Yorubas Will Not Vote For Buhari We Dont Trust Fulanis-OPC Leader

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Read Time:1 Minute, 18 Second

  Factional leader of the Yoruba group, Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Ganiyu Adams,claims the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) will not be getting a bloc vote from the South-west in the February 14 presidential election.

Adams is reported to have said a good number of the Yoruba people are yet to get over their reservations with the Fulani.Daily Posts reports that Adams told Nigeria Today that he does not agree with projections made by some pundits that Buhari will make a clean sweep of South-west by virtue of the dominance of his party in the geo-political zone, saying, “South-west is a place that you cannot use the media to deceive.

We are highly exposed and highly educated.”“For you to say we should go one way, it is impossible. I don’t think that the South-west will vote for Buhari en mass. Don’t forget the pain caused by the June 12 annulment, it is still fresh in the mind of our people many died in the cause of June 12 struggle, many lost a lot of properties. I don’t think our people will trust a Hausa/Fulani man from the north this time around.” the OPC leader is quoted as saying by Daily Trust Although Adams was quick to point out that Jonathan alone should not be blamed for the nation’s failing. He insisted that governors and lawmakers should equally share in the blame.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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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Rivers 2015 Polls: Peterside unfolds his manifesto, appeals to Rivers people to vote for APC

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Read Time:3 Minute, 58 Second

As you know, I have commenced rigorous political campaign in my quest to serve the good people of Rivers state as the next governor.  I have been travelling around the length and breadth of our rich and beautiful land and at each stop have received overwhelming welcome and embrace. I have felt and shared that spirit of expectation and hope expressed by the people as we match together from street to street, palace to palace and from community to community.  I will remain ever grateful to you all for your support and confidence in me.

In all my years as a public servant I have pursued my endeavours on the pillars of truth, transparency, social justice and equity. I have always considered the people my first constituency as I discharged my responsibilities with humility, accountability and fear of God.

As I embark on this journey and race to become your governor, to take our people to the next level from possibilities to greatness building on the indelible legacies of Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, I am convinced of the strong desire of you to see further development in an environment of peace, security, stability and opportunity.

I am not driven by the pomp and perks of office, or the gains or accolades that may accrue to me in office. Instead, I am driven by service. Service to my people, service to the elderly long forgotten, service to the fishermen whose rivers and creeks have been so polluted that they have to look for jobs in their old age, for the motherless cast off at the dump, for the youth with vision and talents but without structure to fulfil his dreams, for the single mum in the village without a support system to help her care for her children or rise again to pursue her dreams, service to our employable youths, to rescue them from idleness, despair and violence.

I am driven by the desire to give the professionals and businessmen a sense of belonging and an enabling environment to ply their trade and flourish; to create quality employment for our teeming youths and to empower our local businesses to grow; to deliver world class health services, quality education and vocational training to our young ones in a bid to providing them a sound foundation to secure their future and for the good people of Rivers State.

This drive is borne out of my core value base moored in the eternal doctrine and principle of leadership “praesis ut prosis ne ut imperes” – lead in order to serve, not in order to rule. I am your servant. I work for you and with you to make Rivers State a great state. I entreat you to share with me my vision of Rivers State: “to Create A Prosperous State Anchored On The Development of A Well Diversified Local Economy That Will Expand Economic Opportunities Through Wealth Creation, Employment Generation, Social Entrepreneurship & Values Re-orientation And Rapidly Uplift The Standard Of Living Of Rivers People in A Secure and Harmonious Environment of Equal & Boundless Opportunities.”
 

This vision for a greater Rivers State is hinged on four pillars as espoused in Our Roadmap to Prosperity, namely, Public Sector Accountability and Security of lives and Property, Employment Generation and Wealth Creation, Social and Human Capital Development and Empowerment, Institutional and Physical Infrastructural Development and Food Security.  This is further broken into twenty eight sub sections detailing measures and steps we will employ to deliver top notch services and enhance the living standards of our people.
 
I implore you to read Our Road to Prosperity document. You will see my pledge and social contract with you to make Rivers State a great state. I beg you to acquaint yourself with the content and see ways you can work with me to actualise them. Hold me to account when in office if I deviate from this social contract.

Rivers State is our one and only state. It behoves us to bequeath greatness to posterity. That journey to greatness starts with you. Your choice on 28th of February will either set us on that part or take us backwards. It is said that a people deserve the leadership they get. 

The choice is yours and you alone have the power to cause change and progress to happen. It is in your vote and I therefore invite you to key into our vision for a greater, stronger, prosperous Rivers State.  Vote for the APC, vote for change you can see, feel and participate in.  Vote out the old order and vote in a new order of peace, security, equal opportunities and prosperity for everyone.
 
Your brother,

Dakuku Adol Peterside, PhD

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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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How a Triathlete Who Died During a Race Is Still Alive Today

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Read Time:3 Minute, 15 Second

Chris LaPak died in August. Lifeguards at the New York City Triathlon noticed that he stopped swimming in the dark waters of the Hudson River, and pulled his body onto a surfboard.

The fact that he woke up five days later and is alive today is a "miracle," he said. A series of miracles, really.

"I'm on borrowed time," LaPak, 53, told ABC News. "My heart stopped, and it remained stopped anywhere between 11 and 13 minutes."

LaPak's heart stopped in the water at around 7 a.m. that morning, but his heart attack actually happened days earlier, causing him to have an irregular heartbeat, doctors later told him. He thinks it happened during a hot yoga class because he remembers terrible chest pain and shortness of breath, he said. But he ignored it.

Both his parents died of heart attacks in their 50s, but LaPak was a self-described "workout maniac."

"I work out so much," he said. "I think subconsciously I thought could beat this whole thing."

According to the American Heart Association, 359,400 people went into cardiac arrest outside of a hospital in 2013. The survival rate is 9.5 percent. Heart disease is the number 1 cause of death in the United States, claiming 787,000 lives in 2011.

A lifelong athlete, LaPak had run three marathons and trained with an Olympic swim coach for six months before the triathlon on Aug. 3 — an Olympic-length triathlon consisting of a 1.5 kilometer swim, 40K bike ride and 10K run. He said he remembers very little about the events leading up to his cardiac arrest. He recalled snippets of getting ready for the race the night before, but the next thing he knew, he was waking up in the hospital five days later.

Lifeguards on surfboards spotted his body in the water and pulled him onto a surfboard, taking care to keep his head above water. They took him to a jet ski and then a fire department boat before making it to the dock, an ambulance, Roosevelt Hospital and, finally, Mount Sinai St. Luke's Hospital.

There, doctors learned that his left anterior descending artery was 100 percent blocked, but realized they needed to save his brain before they could fix it.

Dr. Eyal Herzog happened to be at work that Sunday, and followed protocols to cool LaPak down to 33 degrees Celsius, or 94.1 degrees Fahrenheit, to protect his brain and give it a chance to recover. They cooled him quickly and then warmed him back up slowly over about 16 hours. Five days after the attack, LaPak opened his eyes, and Herzog asked him simple questions. Could he read a clock and tell him what time it was? Did he know the names of his family members in the room.

"Everyone was in shock," LaPak said. "My family and friends had been told there was a less than 10 percent chance I was going to live. And if I did, there was a 95 percent chance I'd be brain dead."

He underwent a double bybass surgery and is now back to running 10 or 12 miles several times a week, he said. When he reunited with the team of people who saved him several months later, he learned that no one whose heart has stopped in the Hudson River has ever survived.

He said he'll always have a bond with the people who saved him.

"They never gave up," LaPak said, adding that the experience has taught him to slow down and savor his life a little more. "They never quit on me. They gave me an opportunity to have more life and to see my two kids get married and have kids.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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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California’s next big political wave

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Read Time:8 Minute, 45 Second

In most corners of the country, a competitive Senate race isn’t an earth-shattering event. After all, there’s a new one every couple of years.

California is different.

When Barbara Boxer announced on Jan. 8 that she would be retiring after her current term ends in 2016, Golden State politicos reacted with the sort of panting excitement usually reserved for a regime change at, say, Buckingham Palace. Boxer, 74, has been in the Senate since 1992 — nearly a quarter-century. So has her 81-year-old colleague Dianne Feinstein. Jerry Brown, 76, is currently serving his fourth — fourth! — term as governor. He first took office when Gerald Ford was president.

Brown isn’t allowed to run again after 2018; Feinstein’s current term ends the same year. So the response to Boxer’s announcement, from San Francisco to Sacramento to Los Angeles, was pretty much unanimous.

Yes! At long last! A new generation of California Democrats will finally get a shot at major office!

By bowing out, wrote The New York Times’ Adam Nagourney, Boxer will be “breaking a generational logjam” and “signal[ing] what many Democrats, especially younger ones, have been waiting for across this state: the beginning of a wave of retirement by an older generation of Democrats who have dominated the upper realms of elected office.” In a column for the Huffington Post, Tom Steyer, the billionaire climate-change activist who briefly considered a Senate bid and will likely run for governor in 2018, declared that “Washington Needs to Be Shaken Up So the Next Generation of Americans Can Get a Fair Shake.” Not to be outdone, California Attorney General Kamala Harris — the first politician to jump into the race — also made sure to sound a generational call to arms. “I will be a fighter for the next generation,” she said in her official announcement.

But amid all the next-generation hubbub, no one has bothered to ask the obvious question:

How does this new generation of California Democrats differ from the previous generation? Are they just less elderly? Or are they actually planning to chart a new course for the state?
“You have these tectonic plates shifting in terms of who is in office and what that will mean.”

This isn’t only an important question for California. It’s an important question for the entire Democratic Party — and possibly the entire country. “This is a political earthquake,” said San Francisco-based Democratic consultant Chris Lehane, a veteran of the Clinton White House and former spokesman for Al Gore. “You have these tectonic plates shifting in terms of who is in office and what that will mean.”

There are two reasons California’s political upheaval matters outside the state. The first is that changes in California have traditionally paved the way for larger changes in American politics. “California has been a policy laboratory on a number of fronts for several decades,” said Dan Schnur, a former spokesman for Pete Wilson and John McCain who currently teaches politics at the University of Southern California. “And that cuts across party lines.” In 1978, the passage of Proposition 13 bolstered the conservative tax-cut agenda; in 1990, Proposition 140 kick-started a nationwide term-limits movement. More recently, San Francisco played a leading role in the push for same-sex marriage, and Sacramento has been ahead of the national pack on environmental protection.

The second reason California’s political earthquake matters is that the state has an outsize influence within the Democratic Party itself. “If you’re looking at the constituency groups, if you’re looking at labor, if you’re looking at fundraising — California is the epicenter of all of that,” said Lehane. “So there’s no question that any of these candidates could potentially have a really specific issue or set of issues that they want to focus on, and they could leverage the California platform to really move it forward.”

And so you have Harris (50). You have Steyer (57). You have former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, 62, who is “seriously considering” a 2016 Senate bid. You have former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, 47, who is eyeing the governor’s mansion. And you have plenty more waiting in the wings — “a pretty deep bench of folks who have been looking to make that next big move,” in Lehane’s words. Can they change California, and perhaps the country?

To figure out where California’s new class of Democrats wants to steer their state, pay attention to policy. Sure, the 2016 and 2018 campaigns will be more expensive and digital than the relatively uncompetitive races Boxer, Feinstein and Brown have run in recent years. And the candidates themselves are more diverse than their predecessors. (Harris is half-Indian, half-Jamaican; Villaraigosa is Latino.) But analysts insist that the so-called Next Generation will only truly live up to their billing if they find new ways to champion California-centric issues such as immigration, income inequality, climate change and technology.

View gallery
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(L to R) Calif. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, and Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown. (Photo composite by Yahoo News, Photos by Cliff Owen/AP Phot…

(L to R) Calif. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, and Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown. (Photo composite by Yahoo …

The potential is there. In 1992, the California electorate was 82 percent white; by 2012, that number had plummeted to 55 percent. Last march, Latinos surpassed Caucasians as the state’s largest ethnic group, and that gap will continue to widen. According to Santa Monica-based consultant Garry South, who is close to Villaraigosa, the former L.A. mayor “could be an historical figure who drives Latino turnout the way Barack Obama drove black turnout in 2012.” (California has never elected a Latino senator or governor.) If Villaraigosa were to win, South continues, he “could certainly become a national voice in respect to immigration,” bringing his been-there, done-that Golden State perspective and across-the-aisle legislative skills to bear on Washington, where both parties recognize that America is heading in California’s demographic direction.

Someone like Harris, meanwhile, is well positioned to emerge as a leader on income inequality, which is more pronounced in the Golden State than anywhere else in America. California is now home to 111 billionaires, by far the most of any state. Yet it also suffers from the highest poverty rate in the nation — more than 23 percent. As a district attorney and state AG, Harris has prosecuted financial fraud, battled big mortgage lenders on behalf of underwater homeowners, railed against truancy and pursued the sort of “smart on crime” approach that California voters ratified last fall by passing sentencing reform (via Proposition 47). Harris refused to take a position on Prop 47, but in her campaign announcement she vowed to be “a fighter for middle-class families who are feeling the pinch of stagnant wages and diminishing opportunity.” If Harris keeps her promise, she could join Elizabeth Warren, who has already endorsed her, in advocating for innovative new legislative approaches to America’s (and especially California’s) most pressing economic problem. “Every Senate candidate of both parties is going to repeat the phrase ‘income inequality’ almost relentlessly,” Schnur predicted. “It will be interesting to see if a state-based agenda in that area can lay the groundwork for a national discussion.”
“Newsom, who ran the most tech-savvy city in America, could partner with Silicon Valley in groundbreaking ways.”

On climate change, Steyer would be the obvious standard-bearer. In 2014, he spent a staggering $65 million to get climate-friendly Democrats elected, and if he were to run — and win — in 2018, he would undoubtedly push his state’s environmental policies far beyond anything America has ever seen. “With NextGen [Steyer’s PAC], he has a platform to do something you really haven’t seen on the left — a progressive platform with real resources behind it,” said a Steyer adviser. “And someone who’d be in office — that creates some real synergies.”

And then there’s technology. “When Boxer, Feinstein and Brown came to prominence, Silicon Valley didn’t exist the way it does now,” Lehane said. “And Silicon Valley isn’t only important in California. It’s the economic epicenter of the U.S. and arguably the economic epicenter of the globe. And it’s only going to become more so.” A candidate like Newsom, who ran the most tech-savvy city in America and first hit a million Twitter followers when he weighed a run against Brown for governor in 2008 and 2009, could partner with Silicon Valley in trailblazing ways. In fact, that’s what his 2013 book, Citizenville, was all about: using private-sector technologies like YouTube, Google, FarmVille and the Apple App Store to increase public-sector transparency, communication, citizen engagement and efficiency. “It’s indigenous to him,” said South, who advised Newsom during that campaign. “He understands it instinctively.”

These issues, of course, aren’t new; politicians have discussed and debated them for years. But California’s Next Generation now has an opportunity to take the debate to the next level. Thanks to the post-Boxer, post-Feinstein rise of small-dollar online donors, they will have “more latitude on the issues” than older politicians, who have relied largely on “maxed-out contributions from special interests,” according to South. And because California has become almost monolithically Democratic in the years since Boxer and Feinstein were elected — current GOP registration is 28.2 percent, down from nearly 40 percent in 1992 — Harris & Co. will have even less need to moderate their ideas to win Republican votes.

The Next Generation could actually alter the political landscape in California — and beyond. The question now is whether they’ll be willing to shake things up.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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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Obama on measles: ‘You should get your kids vaccinated

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Read Time:1 Minute, 43 Second

President Barack Obama says parents have “every reason” to vaccinate their children against measles.

“You should get your kids vaccinated,” Obama told Savannah Guthrie during an interview broadcast on NBC’s “Today” show Monday. “It’s good for them.”

Obama’s comments come as a measles outbreak centered in California has sickened more than 100 people in the United States. Doctors are urging parents not to listen to anti-vaccination activists who have convinced a small number of parents not to inoculate their children by claiming the vaccines can cause autism.

“I understand that there are families that in some cases are concerned about the effect of vaccinations,” Obama said. “The science is, you know, pretty indisputable. We’ve looked at this again and again. There is every reason to get vaccinated, but there aren’t reasons to not.”

There have been no deaths reported from the recent measles outbreak. The highly contagious disease was once common in the United States but declined significantly because of higher vaccination rates. By 2000, it had been declared officially eradicated from the United States.

“We should be able to get back to the point where measles effectively is not existing in this country,” the president said.

During the wide-ranging interview, Obama was also asked about the beheadings of hostages seen on videos released by Islamic State militants — which the president said he watched.

“Anything related to these terrorist actions I take a look at,” Obama said, adding, “I think it would affect anybody who has an ounce of humanity.”

The president also said he thinks Americans are safer under his watch and the U.S. has been “pretty successful” preventing major attacks since Sept. 11, 2001.

“It’s important for us to also just look at the track record of how many Americans have actually been killed during the course of this past decade,” he said.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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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NIGERIA: Attahiru Jega Resigns As INEC Chairman..(See Letter)

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Read Time:37 Second

Shocking News bits reaching us this morning at FNN HQ are suggesting that just mere days before the February 14 General Elections, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Alhaji Attahiru Jega, has allegedly tendered resignation in a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan.

In a letter which somehow found its way to our email this morning, the INEC Chairman cited Partisan Politics, twitter threats and a host of other factors as reasons behind his letter.

Below is the letter we received:

Your Excellency,

It is with a deep sense of regret that I herewith tender my resignation from my post as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission. Definitely, questions will be asked as regards the timing of my a resignation

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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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NIGERIA: President Goodluck Jonathan Set To Reduce Fuel Price Again

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Read Time:1 Minute, 1 Second

News reaching our stables have it that the President is planning to reduce fuel prices to as low as 70naira/liter.

This was made known by the president’s spokeman – Reuben Abati at a recent press conference hosted by the government house.

Reuben Abati claims, His excellency, GEJ will do all it takes to win the forthcoming elections and considering that fuel prices are dear to Nigerians, he has decided to drop the fuel prices to a whopping 70naira per liter come February 7, 2015.

He also claims this is private information as the President only told him in confidence considering they work in close proximity.

A few Nigerians have decided to say something about the new development (find below)

– Tope: WOW… That’s a big one and a welcome development at that. GEJ for president

– Chichi: this our president is funny sha. Some days ago, he gave us 10naira change, now he’s adding 20naira to it. Abeg, I get project to write

– Usman: I would be happpy if that happens but my vote still goes to GMB

– Bola: if he likes, he should make fuel 5naira per liter, I would still vote for GMB (alive or dead)

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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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Japan: ‘We will never, never forgive’ ISIS for apparent beheading

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Read Time:5 Minute, 54 Second

 (CNN)He ventured to Syria to tell the stories of lives torn apart by war.

But in doing so, Japanese journalist Kenji Goto suffered his own gruesome fate — apparently becoming the latest foreigner to be decapitated by ISIS.

A newly distributed video from ISIS appears to show the beheaded body of Goto. It came one week after a video surfaced showing him holding a photo of what appeared to be the corpse of his fellow Japanese captive, Haruna Yukawa.

Just like ISIS' previous beheading videos, the 67-second footage released Saturday was issued by the terror group's media wing, Al Furqan Media. The video cannot be authenticated by CNN.

And now, Japan finds itself more deeply embroiled in the global fight against ISIS.

"We are deeply saddened by this despicable and horrendous act of terrorism, and we denounce it in the strongest terms," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, according to broadcaster NHK. "To the terrorists, we will never, never forgive them for this act."

The members of the United Nations Security Council said in a statement that they strongly condemned Goto's "heinous and cowardly murder," adding that those responsible should be held accountable.

"This crime is, yet again, a tragic reminder of the increasing dangers journalists and others face every day in Syria. It also once again demonstrates the brutality of (ISIS), which is responsible for thousands of abuses against the Syrian and Iraqi people," the Security Council said.

U.S. President Barack Obama said the United States stands in solidarity with Japan "in denouncing this barbaric act."

"We applaud Japan's steadfast commitment to advancing peace and prosperity in the Middle East and globally, including its generous assistance for innocent people affected by the conflicts in the region," Obama said in a statement.

Unlike the United States, Britain and other allies, Japan is not involved in the military campaign against ISIS. But Japan has been providing humanitarian aid in the Middle East as ISIS continues its bloody quest to solidify an Islamic state across parts of Iraq and Syria.

And Japan's efforts to provide humanitarian aid won't stop, one top official said Sunday.

"We would like to expand our support for refugees," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said. "We are surely going to have necessary support in terms of not yielding to terrorism."

'Let the nightmare for Japan begin'

The ISIS video opens with a black slate that reads, "A Message to Japan." It then shows a kneeling Goto . The man known as "Jihadi John" is standing behind him.

The terrorist speaks in English while holding a knife in his left hand.

"Abe, because of your reckless decision to take part in an unwinnable war, this knife will not only slaughter Kenji, but will also carry on and cause carnage wherever your people are found," the man says. "So let the nightmare for Japan begin."

The video cuts to black as the militant puts the knife to Goto's throat. It then shows the apparent result of the decapitation. It's not clear who conducted the apparent killing.

The knife-wielding masked man with a London accent has been nicknamed "Jihadi John." He has appeared in at least six videos with hostages and has overseen the beheadings of other captives.

The race to save Goto's life

Goto, 47, left Japan last fall, when his younger daughter was 3 weeks old. His wife, Rinko, first heard from his captors December 2.

On January 20, an ISIS video posted to social media showed Goto and Yukawa dressed in orange, kneeling in front of a masked man dressed in black.

In that video, the ISIS militant issued a $200 million ransom demand to the Japanese government in order to free the Japanese men within 72 hours. That's the same amount of money Abe recently pledged for those "contending" with ISIS.

Days later, a new message surfaced featuring what appeared to be the corpse of Yukawa. And Goto would also be killed, the new message claimed, unless Jordan freed prisoner and convicted terrorist Sajida al-Rishawi.

Suga said Japan tried hard to save both Yukawa and Goto.

"Since the beginning of the incident, we have been trying to use all kind of means and to do our best to save their lives by using our diplomatic route, as much as possible," Suga said Sunday.

When asked whether Japan negotiated over the ransom, Suga said no.

Jordan also said it did everything it could to free Goto in cooperation with Japan, government spokesman Mohammed Al-Momani told Jordan's official Petra news agency Sunday.

But that country is still grappling with its own hostage situation.

Jordanian pilot's fate unclear

Among its web of threats, ISIS said it would kill Jordanian military pilot captured in Syria if Jordan doesn't release convicted terrorist al-Rishawi.

But pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh's fate remains unclear. He was not mentioned in the latest video featuring Goto.

Jordan will continue trying to secure the release of the pilot, Al-Momani told Petra on Sunday. But he said officials are still seeking "proof of life" evidence that al-Kaseasbeh is alive.

No answers

Goto, a veteran journalist, had said he felt compelled to document the stories of war, even if it meant going to some of the most dangerous places in the world.

"Syrian people (have been) suffering for three years and a half. It's enough," he said in a video shot in October. "So I would like to get the story of what ISIS wants to do."

In a statement posted on the website of Goto's media company, his family thanked those who had "prayed for his safe return" and said they were "deeply saddened" by his death.

Goto's mother, Junko Ishido, said her son wanted to help create a world free of wars.

"I'm shedding tears of sorrow, I just can't think of any words to say," she said, according to NHK. "But I don't want this sorrow to create a chain of hatred."

Rinko praised her husband's work in a statement released Sunday.

"While feeling a great personal loss, I remain extremely proud of my husband, who reported the plight of people in conflict areas like Iraq, Somalia and Syria," she said. "It was his passion to highlight the effects on ordinary people, especially through the eyes of children, and to inform the rest of us of the tragedies of war."

But now, she must raise the couple's two girls without their father.

The 2-year-old daughter has been asking when her dad will come home.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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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3-year-old boy shoots father, pregnant mother in New Mexico

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Read Time:52 Second

 

(CNN)A 3-year-old boy shot his father and pregnant mother over the weekend inside a hotel room in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Police say the boy removed a handgun from his mother's purse Saturday and fired one shot, striking his father in the lower backside.

The bullet apparently exited through the father's hip and hit the mother in the right shoulder. She is eight months pregnant, said Officer Simon Drobik of the Albuquerque Police Department.

The father was treated and released from the hospital while the mother was hospitalized in stable condition. The condition of her unborn child is unknown.

The boy and his 2-year-old sister, who was also in the hotel room, are under the care of the Children's Youth and Families department. They were not injured in the incident.

Drobik says the case has been sent to Albuquerque District Attorney's Office, which will determine whether the parents will be charged with criminal negligence.

Police did not identify the family.

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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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At least 13 charred beyond recognition in Bangladesh factory fire

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Read Time:2 Minute, 35 Second

Dhaka, Bangladesh (CNN)At least 13 people are dead and many workers still missing Saturday evening after a fire broke out inside a factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh — the latest such deadly blaze in the south Asian nation.

Mohammad Salimuzzaman, the officer in charge of the police station in the area of the nation's capital were the fire occurred, said authorities had sent at least 13 bodies to a hospital morgue. Many of the bodies were disfigured and charred beyond recognition.

A short time earlier, Dhaka police chief Asaduzzaman Mia told reporters about the efforts to find others who were in the five-story building.

"The rescuers were still searching for bodies in the debris," Mia said.

Such factories — making products for a number of Western retailers — play a big part in Bangladesh's economy, with ready-made garments alone making up 80% of the country's $24 billion in annual exports. The factory that burned Saturday was used to make plastic goods.

These buildings haven't always proven to be the safest places to work. There are many examples in recent years of fatal factory fires in Bangladesh, the most glaring being the spring 2013 collapse of a nine-story building that housed five garment factories.

More than 1,100 people died in that blaze.

Firefighters: Chemicals fueled the flames

Saturday's fire started on the plastic factor's ground floor and immediately and quickly spread, fueled by flammable chemicals in the building, firefighters said.

Authorities didn't say how many people were in the building when this happened, and thus how many remained unaccounted for. Yet some of those escaped — and there were many — estimated about 80 or 90 others worked there.

Afterward, the scene filled with not only firefighters but several thousand onlookers, some of them trying to track down their still-missing relatives.

Firefighters didn't specify exactly what caused the blaze, though they suspected a busted gas cylinder may be to blame.

Government revised labor laws after past fires

Past factory fires have led to emotional rhetoric from officials, calls for action and, in some cases, criminal charges.

Thirteen people were found guilty of gross negligence of safety measures and charged with "culpable homicide" after a November 2012 apparel factory fire on Dhaka's outskirts that killed at least 117 people and spurred others to jump from the building to escape the flames. Most of those dead in that blaze were women, almost half of them burned so bad that DNA tests were needed to identify them.

The building collapse months later in Dhaka was even more appalling and exponentially more deadly.

That blaze spurred widespread criticism about the state of workers rights in Bangladesh. The government responded by revampling laws so that workers no longer need approval from employers to form trade unions, and every factory that sells within the country also has to pledge 5% of their profits toward a workers' welfare fund. The government also boosted minimum wages from $38 to around $68 per month.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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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