, when contacted, Mr. Ahmed said that it was not true. “I only told him it was quite premature to start granting interview when we were yet to know what was still under the rubble,” Mr. Ahmed said in a response to a text message enquiry.
Sunday’s incident revealed a deep seated animosity between the two government agencies. At the last collapsed building site, about ten days ago, a disparity in the casualty figures released by both agencies highlighted the chasm in their operations.
While NEMA said that seven people, including two children aged two and four, were rescued from the rubble, as well as seven dead bodies recovered; LASEMA said ten people were injured while four, including a child, died in the collapse. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, General Manager of LASEMA, described NEMA as “our secondary responder.”
“It is the primary responder (LASEMA) that is supposed to give you the exact figure. We are in a better place to inform you people what is going on. “We work hand in hand with NEMA, they are our secondary responder. But there is no how a secondary responder will know more than the primary responder,” Mr. Oke-Osanyintolu added.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Dr. Abdulrasheed Abassi recently led six U.S. based doctors to the free health mission organised by Senator Babafemi Ojudu and provided healthcare services to about 8,000 residents of Ekiti Central Senatorial District.
What is your perception about healthcare system in Nigeria?
I think the biggest problem is the healthcare personnel. After seeing the way we attended to them, the people were complaining about the local medical doctors’ attitude.
What do you think is responsible for this?
It is partly structural and partly selfish. We have laws in the U.S. that protect patients and ensure they are treated like humans that they are. The selfish part is that we see patients as the source of our livelihood so we must respect them and show compassion. If I don’t do that as a doctor, a patient can sue me or complain to the state health board. U.S. is a country of rule of law.
Must we have that legislative premise before our doctors can be compassionate?
Good point. I wish our local doctors will realise they might be the patient tomorrow. I must admit they are poorly paid and do not have the ideal operating environment but they should not take this out on the patients. It is in our culture to be naturally humane. But so many things demand our compassion which we don’t do. You see an accident victim and turn a blind eye. This is why we need the appropriate laws that compel us to be humane.
And unfortunately, our lawmakers are not making the right laws. Let’s go back to your perception of the healthcare For whatever the government might have done, they have achieved nothing. This is the opinion of my colleagues also. It appears we are the first set of medical doctors the people have ever seen. They may have structures and equipment but as long as these do not translate into better healthcare delivery, it is nothing.
On the first day, we did glucose check for more than 500 people and for many of them, it was their first time. This test should be standard. None of the 500 people have ever been tested with any Oximeter before. In fact, none of the local doctors have seen it before.
This is an equipment that costs just about $500 (there are affordable versions that costs just about $50) but which can tell if someone is about to have a heart attack.
What’s your reaction to that?
It is shocking and it is good Senator Ojudu has promised this would happen annually. So we have seen some pitfalls that we would correct the next time.
What are those pitfalls?
The medications; we ran out of our American medicine just after two days. We need to ship more drugs and do that on time so we can avoid the NAFDAC and Customs. Senator Ojudu provided money for us to buy drugs for all the other days. It is disheartening. If Senator is someone without the connections he has, the person will be frustrated and may leave and the people continue to suffer as if there is no helper.
That is why I appreciate the commitment of Ojudu. He is never discouraged and listened to advice. Also, we will hold more lectures, especially for the School of Medicine in Ekiti. We want to involve as many medical students as possible and also want to hold more public enlightenment because education is key. Your team is not the first to hold medical mission in Ekiti but it is so different. Why? I noticed that too and I think it is because we are foreign doctors.
The previous missions did not provide free drugs. People were given prescription to go and buy. Now not many can afford to buy and even those that could buy ended up buying substandard drugs. The drugs we bought in Nigeria were like a second choice because American drugs were far superior. We could not even get the list of all the medicines we wanted.
Almost all drugs in Nigeria are manufactured abroad, so why the differential quality?
The statement I made is a statement of fact and not a guess. American drugs are superior to all. 80 per cent of drugs used all over the world are manufactured in US but unfortunately, Nigerians decided to be patronising China and India. These are countries with substandard drug regulations compared to the U.S. Paracetamol that is made in China for Nigeria is different from the one made in China for U.S. because U.S. expects a certain standard that won’t be compromised by anyone.
Does it mean the fault lies with our own regulatory framework?
Oh yes. We do not even have any regulatory framework.
Shouldn’t the rescue of our healthcare system start from there?
I think we must start with a structural education. Brain drain has cost us so much. If we can revamp out healthcare educational system like it used to be, then healthcare practitioners can come together to formulate the needed regulations. Our regulatory framework is as good as our local healthcare providers including doctors, pharmacists, pharmacologists, physiotherapists, nurses etc. If we have good pharmacologists, we can manufacture our own drugs.
Ekiti state has a lager rural community compared to the urban centres, would telemedicine not be a good option?
I know Nigerian governments love to spend an anything that cost huge money but make no mistake; Telemedicine in Nigeria will be like applying lipstick on a pig. At best, it is a stop-gap option, even in U.S. We have seen many diabetic patients here who do not even know they are diabetic. We gave them drugs to last one month and see a doctor thereafter. Who will attend to them, if we do not have healthcare professionals? It is good for us to continue what we are doing but who will follow up with the patients? We don’t even have constant power supply yet. If I am having chest pain, I cannot pick the phone and call an emergency service and expects an ambulance in no time.
Good education that can give us competent healthcare providers is the way to go. Both U.S. and Canada have 125 medical schools that produce 17,000 doctors annually but the medicare organisation has said they need to produce 24,000 early. So, they can plan to use technology to fill the little gap.
What other things did you notice?
We saw tons of critical cases. I am concerned the people consume salt too much. So many people here are walking around with excessively high blood pressure, almost nearing stroke level and they don’t know. You can almost count on your fingers the number of people with normal blood pressure. The government must invest in a lot of public enlightenment. And they confessed to this. We also have not taken into account some changing dynamic in our environment.
Due to technological advancement, we live more sedentarily and this is giving rise to more lifestyle diseases. It is good most of their foods are organic but they eat them at the wrong time, in the afternoon and night. They are better eaten in the morning so they could be burnt off before night.
In terms of policy, what’s your advice to governments?
They need to invest in public health by improving sanitary condition and invest in preventive health too. We don’t want to become a medicalised society that focuses on management of diseases but we want to focus more on prevention.
You have been talking about what government has to do, what about Nigerians like you living abroad?
I belong to Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas. We are always eager to come in and help but we need contact and access to the power brokers. There are many doctors who were mad at me because I did not tell them about this programme. They wanted to come because this is their home. I am talking of guys who are my mentors and with fantastic ideas.
Is the access that difficult to get?
Certainly. We made attempt about 10 years ago from Yale University School of Medicine. We got control of 50 haemodialysis machines to be donated to Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba. The then Chief Medical Director, Professor Oke, refused to accept it unless half of the machines were donated to him. And that is just one story. What we resort to doing was to donate to organisations that are interested in healthcare delivery in Nigeria, like the Goal Foundation.
These NGOs have a lot of negative experiences trying to help Nigerians. This is why what senator Ojudu has done is commendable. He is not perfect but at least, he provided us the access and helped us fulfil our desire to help our people. Our services are rendered free but Ojudu sponsored the trip, feeding, accommodation and drugs. I want this country to change for the better and would love to work with likeminded people. We always say things cannot get worse but trust me, there is always a new definition of ‘worse’ because we always adapt to whatever condition is thrown at us. America is a near-perfect society but we speak out all the time. Nigerians must cry out against bad leadership.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Norwegian interior designer Marte Deborah Dalelv has spoken out after being handed a 16-month prison sentence in Dubai — after she went to police to report she had been raped by a colleague.
The 24-year-old was convicted and sentenced on charges of having unlawful sex, making a false statement and illegal consumption of alcohol.
Her story is dominating the headlines in Norway, and has raised serious questions over the way women who allege sexual assault are treated in the United Arab Emirates.
Dalelv, who had been working at an interior design firm in Qatar since September 2011, told CNN on Saturday how a work trip to Dubai in March with three colleagues turned into a nightmare.
She said she had been out at a bar with her colleagues and friends, and asked a male colleague to walk her to her room when they returned at 3 a.m. to the hotel. She'd asked him to escort her because the hotel was large and confusing, and she didn't want to be wandering on her own, knowing she'd been drinking, she said.
When they reached a room, she realized it wasn't hers — but the man then pulled her inside despite her vocal objections, according to Dalelv.
"He dragged me by my purse in, so I thought, 'OK, I just need to calm the situation down. I will finish my bottle of water, I will sit here and then I will excuse myself and say I feel fine,'" she said.
That was pretty much the last thing she said she remembers before the alleged sexual assault. "I woke up with my clothes off, sleeping on my belly, and he was raping me. I tried to get off, I tried to get him off, but he pushed me back down."
After someone knocked — the hotel wake-up call — she managed to get dressed and make it downstairs to the hotel reception, Dalelv said. "I called the police. That is what you do. We are trained on that from when we are very young," she said.
Some 10 or 12 male police officers arrived, but no female police officers were present, she said. Statements were taken from both Dalelv and the alleged rapist.
She was then taken to Bur Dubai police station, she said.
After again giving her version of events to officers, Dalelv said, "They asked me, 'Are you sure you called the police because you just didn't like it?' I said, 'Well of course I didn't like it.' That is when I knew, I don't think they are going to believe me at all."
Dalelv says she was taken for an intimate medical exam and tested for alcohol consumption. Her belongings were taken and she was kept in jail for four days, she said, with no explanation as to why.
Dubai police and UAE government officials have not responded to repeated CNN requests for comment.
Dalelv said she managed to call her parents on the third day to tell them she had been raped and ask them to contact the Norwegian Embassy. A day later, a representative from the Norwegian consulate came to the police station and she was released — but her passport was not returned.
A piece of paper with Arabic text was handed to her, she said. An Arabic speaker told her it listed two charges against her: one for sex outside of marriage and the other for public consumption of alcohol. Both are violations of the law in the United Arab Emirates.
It was the first time she was made aware that she faced charges, Dalelv said.
She was allowed out on bail and has been staying since at the Norwegian Seaman's Center in Dubai.
Subsequently, she said her manager advised her to tell the police it was voluntary sexual intercourse and likely the whole issue would just go away. She followed the advice and in one of the many hearings at the public prosecutor's office, she made a statement saying it was voluntary.
Dalelv was then charged with making a false statement.
"That was my biggest regret because it wasn't voluntary. I just thought it would all go away," she told CNN.
But a representative of Al Mana Interiors, who Dalelv worked for, told CNN that she was not advised by her manager to say the sex was consensual but rather by a police officer, who told her that in Arabic and it was translated into English by her manager.
Dalelv said a month after the rape, while forced to stay in Dubai as the case wound through the legal system, she was fired.
The representative, who declined to be publicly identified, said Dalelv and the Sudanese man she accused — who is married with three children — have both been terminated by Al Mana Interiors for "drinking alcohol at a staff conference that resulted in trouble with the police."
A statement released late Saturday by Al Mana Interiors spokesman Hani El Korek said the company was sympathetic to Dalelv "during this very difficult situation." It also said that company representatives were by her side through the initial investigation, spending "days at both the police station and the prosecutor's office to help win her release."
"Only when Ms. Dalelv declined to have positive and constructive discussions about her employment status, and ceased communication with her employer, was the company forced to end our relationship with her," the statement said.
"The decision had nothing to do with the rape allegation, and unfortunately neither Ms. Dalelv nor her attorneys have chosen to contact the company to discuss her employment status."
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The company is owned by Qatari billionaire Wissam Al Mana, who made headlines earlier this year after it was revealed that he has secretly married singer Janet Jackson in 2012.
Dalelv was convicted Tuesday on all three charges and was sentenced to one year in jail for having unlawful sex, three months in jail for making a false statement and one month for illegal consumption of alcohol.
CNN could not immediately confirm what happened to the alleged perpetrator, who was charged with public intoxication and having sex outside of marriage.
Dalelv is scheduled to appear at the court on September 5 to begin the appeal proceedings. Dalelv, who is not allowed to leave the UAE pending the appeal, said her lawyers have instructed her to be prepared to go back into jail while they submit a request for bail while the appeal is ongoing.
As a rule, CNN does not identify victims of sexual assault, but Dalelv went public with her story.
A Facebook page has been set up calling for Dalelv's release, as well as a petition urging the Norwegian government to take action on her behalf.
Her conviction may risk wider diplomatic repercussions.
Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Espen Barth Eide called his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed al-Nahyan, on Friday night to protest Dalelv's sentencing, a statement from the Norwegian ministry said.
"I emphasized that we believe that the conviction is contrary to fundamental human rights, including conventions that the UAE have officially ratified," Eide is quoted as saying.
"Norway will continue to do what we can to support her in what is a very difficult situation. Our cooperation with the UAE is strong and good, but I conveyed to my colleague that we are worried that this difficult case may disturb our good relations if we do not reach a good solution in the near future."
Dalelv told CNN she received a call from Eide on Friday reiterating Norway's support.
While Dubai has a reputation as a cosmopolitan city that boasts Western influences, where visitors can drink at bars and restaurants and unmarried couples can share hotel rooms, the country adheres to Islamic laws and traditions.
The United Arab Emirates has been heavily criticized by rights groups, which say it condones sexual violence against women. Human Rights Watch has called its record "shameful," saying it must change the way it handles such cases.
In December 2012, a British woman reported being raped by three men in Dubai. She was found guilty of drinking alcohol without a license and fined.
In January 2010, a British woman told authorities she was raped by an employee at a Dubai hotel. She was charged with public intoxication and having sex outside of marriage.
An Australian woman reported in 2008 that she was drugged and gang-raped. She was convicted of having sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol, and she was sentenced to 11 months in prison.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Upset by Senate bid to peg official marriage age in Nigeria at 18, northern youths, yesterday, lashed out at the lawmakers, warning them not to stoke the embers of religious war over the controversial legislation.
The Senators had last week voted in favour of amending the Nigerian Constitution to set the marriage age at 18, a decision that was promptly challenged by former Zamfara governor, Ahmed Yerima, who described the decision of the lawmakers as anti-Islam.
Apparently joining forces with Yerima, who also initiated Sharia in his state when he was governor, Arewa youths asked the Senators to desist from taking action on the matter so as not to further heat up the polity along religious, ethnic and political lines and create avoidable cold war.
The President of the Arewa Youth Forum, Alhaji Gambo Gujungu, said in a statement in Abuja, yesterday, that the Senators had missed the point in amending the law and exposed themselves as people who were confused on what to do to justify their presence in the upper chambers of the National Assembly.
“The approach by the Senate to this matter shows how grossly insensitive and poorly equipped they are in the rudiments of legislative functions and totally insensitive to the critical challenges Nigerians are facing as a people,” the AYF leader said.
“The Senate must be told in plain terms since it has lost focus, that their core function as parliamentarians is not to debate, moderate or decide religions for Nigerians, or to divide Nigerians on Christian-Muslim basis or North and South factions.
“They must also be made to know that their function does not include breeding religious war from their politicization of the Constitution Amendment exercise but to make laws for peace, good governance, stability and indivisibility of the Nigerian Federation as contained in Part II, Section Four (1,2,3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The senators must be told that what Nigerians expect is basically principled oversight functions to address insecurity tearing the country apart, the increasing unemployment rate, collapse of health, education, agriculture and dilapidated infrastructure.
“Another expectation of Nigerians from the Senate is to address monumental corruption being perpetrated with impunity by elected public office holders and top government officials that has stifled Nigeria any meaningful development in Nigeria for decades.
“But we are sad to note that the Senate has been painfully reduced from that honoured pedigree to a mere religious moderation centre and place of petite issues that tend to divide the citizens along religious and ethnic lines and not an arm of government that should confront our national challenges.
The youths warned the lawmakers to abandon the attempt to further instigate friction in Nigeria by ensuring that every Nigerian has the religious Freedom to practice their faith without harassment, limitation and intimidation.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Journalists, under the aegis of the Nigerian Young Journalists Forum (NYJF), have requested the Senate and House of Representatives to declare the salaries and constituency votes of their members.
The group, in separate letters addressed to the two chambers under the Freedom of Information Act, also asked the legislators to declare their assets. The letters, jointly signed by NYJF National President, Mr. Ayodele Samuel, and General Secretary, Mr. Zacheaus Somorin, were received by the two chambers on July 18.
The letter read in part, "We request the leadership of the National Assembly to make available the salaries and allowances of members of the senate in order of hierarchy; the total amount expended by the House of Senate and Representatives from June 2011 to June 2013; constituencies votes of members of the House of Senate and Representatives from June 2011 to June 2013 with names of the members and the their constituencies; proof of compliance of the members of the House of Senate and Representatives with statutory law on asset declaration by public officers."
"The information is requested for proper media reportage on salaries and constituency votes of members of the National Assembly which have been subject of public debates and misrepresentations in recent times. It will enhance correct, factual and unambiguous reportage on statutory budgetary allocations and expenses of the Nigeria’s legislative arm of government."
NYJF urged the lawmakers to provide the requested information to enable the FoI bill, passed in May 2011, serve the purposes it was enacted for.
It said, "We are of firm conviction that disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest as it will contribute significantly to engendering trust and understanding between the National Assembly and the general public.
"NYJF wishes to again commend the National Assembly for delivering on Freedom of Information Bill in meeting popular demand for transparent and accountable governance in Nigeria. NYJF advocates responsible journalistic engagement and therefore committed to meaningful and constructive reportage with the view to investing our democracy with popular participation from all sectors of the public."
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has described the draft oil reform law, currently before the National Assembly for legislative action, as a vibrant document which would remain relevant to the oil and gas industry long after the exit of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
She spoke to newsmen, weekend, at the end of the two-day Senate Public Hearing on the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB.
Mrs. Alison-Madueke called on stakeholders in the oil and gas industry not to politicise/personalise provisions of the bill, stressing that the draft legislation was not proposed or written with any administration in mind.
A statement by Tumini Green, Acting Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, said the Minister spoke against the backdrop of fears in some quarters that the proposed law vests too much discretionary power in the President and Petroleum Minister.
He explained that the responsibility for the exercise of the powers proposed in the bill for the President and Petroleum Minister will ultimately rest on any administration in power at the time and so should not be personalised.
Diezani-Alison-Madueke-240The minister said, “By the time the PIB is fully articulated and implemented, the current President and Minister of Petroleum Resources may no longer be in office. This bill takes a while before it is operational.”
Drawing a parallel between the PIB and the Power Sector Reform Act of 2004, which was passed over eight years ago and is currently being implemented by the Jonathan administration, Alison-Madueke argued that it was important for the law to sufficiently empower any administration to act in the best interest of Nigerians.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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