Channels Television – Clara Chime.Wife of the Enugu State Governor, Clara Chime, has finally broken her silence in an exclusive interview with Channels Television, as she recounted her ordeal in the hands of her husband. As Governor Sullivan Chime’s wife, she was in the public eye
for about 5years. She has however been in the news recently because of the controversy surrounding her life in the Government House of Enugu State.
Things fell apart when she reached out to some members of the human right community and legal practitioner, Femi Falana, to save her from her husband.
Her appeal generated reactions from Nigerians and the civil society with several accusations, most of which bothered on unlawful detention and violence against women, given the physical and psychological suffering she was reported to be facing.
In this exclusive video, while recounting her experience, she also debunked claims that she had mental problem.
She said: “I suffered from depression and the treatment I got from my husband led to it.”
She also thanked Nigerians for coming to her rescue, expressing her joy that she is “now liberated.”
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.
TORONTO (AP) — Canada's highest court struck down the country's anti-prostitution laws in their entirety Friday, including against keeping a brothel.
The 9-0 Supreme Court ruling is a victory for sex workers seeking safer working conditions because it found that the laws violated the guarantee to life, liberty and security of the person. But the ruling won't take effect immediately because it gave Parliament a one-year reprieve to respond with new legislation.
Prostitution isn't illegal in Canada, but many of the activities associated with prostitution are classified as criminal offenses.
The high court struck down all three prostitution-related laws: against keeping a brothel, living on the avails of prostitution, and street soliciting. The landmark ruling comes more than two decades after the Supreme Court last upheld the country's anti-prostitution laws.
The decision upheld an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling last year that struck down the ban on brothels on the grounds that it endangered sex workers by forcing them onto the streets.
Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, writing on behalf of the court, said Canada's social landscape has changed since 1990, when the Supreme Court upheld a ban on street solicitation.
"These appeals and the cross-appeal are not about whether prostitution should be legal or not," she wrote. "They are about whether the laws Parliament has enacted on how prostitution may be carried out pass constitutional muster. I conclude that they do not."
A Vancouver sex worker who was part of a group that brought the case applauded the court's decision.
"I'm shocked and pleased that our sex laws will not cause us harm in a year," Amy Lebovitch said in a news conference.
Katrina Pacey, a lawyer for the group of downtown Vancouver prostitutes, called it "an unbelievably important day for the sex workers but also for human rights."
"The court recognized that sex workers have the right to protect themselves and their safety," she said.
In 1990, the two women on Canada's Supreme Court dissented on the ruling upholding the ban on street solicitation. This time, all six men on the court justices sided with their three female colleagues.
"The harms identified by the courts below are grossly disproportionate to the deterrence of community disruption that is the object of the law," McLachlin wrote. "Parliament has the power to regulate against nuisances, but not at the cost of the health, safety and lives of prostitutes."
Sex-trade workers argued that much has changed since the high court last considered prostitution, including the horrific serial killings of prostitutes by Robert Pickton in British Columbia.
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.
RENO, Nev. — A couple said they received death threats after reporting problems with a black bear that was captured and then euthanized Thursday by Nevada wildlife officials.
Richard and Adrienne Evans said they filed a report with the Washoe County Sheriff's Office on Thursday after receiving numerous threats and harassing messages by telephone and email.
"People have been giving me death threats," Adrienne Evans said. Evans is a teacher at Carson High School in Carson City and a well-known mountain bike racer in the Lake Tahoe area.
The issue arose after the Nevada Department of Wildlife trapped a 263-pound male black bear outside the Evanses' Incline Village home early Thursday morning. The bear, which had been tranquilized by the Department of Wildlife once and captured and released again as recently as October, was euthanized as a threat to public safety later in the day, said department spokesman Chris Healy.
The bear had attempted to break into Adrienne Evans' car twice in recent weeks and on Tuesday night succeeded, causing extensive damage to the vehicle's interior, the couple said. She denied having food inside the vehicle, as alleged by critics. The bear had also walked into an enclosed entryway at the couple's upstairs condominium on several occasions, the couple said.
The bear has slept in a nearby culvert and was being fed nightly by a neighbor, Adrienne Evans said. She said she has photos documenting the activity. Feeding wildlife is illegal, and the Department of Wildlife intends to issue a written warning to the responsible individual, Healy said. Repeated violations could lead to fines.
After the vehicle was damaged Tuesday night, the Evanses decided to contact the Department of Wildlife because they believed officials there have the best expertise to deal with such a situation.
The bear was put down because of its behavior, Healy said. It was the fifth bear to be killed by the Department of Wildlife this summer over public safety concerns.
"The bear was so used to people, it was becoming dangerous," Healy said. "This was unfortunately an example of a bear that had to be euthanized."
"We did the right thing," Adrienne Evans said, adding that she teaches wildlife and conservation values at school. "I love bears. I really do."
The threats started coming Wednesday night after officials installed the trap outside their home, the Evanses said. Threats were phoned to their home and to Richard Evans' construction office. Some of Adrienne Evans' mountain bike racing sponsors were also contacted, they said.
Some said, "You'll be struck dead (and) if that bear dies you will have to leave Incline," Adrienne Evans said. "All these people called and threatened me, and that's definitely inappropriate."
The alleged harassment occurred nearly two months after Bill Devine, a Washoe County Sheriff's sergeant and elected Incline Village official, wrote an "open letter to Tahoe bear advocates" complaining of bullying tactics. He did so after a bear entered his home and a trap set by wildlife officials outside prompted an around-the-clock vigil by bear advocates trying to prevent any bear from being caught.
"It is you who have divided this community," Devine wrote.
Ann Bryant, founder of the citizens group the Bear League, acknowledged at the time that some critics of the Nevada Department of Wildlife organize to keep bears from being trapped. Bryant and others have been highly critical of the department for killing too many of the bears they trap.
Members of her organization are urged to be polite and told not to break any laws, Bryant said.
Still, Bryant said, opinions are intense over the bear issue.
"Emotions are going to be high as long as they are killing bears," Bryant said.
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.
President Obama ordered military leaders Friday to review their response to allegations of sexual assault in the military and to report back within a year.
"As commander in chief, I've made it clear that these crimes have no place in the greatest military on earth," Obama said in a statement.
The military report is due by Dec. 1, 2014.
If he is not satisfied with the response, Obama said "we will consider additional reforms that may be required to eliminate this crime from our military ranks and protect our brave servicemembers who stand guard for us every day at home and around the world."
Congress has been debating legislation that would remove authority for prosecuting sexual assault from military commanders.
In his statement, Obama hailed the efforts of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., for efforts aimed at "eradicating this scourge from our armed forces." The president said he and the military would continue to cooperative on ways "to address this corrosive problem."
Obama, who earlier this year ordered the Pentagon to take steps to address sexual assault in the ranks, praised its "broad range of initiatives," including prevention programs and changes to the military justice system.
"Yet, so long as our women and men in uniform face the insider threat of sexual assault, we have an urgent obligation to do more to support victims and hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes as appropriate under the military justice system," Obama said.
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.
An island that sprouted out of the Pacific thanks to an undersea volcanic eruption some 600 miles south of Tokyo last month might just be here to stay.
Scientists initially guessed the new island would soon sink below the surface — Pakistan's newest island is doing just that — but satellite images show the little mound has actually grown since its birth, so Japan has decided to name it.
Niijima, as it's called, is now 19.8 acres or five times its initial size, NBC News reports. And while it may not be a permanent mark on the globe, it's not likely to go anywhere soon.
NEWSER: Emergency C-section turns up … no naby
"We don't know the fate of the island," a Japan Meteorological Agency rep tells the AFP. "But it won't disappear in days or weeks, and will probably last for several years … unless a huge volcanic eruption happens and blows it apart."
That assessment is based on part on the fact that a recent satellite image shows signs of ongoing volcanic activity.
"We are still seeing a wisp of smoke and some ash coming from the islet, and occasionally there is lava belching forth, so the islet may grow even bigger," the rep added.
Meanwhile, a different Pacific island nation is sinking.
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.
NEW DELHI – Indian maid Manju Bahri has heard about the controversy in New York over the alleged mistreatment of a fellow maid by an Indian diplomat. It doesn't surprise her.
"I don't know about what's happened in America, but it would be good if we had some local authority here who we could complain to if employers did not pay us on time, or paid us too little," said Manju, saying she has to run off to work.
Maids, also known as domestics here, say they have little recourse in India if they feel they are being underpaid or mistreated by employers.
Some are pleased that diplomat Devyani Khobragade was arrested on charges of paying her maid she brought from India far less than the U.S. federal minimum wage. But others say the maid was trying to take advantage of her employer.
"What do you mean by fair wage? If she agreed to a certain amount before leaving India, then how can she suddenly ask to be paid more upon reaching America?" wondered Aseema Haldar Saha, a 36-year-old domestic worker.
The case has become major news in India, where politicians have lashed out at the United States for arresting Khobragade, India's deputy consul general in New York.
Khobragade was strip-searched following her arrest in what the U.S. Marshals Service said was standard procedure. But India politicians have reacted with anger, calling for an apology and the dropping of charges against Khobragade.
"The fact is that American authorities have behaved atrociously with an Indian diplomat and obviously America has to make good for its actions," Information Minister Manish Tewari said Friday. "I think it's a legitimate expectation that if they have erred — and they have erred grievously in this matter — they should come forth and apologize."
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in New York, who is handling the case, said earlier this week that Khobragade was treated well, and questioned why there was more sympathy in India for the diplomat than the housekeeper.
U.S. Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman said both countries affirmed their intent to keep working through this complex issue.
On Friday, the diplomat's father, Uttam, said his daughter treated the maid, Sangeeta Richard, like a member of the family. He said Richard had Sundays off and was free to attend church and visit her friends.
He filed a lawsuit in India earlier this year on his daughter's behalf, saying Richard was wrongly accusing his daughter of treating her like a slave, suggesting Richard was pressuring Khobragade for a visa to stay in the United States on her own.
But Richard's lawyer said Thursday that the housekeeper worked from morning until late at night, seven days week, for less than $3 an hour. Unable to get better pay, she made sure Khobragade's two children were cared for one day and walked out, lawyer Dana Sussman said.
Protests erupted in cities around India, where demonstrators burnt effigies of President Obama. The Indian government has since downgraded certain privileges granted to American diplomatic staff in New Delhi like withdrawing all airport passes and stopping import clearance of liquor to the US Embassy.
The Indian government snubbed a visiting American delegation refusing requests for a meeting till Khobragade was tendered an apology. Indian media have mainly focused on the humiliation of Khobragade.
"What's unsettling about this case is how little we know about Richard's side of the story," said Deepanjana Pal on the news website Firstpost. "While there are endless articles available on Khobdagade and how terribly she's been treated by U.S. officials, there's almost nothing on Richard."
Or for that matter there has been little said by the politicians going after the U.S. attorney about how maids are treated in India.
In large cities like New Delhi and Mumbai, most middle-class families employ a maid or two; many have separate drivers, gardeners and cooks. According to a report by the Indian government, nearly 5 million people employ at least two domestic workers.
Yet, except in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, domestic workers are not offered any legal protection. Seven Indian states have made efforts to standardize minimum wage, but the recommended wage has been set low.
Also, there are no guidelines that govern working hours, or minimum wage, and no authority to turn to in cases of exploitation, say the workers.
"At the most I would complain to the local Resident Welfare Association if I had a problem – but even then I would be scared – chances are that they will side with my employers rather than me," Manju Bahri said.
But other maids say Richard is in the wrong.
Saha has been working as a maid in New Delhi since she was 16. For the past three years, she has worked six hours a day, six days a week and takes home a salary of $128 per month.
She cannot understand why the U.S. authorities would arrest the "Indian lady" even though she was paying Richard vastly more than any maid can expect to earn in India.
"See, if someone pays me less than I expect, what can I do? At the most I will leave the job but there's nowhere I can go to file a complaint or anything like that," she said.
Only in very rare cases do domestic workers get a written contract. Most continue in their jobs on little more than a verbal agreement. But it is not uncommon to hear reports of maids and servants who have been physically abused.
In November 2013, Indian lawmaker Dhananjay Singh and his wife were arrested for the alleged murder of their 35-year-old maid Rakhi. An autopsy suggested Rakhi had died of a severe beating – she was also found with burn marks on her body.
Last year, a 13-year-old maid Munni – employed despite laws against child labor – was rescued from a house in New Delhi. She had been locked up in the house by her affluent employers – both of whom are doctors – while they vacationed in Thailand. She had been warned not to touch any food in the house, and was near starvation when rescued.
"There are many people who mistreat maids," Manju said. "It's pointless to go to the police. Instead we just keep each other updated, and if a maid quits her job because of abuse or exploitation, none of us take a job in that house."
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.
MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin stunned observers with a pardon of jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and an amnesty that will free two members of the jailed punk group Pussy Riot as well as dozens of anti-government protesters currently on trial.
The move came less than two months ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics which Russia is hosting in February, and was widely seen as an attempt by Putin to improve his image at home and abroad.
"It's a PR move by the Kremlin. With the Olympic Games so close, it's important for the Kremlin to improve the country's image on the international arena," said Tatyana Lokshina, deputy director of the Moscow branch of Human Rights Watch.
Putin signed a decree on Friday pardoning former Yukos head Khodorkovsky, jailed in 2003 on charges of fraud and tax evasion that were widely considered politically-motivated. Earlier on Thursday, Putin told journalists that Khodorkovsky had formally asked for a pardon.
Khodorkovsky was freed from prison on Friday afternoon and immediately flew to Germany.
Putin's surprise announcement Thursday came just a day after Russia's parliament passed an amnesty commemorating the 20th anniversary of Russia's constitution. While the amnesty did not apply to Khodorkovsky, it would see some 20,000 prisoners freed.
Among those to be freed as part of the amnesty are Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, who are serving two-year terms on charges of hooliganism and inciting religious hatred for an protest dance stunt in Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral in February 2012.
The amnesty will also apply to 28 Greenpeace activists on trial for hooliganism over their September protest against oil drilling in the Arctic Sea. It will also eventually clear several protesters currently on trial over their alleged involvement in clashes with police during an anti-government rally on Moscow's Bolotnaya Square on the eve of Putin's inauguration in May 2012.
A Moscow court terminated cases against four protesters on Thursday, while the rest of those affected by the amnesty will be freed within several months, according to Russia's Federal Prison Service.
"The people affected are those widely referred to as political prisoners," Lokshina says. "Putin has made the gesture of a tsar who can either execute or pardon at will. That was why Khodorkovsky's release was not part of the amnesty, but a presidential pardon."
According to pro-Kremlin analyst Sergei Markov, the amnesty goes back to a Soviet tradition of pardoning prisoners on certain anniversaries.
"Putin is a conservative with traditionalist views. An amnesty expresses the humanistic essence of the government," said Markov, who is prorector of the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
"As for his pardon of Khodorkovsky, it's also a pretty harsh joke, in Putin's style, because today is Day of the Chekist," a day commemorating Russia's security services, of which Putin is a veteran.
In his time in prison on politically tinged charges of tax evasion and embezzlement, Khodorkovsky, 50, turned from a powerful oligarch into a respected dissident, becoming a political thinker who argued for social justice and placed the blame on Putin for Russia's stagnating economy.
Khodorkovsky was Russia's richest man, worth billions of dollars, and the CEO of the country's largest oil company when he was arrested on the tarmac of a Siberian airport and charged with tax evasion.
Khodorkovsky's oil company Yukos was effectively crushed under the weight of a $28 billion back-tax bill. Yukos was sold off. Most of it went to state oil company Rosneft, allowing the Kremlin to reassert control of the country's oil business and silence Khodorkovsky.
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.
WASHINGTON —Americans whose insurance policies were canceled this year will be excused from paying fees due to the individual mandate, the Department of Health and Human Services said in a letter sent to lawmakers.
The Affordable Care Act already included a "hardship exemption," and several lawmakers had argued that having a policy unexpectedly canceled because it did not fit the coverage requirements of the new law should qualify as a hardship because it comes through no fault of the consumer.
Those whose plans were canceled will also be able to buy catastrophic coverage, which previously had been available only to people younger than 30. Those policies tend to cover fewer things and cost less than the policies now required by the law.
"The president and I want to do everything we can to ensure that individuals with canceled plans have as many options as possible," Health and Human Services Sebelius wrote in a letter sent Thursday to Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and five other senators who had asked about the exemption. "I agree with you that these consumers should qualify for this temporary hardship exemption, and I can assure you that the exemption will be available to them."
The mandate requires that anyone who does not have health insurance in 2014 pay a fee when they turn in their 2014 tax returns.
"This is a common sense clarification of the law," Health and Human Services spokeswoman Joanne Peters said. "For the limited number of consumers whose plans have been canceled and are seeking coverage, this is one more option."
Not everyone is happy about the change.
"This latest rule change could cause significant instability in the marketplace and lead to further confusion and disruption for consumers," said America's Health Insurance Plans'President Karen Ignagni in a statement.
Republican lawmakers used the change as an opportunity to attack the law. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., called the change an acknowledgement "that more Americans have lost health insurance than gained it" under the law. He again called for the law to be repealed.
Thursday, four senior administration officials said that fewer than 500,000 people may not have insurance come Jan. 1 after they received cancellation notices in October.
That's because, they said, many of the people who originally received cancellation letters have been automatically enrolled in new plans by their insurers; state regulators have approved their current plans on President Obama's request; insurers have presented different options to keep their customers and people with insurance have been more likely to shop for new policies to avoid gaps in their coverage.
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.
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.
WASHINGTON – President Obama's decision to tap Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus as the next U.S. ambassador to China paves the way for Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden to take over one of the most powerful congressional committees, with jurisdiction over the tax code, health care and trade policy.
Wyden, 64, is best known recently for his role on the Intelligence committee as a forceful critic of broad data gathering by U.S. intelligence agencies.
He was already expected to take over the Finance gavel in 2015, but it could occur sooner than expected as Baucus will exit the Senate as soon as his nomination is confirmed by his colleagues.
Baucus had already announced he was not seeking re-election. The panel's second-ranking Democrat, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., is also retiring. Wyden is third ranking. Senate Democrats have generally adhered to strict seniority rules in awarding chairmanships.
"The Senate Finance Committee has many important responsibilities which include promoting job creation, ensuring competitiveness and stabilizing the nation's fiscal health," Wyden said in a statement. "I also look forward to continuing my work on preserving the Medicare guarantee and protecting retirement security, updating the nation's tax system with a focus on growth, fairness and efficiency and ensuring that fiscal policy supports keeping jobs here in America."
If Wyden assumes the Finance chairmanship early next year, it will scramble other chairmanships. He currently chairs the Energy and Natural Resources panel, which he will have to vacate. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., is next in line for the gavel on that committee.
Baucus and his House counterpart, Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., had a shared ambition to rewrite the federal tax code in this Congress. But Baucus is now on track to leave early, and Camp's term as chairman expires next year, effectively diffusing their effort.
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., will seek the Ways and Means gavel next year. House Republicans set term limits for chairmen and do not follow strict seniority rules so lawmakers can be challenged for chairmanships.
Wyden has a moderate-to-liberal voting record, a history of breaking with party orthodoxy and a willingness to partner with GOP colleagues. He has worked with Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., on legislation to simplify the tax code. He also partnered with Ryan on a 2011 bill to overhaul the Medicare system, but it picked up no steam in a divided Congress.
Contributing: Raju Chebium, Gannett Washington Bureau
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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