Addis Ababa (AFP) - An Ethiopian Airlines pilot who last year hijacked a plane to seek asylum in Switzerland was on Friday is given 19 years in jail in absentia by a court in Ethiopia.
The pilot, 32-year-old Ethiopian Hailemedehin Abera Tagegn, is currently awaiting trial in Switzerland.
Tagegn was second-in-command on the flight that was carrying 202 passengers from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to Rome.
He locked himself in the cockpit when the captain went to the bathroom and diverted the plane to Geneva.
"The defendant has committed a serious crime," Ethiopian Federal High Court judge Yosef Kiros said in his ruling.
"This case could be punished by up to 21 years in jail. However, based on the past of the defendant and the fact he has no criminal record, we agreed on 19 years and six months in prison," he said.
"This will be implemented from the first day the defendant is apprehended," the judge ruled.
Tagegn, who had been working for Ethiopia's booming flag carrier for five years, was unarmed when he took control of the flight.
The plane landed safely in Geneva, escorted by Italian and French fighters.
Once on the ground, Tagegn turned off the engines, used a rope to reach the tarmac from the cockpit window and identified himself to Swiss authorities
He said he was seeking asylum since he "felt threatened" in his country.
Swiss authorities in May rejected an Ethiopian request for Tagegn's extradition, saying he would be tried in Switzerland.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former rap music mogul Marion "Suge" Knight collapsed in a courtroom Friday shortly after a judge ordered him held on $25 million bail in a murder case.
Bailiffs cleared the courtroom, paramedics arrived with a stretcher a few minutes later and an ambulance was seen leaving the courthouse.
Defense attorney Matthew Fletcher said Knight was unconscious when the lawyer left the courtroom and an update on his condition was not immediately available.
Fletcher said his client, who is diabetic and has a blood clot, previously told him that he hadn't received any medication since Thursday.
Knight hit his head on a chair when he fell after the bail hearing, Fletcher said.
The 6-foot-4-inch tall Knight collapsed while deputies were bringing him back into the courtroom after Fletcher asked a judge to order that Knight be given his medication.
The attorney said Knight was being kept in solitary confinement in jail without proper access to medication.
"He's being treated worse than Charles Manson," Fletcher said.
The collapse marked the fourth time that Knight has been taken by ambulance from a courthouse since he was charged with killing Terry Carter, 55, in early February.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Coen set bail on Friday at $25 million for Knight, who is accused of running down and killing Carter with his truck.
Coen made his decision after Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Barnes noted that Knight was on bail in a robbery case when he struck Carter and another man in a parking lot in Compton.
"He escalated his behavior and committed murder," Barnes told the judge.
Fletcher argued that Knight's bail should be set at $2 million, but Coen said the higher amount was warranted.
The attorney said before the hearing that his client likely could not post bail if it was set at $25 million.
Knight, the 49-year-old co-founder of Death Row Records, has pleaded not guilty to murder, attempted murder and hit-and-run charges.
Barnes filed a motion Thursday accusing Knight of being part of a scheme that has extorted more than $10 million from up-and-coming and established rappers in recent years.
Fletcher countered that prosecutors should file charges involving those extortion claims if they have enough evidence.
Fletcher also said phone records and other evidence in the murder case would show that Knight was lured to the location where the men were hit by the truck. Knight was attacked when he arrived and hit the two men while trying to flee the scene, the lawyer said.
Fletcher said Cle "Bone" Sloan acknowledged to sheriff's investigators that he attacked Knight. The attorney argued his client wasn't required to remain at the scene and endure the attack, and that Sloan should be charged.
"If his name wasn't 'Suge' Knight, they wouldn't have filed this case," Fletcher said.
Knight was a key player in the gangster rap scene that flourished in the 1990s, his label once listing Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg among its artists. Knight lost control of the company after it was forced into bankruptcy.
Designed by technology volunteers and Google, it can be used even wearing gloves and in storms and high humidity.
Medecins Sans Frontieres put out a call for an Ebola-proof tablet to help teams’ record vital patient information.
At the height of the current outbreak, medics were shouting patient notes across fences to avoid contamination.
High-risk zones
Ebola is passed on through close contact with infected bodily fluids.
Even a single piece of paper leaving a high-risk zone poses a risk of passing on the infection, the charity says.
And medics caring for these patients have to be encased in full protective suits with goggles and multiple layers of gloves, despite the soaring temperatures.
But dictating notes across a fence at the end of exhausting shifts while wearing masks was a "recipe for error", MSF said.
To overcome these challenges the group of international tech volunteers came together, including Pim de Witte of Whitespell and Daniel Cunningham at Hack4Good. They were later joined by Google.
The tablet has waterproof casing at an "industrial level" according to Ivan Gayton, technology advisor at MSF.
It can be dunked in 0.5% chlorine solution which kills Ebola - if used on unprotected hands this strength of chlorine could cause chemical burns.
Sharp edges of the tablet were removed so that protective clothing would not be pierced.
And it is charged quickly and wirelessly by being placed on a table. The tablet connects wirelessly to a tiny local network server that is roughly the size of a postage stamp.
Health workers use it to track a patient's progress - comparing pulse, temperature and other results over time.
Mr Gayton said: "Although we have just treated the largest cohort of Ebola patients in human history, we still know distressingly little about the progression of the disease.
"In the longer term if we are able to collect more and better information about our patients, we will also learn more about the disease and how best to treat it."
Difficult scenarios
The device has been tested at MSF treatment centres in Sierra Leone.
The charity hopes the technology - which is open-source - will be adapted for use in other difficult scenarios such as outbreaks of cholera.
Dr Eric Perakslis, from Harvard Medical School, works on separate global health innovation projects. He said: "A handful of companies are trying to find a technological solutions for the Ebola crisis.
"But they face a lot of challenges such as unreliable electricity. This one addresses all the challenges at once.
"And it will not just be useful for single patient encounters but for research on the virus too."
Ganesh Shankar, product manager at Google, said: "I think this kind of partnership represents the future of how non-governmental organisations are going to integrate technology into the work they do."
Source: BBC
Most men love oral s*x. Some men even prefer a blow job to full s*x. So as oral s*x is such a big deal for the boys.
Oral s*x: How to give the best blow jobs
Going down on, giving head, sucking off, mouth f***, there are plenty of ways to describe the act of oral s*x, but they're all talking about the same thing - s*xual pleasure, down there, using your mouth.
How to give oral s*x:
As a rule, oral s*x should mimic the movements of full s*x penetration and while it's called a blow job - there's no blowing involved! Don't make that rookie mistake!
Instead, blow like a pro and take his penis into your mouth, (with plenty of saliva) and suck up and down his shaft mimicking the thrusting motion of penetration, taking care not to graze his 'friend' with your teeth. Remember when it comes to sucking him off, teeth are never welcome.
Oral s*x tip #1: Sensitive areas
To make him go weak at the knees, when giving him a blow job linger on the parts of his anatomy that are particularly sensitive - the tip of his penis, his testicles and his perineum - the secret spot between the testicles and the anus.
Oral s*x tip #2: Use your hands
If your partner's penis is on the large side you may find it more than a mouthful. Blow jobs can be difficult to perform on bigger penises but don't worry - you're not expected to be able to take it all the way down.
A simple trick to blow job success is to use your hand and your mouth together - which will feel good for any size of penis.
Use an edible lubricant or your saliva to get things going moving and move your hand from the shaft.
Oral s*x tip #3: Involving other areas
Oral s*x is about using your mouth to maximum effect, on his penis, and other areas too.
Try gently (very gently!) sucking on his testicles one at a time. Lightly kiss his inner thighs. Lick his super sensitive perineum (along the line between his anus and testicles). All added together he'll be totally under your control - a total turn on for you too!
Oral s*x tip #4: Get saucy
Some women can't bare the taste of their man in their mouths which makes oral s*x rather less enjoyable.
While performing a blow job you can add chocolate body paint, squirty cream or ice cream then spend time licking and sucking it off, or try a flavoured lubricant - Durex do a good selection.
While we all know what we should be eating when it comes to getting turned on in the bedroom, we're not very sure which foods we should avoid.
'Our libido can be affected by a number of outside influences, from stress, tiredness, shift work, financial worries or simply working long hours.' Avoid some foods if planning to have s*x.
1. Black liquorice
Liquorice intake has been linked to lower testosterone levels. The stronger the testosterone, the stronger the s*xual desire, for both men and women, so maybe best not to have this as a sweet treat.
2. Cheese
Dairy generally is a libido killer. For many dairy is congesting and mucus-producing, so not the ideal way to feel before s*x!
3. Beans
'For some they'll feel full of energy after a bean-filled meal, for others they may feel sluggish or at worst bloated and even an increase in flatulence, so best avoided,' she explained.
4. Chocolate
Choose your chocolate carefully as not all chocs are bad. Go for dark chocolate that contains a minimum of 70 per cent cocoa, as it will be the most nutritious way to consume this delicious, sensual food!
'Dark chocolate is naturally high in many antioxidants, choose raw for the highest possible levels of naturally occurring nutrients. Chocolate is rich in L-tryptophan, which is a precursor to serotonin.
5. Hot dogs
The high saturated content of hot dogs can clog up the vaginal and penile arteries, making this the least romantic handheld treat around.
'All processed foods are a no for libido. Hot dogs are a very processed food in an overly processed bun that provides very little nutrition. Think about how you feel eating something like this.
'You may feel sluggish and low in energy – not good for feeling s*xy.
6. Peppermint
The menthol in peppermint has been shown to reduce testosterone levels, sending your s*x drive plummeting. And while bad breath is a turn off, definitely do not chew gum as chewing brings more air into your system, making you prone to burp.
7. Tonic Water
This often contains quinine which is used as a flavouring agent in tonic water and some other beverages.
'Quinine has been used as an anti-malarial agent, but it's been linked to a decrease in s*xual function, so avoid before s*x.
8. French fries
Again an overly processed food, that has a very high glycaemic index, meaning that this food releases its energy very quickly into our systems
'You may feel initially good on eating them, but pretty soon after, your energy levels will quickly slump, leaving you feeling low,' the nutritionist said.
'Plus you may not feel well if they've been cooked in bad quality oil, which may cause you to feel sluggish and even indigestion – all libido killers!
9. Red meat
It depends how you feel individually after eating meat. For some, it will energise them, providing them with iron, which will increase oxygenation throughout the body.
For some people red meat itself may make them feel more 'animal'.
For others, if they don't have good digestive function, or 'fire', then red meat may sit heavily in them, making them feel lethargic. So it depends on the individual.
10. Tofu
Tofu and soya products contain phytoestrogens, and eaten in excess, soy can decrease testosterone levels, so steer clear of tofu to keep your s*xual desire high.
11. Canned food
Processed food, suspended in time, there for the long haul, but providing little nutritional value, plus energetically 'dead' food. This definitely won't increase your vitality, nor your s*x life!
12. Red wine
In moderation red wine may increase blood flow, whilst relaxing you and lowering your inhibitions. But only have it in small amounts, as you don't want to overdo it!
13. Oatmeal
May be good for you by helping to lower stress levels, and this is a roundabout way may increase libido, but aside from keeping you full energy-wise, oatmeal won't directly increase your libido. Plus the high fiber content can lead to gassy feelings.
14. Energy drinks
These are often full of sugar and nasties such as artificial colours and flavours. They may give you an instant energy lift, which may increase endurance and stamina, but this may be short-lived.
15. Broccoli
While it can produce gas, broccoli is a wonderful vegetable that helps the body to naturally detoxify. 'Eating plenty of broccoli may have a positive effect on prostate health and may help prevent heart disease. A great food to eat to improve your hormonal health overall.'
The video, which was uploaded to YouTube on Friday by Sharebitmag with the caption “Two Nigeria police caught fighting in Lagos,” showed the incident took place at the entrance of an unidentifiable bank.
In the two-minute clip, a mobile policeman was seen in the black shirt and greenish-black khaki trousers police uniform sitting atop his colleague, while delivering several blows.
Though the video did not show how the brawl began, the second officer appeared to have been floored, as he did not return any of the punches. A bottle of an alcohol beverage, Alomo Bitters, was seen on the ground next to the duo.
A crowd of onlookers surrounded the police officers at the start of the video and watched in amusement. A third officer, holding an AK-47 rifle in his left hand, throughout the video, could be seen trying to stop the fight.
After more intermittent punches to the face of his colleague, the mobile policeman then stood up and both officers proceeded into the premises of the supposed bank, where the fight once again escalated.
A security guard and another unidentifiable man then appeared onscreen in an attempt to pacify one of the fighters.
Abuja (AFP) - Nigeria's military said on Friday that it had uncovered a Boko Haram bomb-making factory in the northeastern town of Buni Yadi after soldiers retook the town from the insurgents.
Islamist fighters captured the town in Yobe state in August last year as the group seized swathes of territory in the crisis-hit northeast.
The military announced that it had wrested back control last Saturday.
Defence spokesman Chris Olukolade said that search operations in the area led to the discovery of the bomb-making factory manufacturing improvised explosive devices or IEDs.
"A large quantity of IEDs, including those commonly used by suicide bombers were recovered from the site," he added in an emailed statement.
"The factory, which was located in a fertiliser company, has also converted some of the materials therein for production of all types of IEDs.
"Troops are still evacuating the materials which include a large quantity of suicide bomber vests from the facility to their base."
Boko Haram has increasingly used suicide attacks in its six-year campaign to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria.
Women and young girls with explosives vests strapped to their bodies have been sent into crowded markets and bus stations, causing mass casualties.
Roadside bombs -- a tactic seen widely in Iraq and Afghanistan by Al-Qaeda-linked militants -- have also been found buried in the ground.
Olukolade said four soldiers were killed by IEDs during the operation to retake Buni Yadi and the advance was delayed because the devices were planted on the road leading into the town.
Nigeria's military, assisted by soldiers from Niger, Chad and Cameroon, as well as South African mercenaries, have made major gains against Boko Haram in recent weeks.
The operation is designed to secure and stabilise the northeast in time for elections to take place in two weeks' time at which President Goodluck Jonathan is seeking re-election.
Olukolade said the discovery of the bomb-making factory "is expected to degrade the capability of terrorists in the production of explosives, which they have been using lavishly in the area".
Johannesburg (AFP) - A South Africa court dismissed Friday an attempt by Oscar Pistorius's lawyers to stop an appeal that could see the fallen Paralympian hero spend significantly more time behind bars for killing his model girlfriend.
Pistorius's defence had sought to block prosecutors from appealing the double-amputee athlete's culpable homicide conviction in order to seek a murder verdict that carries more time in prison.
But Judge Thokozile Masipa, who presided over Pistorius's trial, criticised the athlete's lawyers and rejected their application.
The 28-year-old Paralympian was last year found guilty of culpable homicide -- a charge akin to manslaughter -- and sentenced to five years in prison for shooting Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013.
State prosecutors were granted permission in December to appeal against the verdict, arguing that Masipa misinterpreted the law when she ruled Pistorius did not intentionally kill Steenkamp when he shot four times through a locked toilet door.
Pistorius's legal team countered that his conviction was based on facts presented during the trial and therefore could not be appealed.
Masipa on Friday said Pistorius's lawyers should argue their point in the appeals court itself, adding there was "nothing new" in their application.
"Before I gave my finding in December, both counsel had an opportunity to argue whether the points raised at the time were points of fact or points of law," Masipa told the court.
"Procedurally it would be wrong to grant or refuse this application... I strike off the application."
- State appeal -
Masipa's decision paves the way for the prosecution's appeal to go ahead.
"The court today has confirmed, or agreed with the NPA, that this matter should not be entertained," National Prosecution Authority spokesman Velekhaya Mgobhozi said after the hearing.
"We will be going to the Supreme Court (of Appeal)."
Pistorius's lawyer Barry Roux shook his head when the decision was announced.
During the trial, Pistorius testified that he shot Steenkamp believing she was an intruder who had broken into his house in a gated Pretoria community.
The state argued he deliberately killed the 29-year-old law graduate and reality television star after an argument.
If an appeals court finds him guilty of murder, the athlete -- known as the "Blade Runner" for his prosthetic legs he wears on the track -- could face at least 15 years in jail.
Pistorius has been serving his sentence in a central Pretoria prison since October.
Due to his physical disability, he is being held in the hospital ward of the prison, shielding him from the often brutal overcrowded cells, known for gang violence.
Pistorius was jailed after a sensational months-long trial that made world headlines.
On Tuesday, Reeva's mother June said she was launching an anti-abuse organisation in her daughter's memory.
She refused to be drawn on the appeal process, saying it was "in the hands of the law".
Baghdad (AFP) - The Islamic State group welcomed a pledge of allegiance made to it by Boko Haram and vowed to press with its expansion, according to an audiotape Thursday purportedly from its spokesman.
"We announce to you to the good news of the expansion of the caliphate to West Africa because the caliph... has accepted the allegiance of our brothers of the Sunni group for preaching and the jihad," IS spokesman Mohammed al-Adnani said in the message, using the Arabic name for Nigeria's Boko Haram extremist group.
In the tape of some 30 minutes, Adnani urges Muslims to join militants in West Africa and played down "victories" by the US-led coalition and Iraqi forces against his group.
The Sunni radical Sunni movement has seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria and declared an Islamic "caliphate" there. It has also drawn expressions of allegiance from jihadists in Egypt and Libya.
On Saturday, an audiotape attributed to Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said "we announce our allegiance to the Caliph of the Muslims, Ibrahim ibn Awad ibn Ibrahim al-Husseini al-Qurashi," referring to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Security analysts have said that pledge may only have propaganda value in the short term but could lead to closer links in the future.
Shekau has previously mentioned Baghdadi in videos but stopped short of pledging formal allegiance.
But there have been increasing signs that the Nigerian militants, whose six-year insurgency has claimed more than 13,000 lives and left 1.5 million people homeless, have been seeking a closer tie-up.
IS's Adnani said Muslims must support Boko Haram in West Africa, and claimed that the Islamic State was growing in strength and expanding.
"Our caliphate is resisting and it is advancing in the right direction. We are fighting the Crusaders and the rafidah (Shiites) and day by day the Islamic State is becoming strong," he said.
The tape's release comes as US Security Council diplomats are drafting a resolution to shore up a regional force fighting Boko Haram, and as Iraqi forces were tightening the noose on IS in Tikrit.
Iraqi forces entered IS-held Tikrit, in the northern province of Salaheddin, on Wednesday after a 10-day push to wrest the city back from the jihadists.
A combination of army, police and volunteer forces moved into northern and southern Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and a main IS stronghold after making major gains around the city.
But Adnani said IS "continues to resist.... and the victories proclaimed by the coalition are only illusions", claiming that only "inches of land" in Iraq had been recaptured by loyalist forces.
And he insisted that the group is "sure of its victory" regardless of the challenges it is facing.
"God is on our side and give us the strength to combat this armada of Crusader countries," he said.
For months, IS has been targeted with air strikes from a coalition led by the United States and already suffered territorial setbacks in Syria and Iraq.
Sleman (Indonesia) (AFP) - An advert for a house in Indonesia has gone viral online after the woman selling it offered to throw in an unusual extra feature for free -- her hand in marriage.
The Internet ad reads for the most part like a regular house listing, saying that the single-storey property has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a parking space and a fish pond.
But it also proposes to buyers a "rare offer" -- "when you buy this house, you can ask the owner to marry you", alongside a picture of Wina Lia, a 40-year-old widow and beauty salon owner, leaning against a car in front of the house.
The ad said that terms and conditions apply, and notes the offer is "for serious buyers and non-negotiable". The house in Sleman, on the island of Java, is on the market for 999 million rupiah (about $75,000).
News of the offer quickly spread among Internet users in social media-crazy Indonesia.
Boldies99, a user on popular online forum Kaskus, said Lia was "quite smart -- even though the house will be sold, she will remain the owner."
Lia told AFP she was "shocked at the reaction", as she had been overwhelmed by journalists coming to interview her, and even the police in the conservative, Muslim-majority country had been asking questions.
The police "came to verify the news as they consider it as an improper advertisement. But I explained to them that it was not my idea," she said.
The mother of two explained that she had asked a friend who was a property agent to help her find a buyer -- and in the process a husband -- but she had expected him to pass on the news to a limited number of people, not put an ad online.
"I told a friend of mine who also works as property agent that if there is a buyer who is a single man or a widower who wants to buy a house, and at the same time look for a wife, he can let me know as I'm also a widow," she said.
She added that there was only one potential buyer, who had visited on Wednesday, but refused to give further details
