I'm world's 'most criticised' president: Goodluck Jonathan

Nigeria's Goodluck Jonathan said on Monday that he was "the most criticised president in the whole world", but pledged that, with time, he would be more appreciated.
   "I'm the most criticised president in the whole world. I can tell this noble audience that before I leave, I will also be the most praised president," Jonathan told a meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association.
   The president, who has faced cricitism over what has been characterised as a complacent approach to the job in the face of a deadly Islamist insurgency and other issues, said his critics were unfairly blaming him for Nigeria's woes.
   He touched on problems such as a lack of adequate electricity supply and other infrastructure issues which pre-date his tenure in the continent's largest oil producer.
   "Sometimes I ask, 'were there roads across this country and Jonathan brought floods to wipe out these roads?'" said the president, who took charge of Africa's most populous country in 2010 following the death of his predecessor and won 2011 elections.
   "Or, we have power and I brought hurricanes to bring down all infrastructure?" .
   "So, were there massive irrigation projects in the north where agriculture can thrive and massive farms, and Jonathan brought drought to wipe out these farms (in) under two years?" he said.
   The president's comments come amid an apparent effort by his office to hit back at critics.
   In a column published in several national newspapers on Sunday, Jonathan's spokesman Reuben Abati said the president was "not clueless", calling him "grossly misunderstood".
   Responding to unnamed critics who have suggested that "Mr. President drinks", Abati wrote, "alcohol is not served during official duties", adding "nobody gets drunk around here".

Italian writer held over murder of a Nigerian prostitute

ROME A 34-year Italian and philosophy graduate has been arrested over the murder of a Nigerian prostitute after police searching her apartment found a short story he wrote with close similarities to the killing.
  Police in the northern Italian city of Turin discovered the nine-page story entitled "The Rose and the Lion" among the belongings of Anthonia Egbuna, whose body was fished out of the river Po in February, a Carabinieri spokesman said on Wednesday. She had been stabbed to death.
 Police took some months to identify the body and then visited Egbuna's apartment last month.
 In the murder case, reminiscent of the 1992 Hollywood thriller film "Basic Instinct", aspiring author Daniele Ughetto Piampaschet was arrested last week because of likenesses between his short story and the real murder, the police said. He denies murder.
In "Basic Instinct", Sharon Stone's character Catherine Tramell had described in a novel she wrote a rock star's murder with an ice pick that was later committed in real life, making her the top suspect.
 After finding 34-year-old Ughetto Piampaschet's short story, police say they discovered he had been in a relationship with Egbuna, then 19, between February and August of last year.
 They alleged in a statement that he murdered her in November because their relationship was going badly and she refused to give up prostitution - in what appeared to be a link to the short story.
 "He loved her and he loved her more every day, but she did not want to leave the streets. All his efforts to convince her to change her life had failed. And for this reason she had become his torturer," reads an excerpt of the story quoted by police. In the short story, the murderer strangles the Nigerian prostitute and then commits suicide.
 "He wrote the story and gave it to her as a gift - to make himself look good," Ughetto Piampaschet's lawyer, Stefano Tizzani said. Tizzani said Ughetto Piampaschet had a "profound passion" for Africa and Nigeria, and saw Egbuna as an inspiration for his writing. "My client has declared his innocence and we are working to demonstrate it," Tizzani said.
  Ughetto Piampaschet told investigators after his arrest that his relationship with Egbuna changed after he started dating another Nigerian woman last August, though he remained in contact with her.
 His lawyer said his client stopped seeing Egbuna after he was threatened by people who control the Nigerian prostitution business in Turin.
 "He stopped calling her after he was threatened and intimidated and told not to see her anymore," said Tizzani.

Missing Cameroon Olympians say they were threatened

LONDON Five Cameroonian boxers who disappeared at the London Olympics said in an interview broadcast on Monday that they absconded because they had been threatened by officials in their delegation.
   The boxers, who went missing along with two other Cameroonian athletes more than a week ago, said they now wanted to stay in Britain to develop their careers.
   "We left the Olympic Village because we were threatened," boxer Blaise Yepmou Mendouo told BBC television in an interview at a secret location in London.
   Speaking in French, Yepmou Mendouo said officials had tried to confiscate some of his teammates' passports.
   He also claimed that Cameroonian officials had halved the boxers' agreed bonuses.
   "We were not happy with that," he told the broadcaster. "But we decided, the five of us, that as fighters we should fight -- because it's a matter of image."
   The BBC named the other boxers as Thomas Essomba, Christian Donfack Adjoufack, Abdon Mewoli and Serge Ambomo, and their missing teammates as swimmer Paul Ekane Edingue and female footballer Drusille Ngako.
   All seven have visas to stay in Britain until November, British Olympic officials said last week.
   Essomba told the BBC that the boxers were searching for a sponsor to help them become long-term British residents.

Peralta double stuns Brazil in men's football final

LONDON A goal in each half by Oribe Peralta helped Mexico to a shock 2-1 victory over tournament favourites Brazil in the men's Olympic football final at Wembley on Saturday.
 Peralto put Mexico ahead after just 29 seconds, taking advantage of a defensive error by Fabio to open the scoring with a firm strike from the edge of the area.
The 28-year-old netted his second of the game on 75 minutes, heading home a Marco Fabian free-kick.  Hulk reduced the deficit in additional time and Oscar even had a chance to equalise for Brazil but headed over to give Mexico its first men's Olympic title and leave the five-time world champions still in search of their first Olympic gold.
Mexico's previous best finish was fourth at Mexico City 1968 while Beijing 2008 bronze medallists Brazil took silver at Los Angeles 1984 and in Seoul four years later.
Poor Brazil...

Three-day funeral begins for Ghana's late leader

ACCRA A three-day state funeral for Ghana's president John Atta Mills began in Accra on Wednesday, with thousands of mourners taking to the streets and lamposts, trees and state buildings draped in black and red.  Mills died at age 68 last month, after a quiet battle against throat cancer. He had been expected to run for a second term in office in December.
 The casket, draped in the national colours of red, gold and green, was carried by members of the Air Force and placed in a hearse brimming with flowers.  It was to be taken to Accra's state house for public viewing, ahead of Friday's burial at a park adjacent to the city's main landmark, Independence Square.
 Up to 15 regional leaders, as well as US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, are expected to attend Friday's service for the man credited with transparently managing Ghana's new-found oil wealth.  They include Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan, President Yayi Boni of Benin and Ivory Coast's leader Alassane Ouattara.

King USAIN Bolt retains 100m title in style

   LONDON Jamaica's Usain Bolt sealed his status as the greatest sprinter of all time after retaining the men's Olympic 100m title with an electrifying display on Sunday.
   The world record holder turned on the after-burners at 60m to clock an Olympic record of 9.63sec, the second fastest time in history.
   "I executed and that was the key," Bolt said. "When it comes to the championships, it's all about business for me and I brought it."
   Jamaican compatriot and training partner Yohan Blake, long tipped as Bolt's successor as the fastest man in the world, claimed silver after equaling his personal best of 9.75sec.
   American 2004 Olympic gold medallist Justin Gatlin completed his remarkable comeback from a four-year doping ban by taking the bronze medal in a personal best of 9.79sec.
   The 2007 double world champion Tyson Gay came in fourth, one hundredth of a second off his teammate Gatlin in 9.80sec, with a third American, Ryan Bailey, fifth in 9.88.
   The sell-out 80,000-capacity crowd at the Olympic Stadium were on their feet when the eight finalists, including the four fastest men in the world - Bolt, Gay, Blake and Asafa Powell - lined up.
   As the television cameras picked out each racer, the excitement mounted as they reached Bolt in lane seven, dressed in black shorts and the yellow and green singlet of the Jamaican team.
   The 25-year-old showed no signs of nerves as he bid to replicate his gold medal showing in the Beijing Games in 2008.
   To mass delight, he practised his DJ mixing skills, one hand raised to his ear, and then drew laughter after drawing pretend pistols and re-holstering them after pointing them down the track.
   As the starter called them to the blocks, Bolt put a finger to his lips to hush the excitable crowd, briefly crossing himself and looking skywards as the television zoomed in and his picture was broadcast on the big stadium screen.
   As silence descended, the gun went and Bolt's reaction time from the blocks saw him rocket away, but Gatlin had the edge on his left.
   Bolt, however, pushed his huge frame through his renowned drive and transition phase after 50 metres.
   Teeth gritted and long legs pumping, Bolt completed what turned out to be a remarkably comfortable victory given the quality and strength of the field.
   After Bolt crossed the line, he immediately set off on a lap of victory, a Jamaican flag draped over his shoulders and Blake in tow.
   He stopped to perform his customary "bow and arrow" pose at various points, to chants of "Usain, Usain!" ringing around the stadium.
  

Nigerian player dies after collapsing in Romania

BUCHAREST Nigerian striker Henry Ihelwere Chinonso died on Sunday after collapsing during a match for Romanian second-division side Delta Tulcea, Mediafax news agency reported.
Chinonso, 21, was playing in a friendly against Balotesti when he collapsed during the second half.
 Doctors were unable to resuscitate the player, the report said.  The cause of death was not immediately known, Chinonso was reported to have had no previous health problems.
 The match in Balotesti near Bucharest was played in temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius.


Below is a translated statement (Romanian to English) from the doctor that pronounced him dead.
"We found a patient aged 21 years, cardiopulmonary arrest. Maneuvers were initiated by our crew resuscitate first aid, the crew continued the doctor. After maneuvers, cardiac-respiratory arrest was irreversible . Unfortunately, I said death. I can not say what caused the entry into cardiopulmonary arrest. All the time the patient was in cardiopulmonary arrest, when he reached the first aid crew to declare death, 12 : 05 to 1:12 p.m., when I said death. first aid crew arrived soon enough to call 112, in 3-4 minutes after the call, "Tanase said Dr. John.
The case is forensic, several assumptions were considered: myocardial infarction, stroke, aneurysm rupture, inappropriate medication or adverse effects.
The body will be transported to the IML, to be diagnosed.

 "Am găsit un pacient în vârstă de 21 de ani, în stop cardio-respirator. S-au iniţiat manevre de resucitare de către echipajul nostru de prim ajutor, continuate de echipajul cu medic. În urma manevrelor, stopul cardio-respirator a fost ireversibil. Din păcate, am declarat decesul. Nu pot spune care a fost cauza intrării în stop cardio-respirator. Tot timpul pacientul a fost în stop cardio-respirator, de când a ajuns echipajul de prim-ajutor până la declararea decesului, de la 12:05 până la 13:12, când am declarat decesul. Echipajul de prim-ajutor a ajuns destul de repede de la apelul la 112, în 3-4 minute de la apel", a declarat medicul Tănase Ioana.
Cazul este unul medico-legal, mai multe ipoteze fiind luate în calcul: infarct miocardic, accident vascular cerebral, ruptura unui anevrism, medicație inadecvată sau cu efecte adverse.
Cadavrul va fi transportat la IML, pentru a fi stabilit diagnosticul.

Suicide bomber in Nigeria kills at least 5 soldiers

   KANO A suicide bomber rammed his car into a military patrol on Sunday in the northeastern Nigerian city of Damaturu, killing at least five soldiers, a security source said.
   "The attacker died in the explosion and five soldiers were also killed," the source said on condition of anonymity. The state police commissioner confirmed the explosion and that there were military casualties without providing a figure.

Two sailors killed, four kidnapped in ship attacks off Niger Delta

ABUJA Two Nigerian sailors were killed on Saturday by gunmen who attacked two ships off the coast of the Niger Delta, authorities said.
 Navy spokesman Kabir Aliyu said four foreigners were kidnapped in the attack, but did not give their nationalities. The attack happened about 35 nautical miles off the coast of the Niger Delta, a region once beset by militant and criminal attacks that has seen relative calm following a government-sponsored amnesty deal in 2008. Aliyu said a helicopter and a ship had been deployed into the area to help search and rescue efforts.
 Navy officials say the affected ships belong to the Sea Trucks Group, an oil and gas contractor with offices in the Dutch city of Rotterdam.  Attacks of this nature and kidnappings were a common occurrence in the Niger Delta before the militants embraced the amnesty deal.
 The oil-rich region, which accounts for more than 70 per cent of Nigeria's revenue, is characterised by poor infrastructure, poverty and pollution.

How much are Olympic medals worth?

LONDON Athletes competing in Olympics are not usually paid for their participation, but most competitors who come out on top are rewarded in cash by their national Olympic Committee. Most times, the real money is in promotional contracts: Some of the most stellar athletes bring in millions with marketing deals and endorsement.

After eight days of the summer Games we have seen athletes being distinguished the best of the best. Summer Olympians are breaking records and winning medals. You might think that the joy of winning a medal is enough, but a lot of athletes get an extra incentive: a lump sum of cash for their winning efforts.

One of the most outstanding endorsements so far is Qatar Telecommunication’s (Qtel) identification with Nasser Saleh al Attiyah’s bronze medal feat in the men’s skeet (rifle shooting) event. The company has promised to provide him with a special Shahry Line with unlimited SMS, mobile, internet, local and international calling for life.  

Though no confirmation of any financial reward from the Qatar Olympic Committee, one can be rest assured that for putting Qatar on the world map with its historic achievement, Qatar’s sporting excellence in rewarding its own will be monumental.

While we are still celebrating Nasser’s feat, not all countries participating in the Olympics offer cash reward. Athletes from the host nation, Great Britain, aren't getting any money for their efforts as the British Olympic Committee (BOC) believes that the medals and efforts are enough.

Gold medalist from Team GB at this year's home Olympics will be immortalised in the national memory.  According to Daily Mail, for Team GB stars the rewards are far less tangible. From the moment any take gold; the Royal Mail will begin designing a stamp bearing their image and deliver them to 500 post offices for sale the following day. The champions' stamps will be available in books of six for £3.60 or individually for 60p - to be immortalised forever among philatelists.

But for competitors from some other nations, prestige isn't the only thing driving them

For Americans a gold medal is worth $25,000. Silver and bronze are worth payouts of $15,000 and $10,000, respectively. The 29 medals won thus far have a total bonus value of $510,000. It’s a nice bonus for America’s unpaid athletes, though the payout values have not increased for a decade.

The United States is also far from the top of the payout list. The biggest medal bonus is offered by Italy, which will pay more than $182,000 for a gold medal. Russia’s medal rewards are also quite rich, and the nation’s gold medal winners will collect $135,000. The bronze medalists will take home $54, 400, more. Neighboring Ukraine has been considering an increase to its already rich payout scale: $100,000 for gold, $75,000 for silver and $50,000 for bronze.

African nation, Ghana has offered $20,000 for each gold medalist.

South Africa's Olympic body, Sascoc, will reward all medal winners competing in the London Olympic Games, having set aside R6-million ($721,542) for the stars of both the Olympics and Paralympics.

According to Sascoc, gold medallists will receive R400 000 ($48,000) and their coaches R100 000 ($12, 000. Olympic silver medallists will receive R200000 ($24,000) and their coaches R50000 ($6,000), whereas bronze medallists will be given R80000 ($9,600) and their coaches R20000 ($2,400).

In Armenia, its National Olympic Committee announced reward in cash for his/her medal hopefuls.

A gold medal will be worth $100,000; silver, $75,000; and bronze, $50,000.

National Olympic Committee president Gagik Tsarukyan has said he will personally pay $700,000 to any athlete who scores gold for Armenia.

Mexicans who wins a gold medal in individual event would receive 500,000 pesos (about $37,000); silver medal, 250,000 pesos ($18,000); and bronze medal, 125,000 pesos ($10,000).

Winning a gold medal in team sports would be awarded three million pesos (about $223,000); silver medal, two million pesos ($149,000); and bronze medal, one million pesos ($74,500).

In Malaysia, a gold medal could be worth more than $600,000. Andrew Kam, owner of a Kuala Lumpur gold mine, has offered a gold bar valued at two million Malaysian ringgit, or about $640,000, to any Malaysian badminton player able to win a gold medal. If multiple players take home gold, they will split the bar’s value.

Swimming Australia, which oversees the nation’s top swimmers, implemented a new funding deal this year that will pay more than $36,000 to gold medal winners in individual events; those involved with relays that win gold will share more than $63,000. Those payouts are in addition to the nation’s base medal bonuses, worth about $20,000 for gold, $13,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze.

For Team Nigeria, its National Sports Commission promised to give N1.5 million ($100,000) to any athlete who wins a gold medal while silver and bronze medalists are to get N1,000,000 and N500,000 respectively.