Nelson Mandela was a Satanist, a murderer and a piece of rubbish: Principal tells school children

Former President Nelson Mandela was a fool, a murderer and a piece of rubbish who lied about going to jail!

The ANC are a bunch of fools and blacks would still be living in caves and wearing skins if it was not for the Dutch!

This is what the principal and owner of Cosmo Primary School in Alberton, south of Johannesburg, allegedly told some pupils during lessons this year. These shocking titbits are contained in one of three letters written to the Gauteng Department of Education by some parents of the learners at the school.

Thabo Ramollo, the lawyer representing the school, declined to comment saying the matter was under investigation by the department. He said they would only make a statement once government has made public their findings.

Department spokeswoman, Phumla Sekhonyane confirmed that they were probing the allegations against the school.

"The department is aware of the matter and is extremely concerned about the alleged conduct of the school. The school is registered as a private school, but the district is now handling the matter and has initiated an investigation into the matter," she said.

"The department will await the outcome of the investigation before taking any action. We remain committed to creating school environments that are free from any form of racism and discrimination," she added.

One of the letters written by Nomsa Thela, whose brother is a pupil at the school, complained that principal Belinda Booi made a barrage of racist remarks in class this year.

"She had told the learners that Nelson Mandela was a murderer and a piece of rubbish who lied about ever going to jail. My brother would always come back from school confused and challenge what we had had taught him about the history of black South Africans. She also told them that no black South Africans had ever invented anything, suggesting that white is a superior race," reads the letter.

Thela claimed she confronted Booi about her alleged racist remarks, but said the principal refuted some of them.

"During our confrontation, she admitted to me that she believes Mandela never went to jail and was a murderer. I then challenged her to forward me proof or sources of where she got this information from. I have been waiting ever since. After the national elections, she told Busani (her brother) in front of the whole class that 'your sister obviously voted for the ANC, a bunch of fools'," reads the letter.

Thela said her dispute with the owner of the private school started when she forced Booi to allow her brother to write an exam he had missed due to illness.

"My brother is a Grade 6 pupil at Cosmo Primary School. It is his first year at the school. During the school's first term exams he got sick and couldn't write three exam papers. A doctor's note was submitted to the school, but Ms Booi rejected the note because she thought he was not sick, it was just anxiety because of the transition from a public to a private school.

"I then referred her to her school's code of conduct, which clearly states that upon presentation of a valid doctor's note a learner is eligible to write the missed exams. By this time she had already issued him a report with no marks allocated for the missed exams.

I then rejected that report and she made him write all the missed exams the following day and he subsequently failed," reads the letter.

In an exclusive interview, Thela confirmed that she wrote the letter to the department and said she was still awaiting a formal response.

"I'm removing my brother from that school. He is not comfortable going to that school," she said.

Thela said the last straw was when her brother complained to her recently that one of his schoolmates spat on him, and when he reported the matter to Booi, she told him that she would have done the same too.

"We went to the pupil's home and he and his parents apologised," she said.

Thela also said she is going to report the matter to the Human Rights Commission.

Another parent, Seloane Jantjies, said she was shocked when her child told her that Booi had told them that Mandela was a Satanist!

"Pupils in different Grades attended lessons in one classroom, so when Booi was teaching pupils in another Grade that Mandela was a Satanist, my child was listening," she said.

Another parent, Nkaiseng Makhetha also wrote a letter to the department complaining about racism at the school.

"My daughter, Amu, told us that they were told not to mention Mandela's name because he was a murderer and shall not be celebrated at all," she said.

Police Officers Responsible For 66 Rapes Between April And September

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) is investigating 66 cases of rape involving police officers between April and September this year. The revelation came to light in a document tabled by the directorate on Wednesday.

According to the document, of those 66 rapes, 25 were allegedly carried out by officers on duty.
Parliament’s police portfolio committee said it was shocked by the amount of cases involving police.
Freedom Front Plus MP Pieter Groenewald, also a member of the committee, said the amount of cases involving police had increased by 25%.
“This means that these rapists think they are above the law just because they are members of the police, and they are abusing their power granted to them due to their positions,” he added.
In a separate statement, committee chairperson Francois Beukman ordered South African Police Service (SAPS) management to “take an uncompromising or strict stance on the matter.”

Health - New Report Cites Multiple Violations at Clinic Where Joan Rivers Died

The clinic where Joan Rivers had a fatal routine surgery "failed to identify deteriorating vital signs and provide timely intervention," an investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has revealed.

Yorkville Endoscopy also failed to properly document how much of the sedative Propofol was used, and the report confirms that people in the room photographed Joan with a cell phone while she was sedated, according to ABC News.

Rivers, 81, died on Sept. 4, one week after undergoing an outpatient throat procedure at the clinic to treat voice changes and acid reflux. During surgery, Rivers stopped breathing and went into cardiac arrest. Last month, the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner ruled Joan ultimately died of a lack of oxygen to her brain.

"The cause of Ms. Rivers's death is anoxic encephalopathy due to hypoxic arrest during laryngoscopy and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with Propofol sedation for evaluation of voice changes and gastroesophageal reflux disease. The manner of death is therapeutic complication," the OCME said in a statement. "The classification of a death as a therapeutic complication means that the death resulted from a predictable complication of medical therapy."

Following the comedian's death, the New York State Health Department launched a routine investigation of Yorkville Endoscopy, only to find lapses in four categories necessary for accreditation: governing body and management, surgical services, medical staff, and patient rights.

In a statement regarding Monday's findings, attorneys for Melissa Rivers said in a statement: “Our client, Melissa Rivers, is terribly disappointed to learn of the multiple failings on the part of the medical personnel and the clinic as evidenced by the CMS report. As any of us would be, Ms. Rivers is outraged by the misconduct and mismanagement now shown to have occurred before, during and after the procedure. Moving forward, Ms. Rivers will direct her efforts towards ensuring that what happened to her mother will not occur again with any other patient.”

Yorkville Endoscopy issued the following statement regarding the report as well:

"From the outset of the August 28th incident described in the CMS Report, Yorkville has been fully cooperative and collaborative with all regulatory and accreditation agencies. In response to the statement of deficiencies, Yorkville immediately submitted and implemented a plan of correction that addressed all issues raised. The regulatory agencies are currently reviewing the corrective plan of action and have been in regular contact with Yorkville. In addition, the physicians involved in the direct care and treatment referenced in the report no longer practice or provide services at Yorkville. Yorkville will continue its commitment to complying with all standards and accreditation requirements."

Cape Town - Police probing President Jacob Zuma for Nkandla corruption

President Jacob Zuma has already been charged in the police’s investigation of Nkandla or Minister of Police, Nkosinathi Nhleko, has misled Parliament, said Democratic Alliance (DA) Parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane.

On Monday, it was reported the South African Police Service (SAPS) had officially opened an investigation into the spending of R246 million in public funds on Zuma’s private residents in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal.

According to Maimane, Nhleko invoked the sub judice rule to avoid answering questions posed to him regarding the investigation.

“If it is true that the matter is sub judice, then this is a confirmation that the charges of corruption against President Zuma have advanced beyond initial Police investigation,” said Maimane.

“The Minister’s use of the sub judice rule therefore suggests that the National Prosecuting Authority is considering charging, or has already charged, Jacob Zuma on these Nkandla corruption charges.”

“However, if the matter is not actually sub judice, then Minister Nhleko has deliberately misled Parliament in order to avoid answering uncomfortable questions, and to protect President Zuma from accountability for Nkandla,” he added.

According to police’s Solomon Makgale, the investigation will focus on Zuma’s family’s links to the construction company Moneymine. The company pocketed more than R50m from the project.

SEOUL, South Korea - Grief, rage at 36-year sentence for ferry captain

Enraged parents wept and screamed as a judge sentenced a South Korean ferry captain to 36 years in prison Tuesday for negligence and abandoning passengers when his ship sank earlier this year, killing more than 300 people, mostly high school students.

The highly anticipated verdict came on the same day officials called off searches for the final nine victims and reflects the continuing grief and finger-pointing over one of the worst disasters in South Korean history. Victims' relatives immediately criticized the sentences for Capt. Lee Joon-seok and 14 other crew members as too lenient. Lee was acquitted of a homicide charge, which could have carried a death sentence, because the court said there wasn't proof that he knew his actions would cause such a massive loss of life.

"Do you know how many children are dead?" one relative shouted out during the sentencing, according to Kook Joung-don, a lawyer for the relatives. "This isn't right," another screamed.

The intense anger points to the lack of closure many here feel over the sinking. The tragedy shocked a country that had grown used to thinking of itself as an ultra-modern economic, diplomatic and cultural powerhouse — a country that had left behind a string of deadly, high-profile accidents blamed on failures of infrastructure and regulation as it rose from poverty, war and dictatorship.

More than half-a-year after the ferry sank, the country still grapples with recriminations over claims that authorities' incompetence during rescue efforts, along with the greed, corruption and lack of interest in safety of government regulators and the ship's owners and operators, doomed the victims.

Most of the ferry passengers were teenagers taking a school trip to a southern island, and many student survivors have said they were repeatedly ordered over a loudspeaker to stay on the sinking ship and that they didn't remember any evacuation order being given before they helped each other flee the vessel.

Lee has said he issued an evacuation order. But he told reporters days after his arrest that he withheld the evacuation order because rescuers had yet to arrive and he feared for the passengers' safety in the cold, swift waters.

The Gwangju District Court in southern South Korea concluded in its verdict that Lee had issued an evacuation order and that he left the ship after rescue boats arrived on the scene.

An official from the Justice Ministry, who requested anonymity because of office rules, said Lee, 69, will technically be eligible for parole after serving one-third of his prison sentence.

The court sentenced the ship's chief engineer to 30 years in prison, and 13 other crew members got sentences of between five years and 20 years in prison, the court statement said.

The engineer, Park Ki-ho, was convicted of homicide because he abandoned two injured colleagues, escaped the ferry and failed to tell rescuers about them, even though he knew they would die without help, the court said.

However, it cleared two other crew members of homicide charges for the same reasons it acquitted the captain. Those crew members got 15 and 20 years in prison, it said.

Prosecutors and the crew members have one week to appeal, according to the court. Relatives of the victims said in a statement they will ask prosecutors to appeal the ruling, but senior prosecutor Park Jae-eok said his office hasn't yet made a decision.

"We will do whatever it takes to make sure that the crew members who abandoned our children, escaped, ran away and thought only of their own lives pay for their crimes accordingly," said Ko Young-hee, the mother of a teenage victim.

The 15 crew members tasked with navigating the ferry Sewol have faced scathing public criticism because they escaped while many passengers were still trapped in the sinking ship. A total of 476 people were aboard the ship and only 172 were rescued in the April disaster.

Prosecutors accused the crew members of tacitly colluding to abandon the ship even though they knew that passengers would be trapped and killed after it sank. The defense in the trial denied any collusion among the crew members, saying they were confused, injured and panicked.

Nearly seven months after the sinking, 295 bodies have been recovered but nine are missing. Officials said Tuesday they've ended searches because there was only a remote chance of finding more bodies while worries have grown over the safety of divers. Two civilian divers have died after falling unconscious during searches.

Authorities blamed overloaded cargo, improper storage, untimely rescue efforts and corruption by the ship's owners that prevented enough spending on safety, along with the crew members' behavior, for the sinking.

The ship's billionaire owner was found dead about four months ago after fleeing arrest, and three of his relatives were sentenced last week to up to three years in prison for corruption. Last Friday, South Korean lawmakers approved plans to disband the coast guard and transfer its responsibilities.

South Korea has spent months debating public safety issues that critics say were largely ignored during the scramble to rebuild after the 1950-53 Korean War. But a series of smaller deadly accidents have occurred since the sinking. In mid-October, 16 people watching an outdoor pop concert fell to their deaths when a ventilation grate they were standing on collapsed.

Queen Elizabeth II - Alleged plot to assassinate Queen foiled.

Four men between the ages of 19 and 27 were arrested in connection with multiple planned terrorist attacks, one of which involved attacking the queen with a knife, according to The Sun.

A report suggests she was targeted by radical Muslims, but police thwarted the suspects' plans with months of surveillance and multiple raids.

Officials made the queen and Prime Minister David Cameron aware of the incident, but despite the potential threat, her majesty still plans to make numerous public appearances.

British police say they've disrupted an assassination attempt of Queen Elizabeth II.
On Sunday, she paid tribute during a Remembrance Day ceremony at a monument honoring the country's fallen soldiers and marking the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI.
In August, Britain raised its terror threat to "severe," the second-highest level, due to new intelligence regarding Islamic extremists.

The planned assassination attempt follows arrests of 13 men suspected of various terrorism offenses in recent months.

Scotland Yard is still investigating the most recent threat

It's official: Arsenal are the most frustrating club in the world to support

Moments after Arsenal's extraordinary collapse this week, I tweeted my long-held view that they must be the most frustrating team in the world to support. Gunners fans were quick to agree, but others weren't so sure. A stream of Tottenham and Newcastle fans begged to differ, while supporters of smaller clubs, including my own Southend United, were just as dismissive. But while those clubs and others have problems far more serious than anything ever suffered by Arsenal, the point still stands.

Supporting Southend is not really that frustrating. Though they sit in an entirely respectable seventh position in League Two, generally they're not very good at football. Expectations are low and are only occasionally met.

Newcastle are frustrating in that they keep finding ever more inventive ways to shoot their own feet off, but no one really expects anything different. That's just what they do.

Tottenham's extraordinary habit of investing heavily in one ideology only to scrap it all at great expense and do the opposite two years later is certainly frustrating, but only one person has ever thought they were going to win the Premier League title and that, bafflingly, was chairman Daniel Levy shortly after the sale of Gareth Bale.

Arsenal exist on a different plane of frustration because, unlike those other clubs, great success is always possible. Indeed, great success for Arsenal, given all they have, is actually more probable than possible.

Yet they are so keen to squander their ambitions, and in increasingly ludicrous fashion. They were like the Wet Bandits this week. Bigger, stronger, more experienced than their pint-sized opponent, Anderlecht in the Champions League, they seemed certain to win out, but instead they found themselves being creatively and repeatedly assaulted in the last 20 minutes as they let a 3-0 lead slip away.

What separates Arsenal from the likes of Tottenham, Newcastle, Southend and all the other names that streamed on to my timeline on Tuesday night is that they have absolutely no excuses for this. Arsenal have everything in place to be the most successful, trophy-laden club on the planet and their failure to reach their potential is extraordinary.

Newcastle have outstanding support and a wonderful stadium, but in the era of FFP when clubs can only spend what they earn, they're hamstrung by the financial chasm between London and the north of the country. They can get over 50,000 fans through the gates, but they can't charge Arsenal's prices. Nor can they hope to attract the sort of deep-pocketed, international corporate sponsors who have such a presence in the capital.

Tottenham could, hypothetically, match Arsenal in the matchday revenue stakes, but they haven't yet got a stadium to facilitate it. They're held back by White Hart Lane, its 36,000 capacity and its lack of a whopping great business and conference centre attached to the side of the pitch. Such are the sad realities of modern football.

Arsenal have the prime London location and they have their giant stadium. It's almost paid for too. Thanks to Arsene Wenger, they also have an advanced training complex, an excellent academy, a wide scouting network, experienced and qualified staff and a philosophy that will always attract new supporters. Perpetual Champions League qualification enables them, when they choose to do so, to attract all but the biggest names in the game and, most importantly, to pay them high wages without risking the future of the club. All of which explains why so many people took umbrage at the idea of this being a frustrating existence. Most clubs in the world would love to be that frustrated.

But for all that they have, they still cannot make the leap to the top billing, a place they haven't occupied in the last 10 years, and it doesn't look likely to change any time soon. The only teams they've beaten in the league this season are Burnley, Sunderland, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.

What makes it all so fist-gnashingly ridiculous, so grind-your-teeth-into-dust annoying is that Arsenal seem to make the same mistakes again and again and again and again until you start to think they're doing it deliberately as some kind of vindictive performance art.

They surge forwards when they don't need to, they lack a defensive midfielder to protect them when it invariably goes wrong, they waste set pieces at one end and then wobble precariously at the other. They overcomplicate, they prevaricate and they do it so often that any rational individual would just give up on them and go and watch something less stressful. Unfortunately, very few supporters are rational.

All of our teams frustrate us, all of them make us feel as if we're cursed, but very few of them are as close to greatness as Arsenal. That's what makes the difference. They should have everything, they should sit astride global football like a king, clutching all of the trophies and laughing their heads off. Instead, it's the rest of the world that can't stop laughing at them.

Vincent Kompany: I wouldn't play for Arsenal for £60m and two Ferraris

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has said that even 60 million pounds and two Ferrraris would not be enough to convince him to join Arsenal.

The Belgian was replying to one of Arsenal's most famous fans, Piers Morgan, on Twitter. After his beloved Gunners conceded three goals to draw 3-3 with Anderlecht, Morgan asked if the defender would move to the Emirates.

Kompany, who began his career with Anderlecht, was celebrating the Belgian champions' comeback when the former newspaper editor and chat show host made the offer. But even if the offer was increased to include cars, Kompany wouldn't budge.

In any case, Kompany signed a new five-year contract with City in August to keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2019.

Boko Haram invades Kogi prison, frees 143

The police and the Army have launched a manhunt for inmates of the Koton-Karfi Prison in Kogi State, who were set free by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram insurgents.

There were about 145 inmates in the 80-year-old prison as of 10pm on Sunday when the gunmen gained entry into the prison   by blowing up its iron bars with an improvised explosive device.

A male prison officer and an inmate were injured while another inmate   was   found dead after the attackers left.

Twelve of those who fled were said to have returned to the prison under controversial circumstances.

A prison source told one of our correspondents on Monday that the 12 returned of their own volition but the Nigeria Prisons Service Public Relations Officer, Ope Fatinikun, said they were captured.

Fatinikun added, ‘‘Unknown gunmen invaded Koton- Karfe prison between 9.30am and 10pm and immediately it happened, the acting Comptroller-General of Prisons, Aminu Suley,   informed the Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, and the Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, and they ordered policemen and soldiers to beef up security around the prison and to arrest the fleeing inmates.”

The gunmen were said to have also   broken some of the prison’s walls before vandalising its record office.

Our source who pleaded anonymity said sounds of gunshots caused     panic close to the prison which is located on the Lokoja-Abuja Road.

According to him, the gunmen operated unchallenged for hours   before security operatives arrived in the prison after they had left.

The comptroller-General of the NPS   told   journalists when he visited the Prison in company with   Governor   Idris Wada on Monday that the gunmen forcibly freed the inmates.

He said that 26 of the inmates were convicts   while 119 were   awaiting trial for different offences.

He lamented the congestion of the prison and pleaded with Wada to prevail on the judiciary to quicken  the trial of those on awaiting list.

Wada said he would invoke his power of prerogative of mercy to set free some of the inmates.

He said that he would also urge   the chief judge of the state to free some of the inmates.

The governor said security operatives were prompt in their response when they were alerted, adding that it was regrettable that much damage had been done before their arrival.

He also decried the deterioration of the prison, saying it was not good for human habitation

The governor promised to provide beddings for the inmates who had been forced to live in sub-human conditions.

Wada urged the Federal Government to expedite action on the new Koto-karfi prison. He added that when the   prison was completed, the old building which was established in 1934 would become a tourism centre.

The Koton-Karfe prison was   attacked in February 2012 by   Boko Haram members who freed 119 inmates.

Meanwhile, the Police in Yobe State have confirmed the killing of   four persons   by a suicide bomber who attacked   a religious procession in Potiskum.

This figure was however disputed by the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in   the town, Mustapha Lawan, who lamented that 26 people died in the incident.

The suicide bomber was said to have joined the procession by Shiites muslims celebrating the annual Ashurah (the 10th day of Muharram 1436 celebration).

The state Commissioner of Police,  Markus Danladi, who addressed journalists, said that five people were injured in the blast.

He said, “The blast killed three members of the Muslim brotherhood plus the bomber. Before we got to the scene, the group had evacuated the bodies of those effected by the blast.” 

But Lawan told journalists on the telephone that apart from the 13 persons who died on the spot, 13 others who were among the injured   later passed on where they were being treated.

Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Gaidam condemned the attack on the   procession as heinous, barbaric and unwarranted.

The governor, in a   statement by his media aide, Abdullahi Bego, said it was regrettable that the attack came at a time that peace was gradually returning to the state.

Gaidam, who described those behind the attack as “criminals who want to fan the embers of religious discord,” called on   the people   to remain calm and vigilant.

The governor directed government hospitals in the area to provide immediate medical treatment to all the victims of the attack free of charge.

NEW YORK - World Trade Center reopens for business

Thirteen years after the 9/11 terrorist attack, the resurrected World Trade Center is again opening for business — marking an emotional milestone for both New Yorkers and the nation.

Publishing giant Conde Nast will start moving Monday into One World Trade Center, a 104-story, $3.9 billion skyscraper that dominates the Manhattan skyline. It is America's tallest building.

It's the centerpiece of the 16-acre site where the decimated twin towers once stood and where more than 2,700 people died on Sept. 11, 2001, buried under smoking mounds of fiery debris.

"The New York City skyline is whole again, as One World Trade Center takes its place in Lower Manhattan," said Patrick Foye, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey that owns both the building and the World Trade Center site.

He said One World Trade Center "sets new standards of design, construction, prestige and sustainability; the opening of this iconic building is a major milestone in the transformation of Lower Manhattan into a thriving 24/7 neighborhood."

With construction fences gone and boxes of office equipment in place, Conde Nast CEO Chuck Townsend planned to walk Monday into what Foye calls "the most secure office building in America."

Only about 170 of his company's 3,400 employees are moving in now, filling five floors of the tower, said Patricia Rockenwagner, a Conde Nast vice president and spokeswoman. About 3,000 more will arrive by early 2015.

The building is 60 percent leased, with another 80,000 square feet going to the advertising firm Kids Creative, the stadium operator Legends Hospitality, the BMB Group investment adviser, and Servcorp, a provider of executive offices.


The government's General Services Administration signed up for 275,000 square feet, and the China Center, a trade and cultural facility, will cover 191,000 square feet.

From the northeast corner of the site, the tower overlooks the National September 11 Memorial & Museum built in the footprints of the twin towers. Its stated aim is to honor those who perished on that sunny September morning.

For years, the grisly pit where workers found mostly body parts was dubbed the "ground zero" of the aerial terror attack.

Now, the illuminated spire of One World Trade Center serves as a beacon to planes that fly over the city, seemingly at eye level with the high rise's open rooftop. The view stretches from Manhattan to the Statue of Liberty into New Jersey and Connecticut and all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.

At night, the incandescent steel-and-glass behemoth can be seen from vessels in New York Harbor approaching Manhattan.

An observation deck eventually will be open to the public.

The eight-year construction of the 1,776-foot high skyscraper came after years of political, financial and legal infighting that threatened to derail the project.

The bickering slowly died down as two other towers started going up on the southeast end of the site: the now completed 4 World Trade Center whose anchor tenant is the Port Authority, and 3 World

Trade Center that's slowly rising.

The spirit of renewal did not quash memories of the horrific act of terror, but the area has prospered in recent years beyond anyone's imagination. About 60,000 more residents now live there — three times more than before 9/11 — keeping streets, restaurants and shops alive even after Wall Street and other offices close for the day.

Still, it's a bittersweet victory, one achieved with the past in mind as the architects created One World Trade Center.

T.J. Gottesdiener of the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill firm that produced the final design told The Associated Press that the high-rise was built with steel-reinforced concrete that makes it as terror attack-proof as possible.

He said the firm went beyond the city's existing building codes to achieve that.

"We did it, we finally did it," he said.

Dangote cement reduces prices to N1000 per bag

LAGOS—LEADING cement manufacturer, Dangote Cement Plc, weekend, announced drastic reduction of the prices of its cement.

The new price regime announced by the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, GMD/CEO, of Dangote Cement, Mr. Devakumar Edwin, pegged the Dangote 32.5 cement grade at N1,000 per 50 kg bag, while the higher 42.5 grade would sell for N1,150 per bag.

A statement by the company at the end of a management meeting said, however, that the new prices were exclusive of the Value Added Tax, VAT, representing about 40 per cent discount on the prevailing market price of the product currently sold for N1,700 irrespective of the grade, across the country.

Edwin said the move was in line with the company’s commitment to the nation’s dire need for the development of infrastructure and to boost the federal and state government’s ongoing effort to reduce the near 20 million housing deficit in Africa’s largest economy.

He said, “we recognize the need for an increased rapid response to the huge infrastructure and housing deficit in the country, and one of the ways of addressing the issue is bringing the price of building materials down to much more affordable levels especially cement which is within our control as part of our contribution to the transformation agenda of the Goodluck Jonathan administration and the attainment of key milestones in the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs.

“Since the commencement of the implementation of the backward integration policy for cement in the country over 12 years ago, the local production capacity of the product rose from less than three million metric tonnes per annum to about 38 million metric tonnes per annum. During the more than 12-year period of the backward integration policy, nearly $20 billion has been directly and indirectly injected into the Nigerian cement industry with Dangote Cement Plc accounting for 60 per cent of that spend.”

The GMD/CEO added that Dangote Cement Plc would continue to ensure alignment of its corporate social responsibility with its strategic business initiatives and will continue to evaluate its pricing regime in Nigeria’s best interest.

Meanwhile, the timing of the initiative has confounded industry watchers, who say that from experience, the cement market is on the verge of entering the accelerated demand phase as the raining season is tapering and the dry season which provides the opportunity for increased construction and building activities is setting in.

Burkina Faso: Opposition urges protest at army takeover

Demonstrators are gathering the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, to protest against the army takeover and demand that a civilian lead the transitional government until the next presidential elections.

On Saturday, the armed forces named Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Zida as the country's transitional leader this follows the resignation of Prersident Blaise Compaore on Friday.

Apple's CEO Tim Cook - 'I'm proud to be gay'

Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook on Thursday became the most prominent American corporate leader to come out as gay, saying he was trading his closely guarded privacy for the chance to help move civil rights forward.

The 53-year-old Alabama native and self-described "son of the South", who has spoken out against discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, declared his sexual orientation in a magazine editorial, confirming a fact widely known in the close-knit Silicon Valley tech community but rarely discussed.

Cook's announcement comes as gay marriage is becoming widespread, but the nation remains divided over gay rights. Same-sex marriage is legal in thirty-two U.S. states and in polls a majority support same-sex marriage, with a clear generational divide between younger Americans who are more likely to support it and older ones who are less likely.

"I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me," Cook said in an article he wrote in Bloomberg Businessweek. (http://buswk.co/1DBoBfo)
He invoked civil rights luminaries Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King in his long essay.

"I don’t pretend that writing this puts me in their league. All it does is allow me to look at those pictures and know that I’m doing my part, however small, to help others. We pave the sunlit path toward justice together, brick by brick. This is my brick."

The fact the chief executive of the most valuable U.S. publicly traded company felt he could disclose his sexual preference in such a public way, and with the backing of his company's chairman, shows how times have changed.

Former BP Chief Executive Lord Browne, who kept his sexual orientation secret for decades, was forced to come out after a boyfriend made it public in 2007. He later resigned.

"By deciding to speak publicly about his sexuality, Tim Cook has become a role model, and will speed up changes in the corporate world," Browne said in an email to Reuters on Thursday.
Cook, who cuts an easy-going figure at Apple's product launches, is an intensely private person. On Thursday, he wrote that it was this desire to keep his personal life private that had held him back until now.

"If hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy," he wrote.
Even in the United States, it's a tough decision for a public figure to be open about being gay, civil rights advocates say. More than half of LGBT workers in the country are not open about their orientation, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

While never commenting on his sexual orientation, Cook has frequently spoken out against discrimination of the LGBT community, most recently when he journeyed back to his home state, which bans gay marriage, where he was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor.

At an award ceremony, Cook criticized his state's lack of progress on rights for gay people, as well as minorities. Local news reports of his comments drew hundreds of negative comments, many saying Cook had betrayed his roots.

"What a slap in the face to the Alabama Academy of Honor by such an ungracious recipient," GE123 wrote in comments to a website report by the Alabama Media Group. "Common decency should have prevailed, but instead he uses this occasion to denigrate Alabamians and further an immoral agenda."