Court in Pakistan sentences man to death for ‘blasphemous’ Facebook post

A 30-year-old Muslim man has been sentenced to death for posting ‘blasphemous’ content on Facebook in Pakistan.

Taimoor Raza was sentenced in Bahawalpur in eastern Punjab province after being arrested in 2016 for posting offensive content about Sunni leaders and the wives of Prophet Mohammed on the popular social networking platform, the Associated Press reports.

A Shia Muslim, he had previously been arrested by the counter-terrorism force after a complaint was made that he was showing people offensive material on his phone at a bus terminal.

Pakistan has strict anti-blasphemy laws, and anyone accused of insulting God, Islam or a religious leader can be sentenced to death.
This isn’t the first time the harsh sentence has been handed out in the Sunni-majority country. In 2014, a Christian couple were found guilty of sending a text message insulting the Prophet to the imam of their local mosque.

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are a violation of human rights, and are often used against religious minorities, according to a new report by Amnesty International.

Audrey Gaughran, a director of the charity, said: "Once a person is accused, they become ensnared in a system that offers them few protections, presumes them guilty, and fails to safeguard them against people willing to use violence.”

Police are able to arrest the accused without checking to see if the charge makes sense. In the case of the Christian couple this is an especially salient point. The duo were accused of sending the text in English, despite the reports they are illiterate.

As of yet, no one convicted of blasphemy has been executed, however the deeply conservative nature of the country means that even an accusation is enough to invite mob violence.

In 2014 distinguished human rights lawyer Rashid Rehman was shot dead in his office and a pamphlet distributed around his place of work which said he was killed because he had tried to “save a blasphemer.”

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has clamped down on Internet freedom of speech and ordered “blasphemous” content on social media to be removed or blocked, and warned posting such material will be “strictly punished”.  - The Independent

Photos: Imo Deputy Governor Takes 3rd Wife To Altar

Imo State Deputy Governor is married again. Prince Eze Madumere yesterday got married a 3rd time to Princess Chioma Madumere. According to reports, their engagement had been held secretly months ago before the wedding and thanksgiving which took place yesterday with dignitaries and APC chieftains in attendance.

The Deputy Governor before now had married a first wife, who bore him four children, but now divorced. He went on to get married to another but the marriage also met a brick wall. Miss Chioma will be his 3rd wife. More photos below..

Meet The Only 10 Black Billionaires In The World and the 3 Nigerians Who Made the List

Of the 2,043 people who made it to the 2017 FORBES list of the World’s Billionaires, 10 of them are black, down from 12 a year ago.

 

Nigerian cement tycoon Aliko Dangote is still the richest black person in the world, with a fortune estimated at $12.2 billion. He is followed by Saudi-Ethiopian construction magnate Mohammed Al-Amoudi, who is worth $8.4 billion.

 

This year, two black moguls fall off the ranks of the richest black people on earth, and they are both Nigerian – oil tycoon Femi Otedola and cement mogul Abdulsamad Rabiu. While Otedola fell off the list as a result of the plunging share price of his oil company, Forte Oil, a devaluation of the Nigerian currency, the Naira, was responsible for Rabiu’s ousting. Angolan investor Isabel dos Santos, American media mogul Oprah Winfrey and

 

Nigerian oil woman Folorunsho Alakija are still the only black female billionaires on the FORBES billionaires list.

 

1. Aliko Dangote, $12.2 billion

Nigerian, Sugar, Cement, Flour

Aliko Dangote is not only Africa’s richest man; he’s also the richest black person in the world. Dangote built his fortune trading in cement, sugar and flour but subsequently ventured into manufacturing these commodities. His Dangote Cement is the largest cement producer in Africa with operations in several African countries. In January he announced plans to establish a $100 million truck manufacturing facility in Lagos in partnership with SINOTRUK, a Chinese firm.

 

2. Mohammed Al-Amoudi, $8.4billion

Saudi Arabian, Oil

Mohammed Al-Amoudi is one of the richest men in the Arab world, but he has deep Ethiopian roots. His mother was Ethiopian and he has been investing heavily in the African country for many years. In Ethiopia, his Midroc Ethiopia Technology Investment Group has investments in gold mining, leather production, agro processing, transport and construction. Outside Ethiopia, he owns oil refineries in Morocco and Sweden and oil fields off West Africa.

 

3. Mike Adenuga, $6.1 billion

Nigerian, Oil

In October last year, Nigerian billionaire Mike Adenuga was conferred with the Ghanaian national award of ‘Companion Of The Star of Ghana’, the highest national honors in Ghana on account of his extensive investments in the West African country. Adenuga is one of the largest owners of residential and commercial property in Ghana. His mobile telecom company, Globacom, also has operations in Ghana. Adenuga built his fortune in oil and mobile telecoms. His Conoil Producing was the first indigenous Nigerian oil exploration company to strike oil in commercial quantities in Nigeria. His mobile telecoms company, Globacom, is the second largest operator in Nigeria.

 

4. Isabel Dos Santos, $3.1 billion

Angolan, Investments

The oldest daughter of Angola’s outgoing president and Africa’s richest woman owns a significant stake in Unitel, the country's largest mobile phone network, and a stake in Banco BIC. Outside Angola, she owns nearly 6% of oil and gas firm Galp Energia (alongside Portuguese billionaire Americo Amorim), and nearly 19% of Banco BPI, the country's fourth-largest bank. She is also a controlling shareholder of Portuguese cable TV and telecom firm Nos SGPS (formerly called Zon).

 

5. Oprah Winfrey, $3 billion

American, Television

Oprah, once the queen of daytime TV, is still the richest African-American person in the world. Her once struggling cable channel, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) is now cash flow positive and is enjoying soaring ratings on the back of a series of successful sitcom and drama collaborations with director Tyler Perry.

 

6. Robert Smith, $2.5 billion

American, Investments

Smith is the founder of private equity shop, Vista Equity Partners, an Austin, Texas firm that is best known for fixing up enterprise software outfits. He is married to 2010 Playboy Playmate of the Year Hope Dworaczyk.

 

7. Patrice Motsepe, $1.81 billion

South African, Mining

After making a fortune in mining through his African Rainbow Minerals, South Africa's first black billionaire, Patrice Motsepe, is now reinvesting via private equity. In the last year, his new investment company, African Rainbow Capital, has made a series of investments in leading South African financial services companies. He is also the president and owner of the Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club.

 

8. Folorunsho Alakija, $1.61 billion

Nigerian, Oil

Nigeria’s only female billionaire is the founder of Famfa Oil, a Nigerian company that owns a substantial participating interest in OML 127, a lucrative oil block on the Agbami deep-water oilfield in Nigeria. Alakija started off as a secretary in a Nigerian merchant bank in the 1970s, then quit her job to study fashion design in England. Upon her return, she founded a Nigerian fashion label that catered to upscale clientele, including Maryam Babangida, wife to Nigeria’s former military president Ibrahim Babangida.

 

9. Michael Jordan, $1.31 billion

American, Basketball

Basketball's greatest player is the majority shareholder of Charlotte Bobcats and enjoys lucrative deals with the likes of Gatorade, Hanes and Upper Deck. His biggest pile comes from Brand Jordan, a $1 billion (sales) sportswear partnership with Nike.

 

10. Mohammed Ibrahim, $1.14 billion

British, Mobile Telecoms, Investments

Mo Ibrahim made his initial fortune as the founder of Celtel, an African mobile phone company, which he sold to MTC of Kuwait for $3.4 billion in 2005. He now reinvests through Satya Capital, a U.K-based, African focused private equity firm.

 

-Forbes/Mfonobong Nsehe

Pope Francis Angry With Nigerian Priests

Pope Francis has laid down an ultimatum to defiant Nigerian priests: lose your job if you don’t obey me and your bishop.

According to a report by Associated Press, Pope Francis met June 8 at the Vatican with a delegation from the Ahiara diocese, south-east Nigeria where priests have been refusing to accept the 2012 appointment by the then pontiff, Benedict XVI, of the local bishop.

The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, reporting the pope’s unusually harsh order, said on Sunday that Francis was acting “for the good of the people of God” by threatening to suspend the priests from the ministry if they didn’t pledge in a letter, by July 9, “total obedience” to Francis and accept Bishop Peter Okpaleke’s appointment.

Mr. Francis told the visiting delegation he was “very sad” about the priests’ refusal to obey and ruled out tribal loyalties as explaining the refusal.

Africa has been one of the continents where the Catholic church is growing. The faithful and clergy there often imbue their practices with local culture in dynamic contrast to more traditional routines in Europe or North America.

Francis’ move to end disobedience to the Vatican aims at ensuring the growing church there will be loyal to the pontiff.

His remarks to the visiting delegation indicated how dangerous he viewed any rebellion against papal authority.

Those priests opposing Mr. Okpaleke’s taking up of his office “want to destroy the church, which is not permitted,” the pope said in his address to the delegation.

He added: “the pope can’t be indifferent” to the rebellion.

He has often taken a conciliatory tone in resolving disputes, but in this one he was entertaining no diplomacy. He demanded that each priest in the diocese write to him asking forgiveness and “clearly manifest total obedience to the pope.”

They must also accept the bishop chosen by Rome. If, within a month, each priest doesn’t do so, he will be “ispo facto suspended,” such as from the celebration of the sacraments, and “will lose his current office,” Francis warned.

Francis acknowledged that his move “seems very harsh.” He added that he had even considered the extraordinary remedy of suppressing the entire diocese but didn’t, so as not to hurt rank-and-file faithful.

He said he thought the rebellious priests might have been manipulated from outside the diocese or even abroad, but named no culprits.

In 2015, the diocese served around 520,000 Catholics, out of a local population of about 675,000, and had 128 diocesan priests and seven other priests. It wasn’t immediately clear how many of the priests were involved in the rebellion against the bishop’s appointment. - Source

Man Freed After 17 Years in Jail When Cops Find His Doppelganger Who Shares The Same Name

A Missouri man spent nearly 17 years in jail after eyewitness testimony found him guilty of a crime he did not commit until police discovered his doppelganger.

Richard Anthony Jones, of Kansas City, was freed Thursday after a judge declared there was no longer enough evidence to support his conviction. 
“When I saw that picture, it made sense to me,” Jones said in an interview with the Kansas City Star. "Either you’re going to think they’re the same person or you’re going to be like, ‘Man these guys, they look so much alike.”

It was during his time behind bars that he heard of a prisoner who looked exactly like him. Not only did they bear an uncanny resemblance, but they also share the same first name.

In a last ditch effort to appeal his conviction after many failed attempts, he brought up the information to his lawyers at the Missouri Innocence Project.

“We were floored by how much they looked alike,” Jones’ attorney Alice Craig said.
Jones was jailed after being found guilty of armed robbery in 1999.

Witnesses said they saw a man wrestle a woman to the ground outside a Walmart in Kansas City, Kansas in an attempt to steal her purse.
No DNA, fingerprint, or physical evidence identified Jones at the scene, but eyewitnesses positively identified Jones as the perpetrator after being shown photos out of a police database.

Witnesses were reportedly unable to get a good look at his face, but remembered he was either Hispanic or light skinned African American. On the photo line up, which his attorneys called “highly suggestive,” Jones was the only one who fit the description. 

Jones’ attorneys later showed pictures of the two men to the victim, two witnesses and the prosecutor. They all agreed they could not tell the men apart. 

Investigators later found his lookalike, known as “Ricky,” lived in Kansas City, Kansas, near the address where the robbery took place. Jones, however, lived on the other side of town in Kansas City, Missouri.

“Ricky” testified at the hearing that he did not commit the robbery.
While stopping short of saying the other man committed the crime, the judge found “a jury would not be able to reach a determination that this defendant was guilty” in light of the new evidence, a GoFundMe page started by volunteers reported. 

Jones, now a free man, said he is looking forward to spending more time with his children and readjusting to life outside of prison.

“It’s been a rough ride … for a while, they didn’t understand, they just knew I wasn’t there,” he said. “Everything else will just come together on its own when it’s meant to come together. - Inside Edition

Pregnant woman, 2-year-old son electrocuted in Ibadan

A woman in her late 20s, identified as Labisi, and her two-year-old son were electrocuted on Sunday at Alare compound of Aremo in Ibadan North East Local Government Area of Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

Labisi, who was carrying a four-month old pregnancy, got electrocuted as she spread clothes she washed on a wire in her compound.

The deceased apparently was unaware that the wire had been connected to electricity.
Her scream was said to have drawn the attention of her son, who ran to embrace his mother.

“I learnt that one of the operators of the hotel had connected a wire to the house with a bulb affixed to generate light for people passing through the area in the night”, a resident in the area told Sun.
“The wire which was connected to the wire that is being used to spread clothes in the house must have peeled somewhere and the woman did not know.

“We learnt that immediately she was shocked and fell down, she screamed and her little son ran to her. While cuddling her, he also got electrocuted immediately.”

Police Public Relations Officer for Oyo State, Adekunle Ajisebutu, confirmed the incident.
He said bodies of the victims have been taken to the Adeoyo General Hospital morgue for autopsy and thats police have commenced investigation into the incident.

Man who suffered persistent erection after sleeping with prostitute gets healed by T.B Joshua [PHOTOS]

The founder and General Overseer of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, prophet T.B Joshua, has reportedly healed a man who has been having persistent erection for 5 months now after patronizing prostitutes.

According to the report, the young man, identified as Sunday went in with a prostitute after attending church with his father, earlier that day.
When he got home that evening after sleeping with the woman, his erection remained.

As he confessed in front of the church members, he could hardly stand or move, even sitting was difficult as a result of his erection.

Sunday told the church that he was forced to explain his plight to his father who took him to the doctors who could only recommend an operation.
They declined and continued making efforts to solve his excruciatingly painful problem.

Sunday Akinrinwa became housebound for five months because of the permanent erection!
His father who is a reputable man in Ondo state, brought him to SCOAN.

The whole process was shown live on Emmanuel TV.
When Prophet T.B. Joshua prayed for Sunday, his whole body began to shake.
After the prayer, Prophet T.B. Joshua told him to urinate.

The young man advised youth that they should not fornicate or commit adultery but rather commit their ways to God. - Daily Post