BOBBYBLISS BLOG.

Nigerian Opposition Seeks Halt to Vote Results. The party of Nigeria’s top opposition candidate is calling on the electoral commission to immediately halt the compilation of presidential election results as President Muhammadu Buhari is poised to win a second term. The party of challenger Atiku Abubakar in a statement Tuesday night alleges that data from smart card readers used in Saturday’s election have been manipulated. Voters used the cards to help identify themselves at the polls. The statement says the party chairman has asked the electoral commission chairman to halt the results process. With more than half of Nigeria’s 36 states announced, Buhari leads by nearly 3.5 million votes. The opposition also is calling for fresh elections to be held in four states: Yobe, Zamfara, Nasarawa and Borno. A spokesman for the campaign of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari claims they have unofficial numbers showing the leader has won Saturday’s election and his supporters are preparing...

Congratulation "Black Panther"

Iceberg Twice the Size of New York City Is About to Break off Antarctica. A chasm and a crack on the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica are creeping closer and closer to one another, and when the two finally meet, a slab of ice twice the size of New York City will break away and float out to sea. The two glacial flaws are about 2.5 miles apart, and it could take days or months for them to finally rendezvous. But when they do, the iceberg that forms in the Weddell Sea won't be the largest to orbit Antarctica. In fact, it might not even make the historical top 20. Its size is not what makes it noteworthy - it's what the break itself says about the natural process of iceberg calving, the way climate change might be destabilizing other ice shelves like Brunt, and how the movement could jeopardize the critical scientific research human residents have conducted there for more than 60 years.

Pope Calls Abusive Clergy 'Tools of Satan' Pope Francis, speaking on the final day of a historic summit on clergy sexual abuse, called priests and other Catholics who abuse children "tools of Satan," but offered no concrete steps to address the church's massive and morally damning abuse crisis. "The brutality of this worldwide phenomenon becomes all the more grave and scandalous in the church, for it is utterly incompatible with (its) moral authority and ethical credibility," the Pope said in a speech in Vatican City on Sunday. "Consecrated persons," he continued, "chosen by God to guide souls to salvation, let themselves be dominated by their human frailty or sickness and thus become tools of Satan." The Pope's speech, delivered at the end of Mass at Sala Regia in the Apostolic Palace, came at the end of an unprecedented gathering of 190 Catholic leaders, including 114 bishops from around the world, to address a clergy ...

Meghan Markle Gets a Henna Tattoo During Morocco Visit With Prince Harry. Meghan Markle got some new ink during her visit to Morocco with Prince Harry on Sunday. While visiting the town of Asni, the Duchess of Sussex took part in a Henna ceremony, which is a Moroccan tradition for pregnant women. The royal was all smiles as she received the temporary design, which extended from her pointer finger all the way up to her wrist. It certainly was a busy day for the couple. In addition to taking part in the Henna ceremony, Meghan and Harry visited the Education for All Boarding House in the Atlas Mountains. The boarding house allows girls from rural areas to live closer to their school so they can further their education. According to the organization's website, up to 83 percent of women in Morocco are illiterate. Many also have limited access to secondary schools or can't afford transport to school.

Buddhist Monks Celebrate Makha Bucha Festival Makha Bucha Day is an important Buddhist festival celebrated on the full moon day of the third lunar month to mark the “Four-fold Assembly” of 1,250 enlightened monks (arhat) that took place more than 2,500 years ago.All of the monks, who had been ordained personally by Lord Buddha, met spontaneously that day with no prior scheduling. Lord Buddha thus addressed them, pronouncing the Ovat Patimok: “Do good, avoid evil and maintain the purity of your soul.” As devout Buddhists across the country attended merit-making events to mark Makha Bucha Day on Tuesday, Bangkok Governor Pol General Aswin Kwanmuang led officials and the public to offer morning alms to 68 monks at Khon Muang Plaza in front of City Hall.

BREAKING: Legendary haute-couture designer Karl Lagerfeld dead at 85. German haute-couture designer Karl Lagerfeld, artistic director at Chanel and an icon of the global fashion industry for over half a century, has died, a source at the French fashion house Chanel said on Tuesday. He was 85. Lagerfeld, instantly recognizable in his dark suits, pony-tailed white hair and tinted sunglasses, was best known for his association with Chanel but simultaneously delivered collections for LVMH’s Fendi and his own eponymous label. Rumors of Lagerfeld’s ill-health had swirled after he missed Chanel’s January show in Paris. A true craftsman who combined artistic instinct, business acumen and commensurate ego, Lagerfeld was known for his strikingly visual fashion show displays and extravagant outfits. Born in Hamburg in 1933, Lagerfeld made his debut with designer Pierre Balmain as an apprentice before moving on to Patou and Chloe and then Italian brand Fendi. He gained a ro...

Over 100 Drug Dealers Surrender in Banglades Crackdown. Over 100 Bangladeshi drug dealers have surrendered to the authorities at a pre-scheduled ceremony in a coastal town seeking clemency and vowing to go back to a normal life. The unprecedented event on Saturday was prompted by a Philippines-style massive anti-narcotic crackdown, which led to the killing of nearly 300 people and arrests of about 25,000 others since May of last year. Bangladesh last year launched a "war" on drugs following a proliferation of illegal substances in the South Asian nation of 165 million people, mostly of cheap methamphetamine pills known as "yaba". Those who surrendered before the country's Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan at Teknaf town in the coastal Cox's Bazar district included drug traders, traffickers and several "godfathers". They surrendered a total of 350,000 vanilla-scented, pink-coloured pills of "yaba" - which derives its name fr...

Trump Declares National Emergency to Build US-Mexico Border Wall Donald Trump has defied fierce criticism to announce that he is using emergency powers to bypass Congress and pursue the building of a wall on the US-Mexico border. At a combative, rambling and at times incoherent press conference in the White House, the US president insisted he had no choice but to declare a national emergency to stop illegal immigrants spreading crime and drugs. Yet Trump admitted that he did not “need” to take the step now and was only doing so for speed. Opponents seized on the remark to accuse him of falsehoods and fearmongering for political ends, describing the move as “unlawful” and a violation of the US constitution. Speaking in the White House rose garden, Trump noted that the National Emergencies Act of 1976 gave presidents leeway to declare an emergency and several have done so. “There’s rarely been a problem,” he said. “Nobody cares. I guess they weren’t very exciting. But nobody car...

'Aquaman'Sequel (Finally) in the Works. Almost two months after opening its billion dollar hit Aquaman, Warner Bros. is starting to put the pieces together for a sequel. The studio has tapped David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, who co-wrote the first movie, to begin penning a new installment, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. James Wan, who helmed the first movie and worked with Johnson-McGoldrick on The Conjuring 2, is making a deal to return as producer, as is Peter Safran. It is unclear at this stage whether Wan would return as director. Aquaman opened in December to $67.8 million and has gone on to earn $1.12 billion globally. It is Warner Bros.' first DC movie to pass the $1 billion mark since 2012's The Dark Knight Rises. The hiring of Johnson-McGoldrick finally gets a sequel into development, with a wait this long after a successful release a rarity in modern Hollywood. In some cases, studios begin to develop follow-ups even before a franchise picture ro...

Missing Kenya n Activist Caroline Mwatha Found Dead. Missing Kenyan activist Caroline Mwatha has been found dead, police have told the BBC. Ms Mwatha worked documenting extrajudicial police killings but police believe she may have died from abortion-related complications. Six people have been held in connection with her death, Kenya's Director of Criminal Investigations said. Ms Mwatha disappeared last Wednesday and efforts to find her spawned the trending hashtag #FindCarolineMwatha. Ms Mwatha worked for the Dandora Community Justice Centre (DCDJ), documenting extra-judicial police killings on the Dandora estate in the east of the capital, Nairobi. Amnesty International had tweeted about its concern for Ms Mwatha on Monday and said it had still hoped to find her alive. The BBC's Ferdinand Omondi in Nairobi says sources indicate that Ms Mwatha's body is at the City Mortuary in Nairobi. Her family and colleagues say they had looked for her in many places in the...

Rapper Cadet Dies in Car Crash on His Way to a Gig. Cadet has died in a car crash on the way to a gig in Staffordshire. The rapper's family shared the news on his official Instagram account. "We the family of Blaine Cameron Johnson otherwise known as Cadet (Underrated Legend) would like to share the sad news that during the early hours of 9th February 2019 he passed away." In a statement to Radio 1 Newsbeat, his management said the 28-year-old was a passenger in a taxi. He was on his way to Keele University where he was due to perform. In a statement, Staffordshire Police said: "Emergency services attended and a passenger of the Toyota, a 28-year-old man from London, sadly died at the scene. "The drivers of both vehicles, a 36-year-old man from Stoke-on-Trent and a 22-year-old man from Crewe, were taken to the Royal Stoke University Hospital with serious injuries. "Three further passengers of the Toyota were treated at Leighton Hospital in Crewe...

10 Die in Fire at Flamengo Football Club. A blaze has engulfed a dormitory at the youth team training centre of one of Brazil's biggest football clubs, killing 10 people, local media report. Three people were also injured when the fire broke out at Ninho de Urubu, the training ground of Flamengo football club, in Rio de Janeiro. The fire reportedly broke out as players were sleeping. The cause is not yet known. Flamengo is one of Brazil's biggest and best-known clubs. Social media posts showed the extent of the devastation at the ground. According to the G1 news portal, the fire began at 05:10 (07:10 GMT) and was extinguished by 07:30. None of the victims has been identified but players aged between 14 and 17 are known to have used the dormitory. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital, firefighters say.

BREAKING: Pope Francis admits for the first time nuns have been sexually abused by clergy. Pope Francis admitted for the first time Tuesday that nuns have been sexually abused by priests and bishops in the Catholic Church – and even held as sexual slaves. In one case, the abuse was so serious that an entire congregation of nuns was dissolved by former Pope Benedict, "CBS News reported. “There are some priests and also bishops who have done it,” the pontiff told a reporter during his return flight from the United Arab Emirates, where he held the first-ever papal Mass in Abu Dhabi. His admission followed a rare outcry last week from the Vatican’s monthly magazine “Women’s Church World” over the sexual abuse of nuns and religious sisters feeling forced to undergo abortions or raise kids not recognized by their fathers. Francis conceded on his flight Tuesday that it was a problem and said more action was needed – insisting that the will to confront the abuse was present. “It’...

Nicki Minaj Gushes About Love for BF Kenneth Petty. Bad news for anyone who doesn’t approve of Nicki Minaj and Kenneth Petty‘s relationship: they’re in it for the long haul! Nicki absolutely gushed about her boyfriend on the February 2 episode of Queen Radio when DJ Boof asked her about her relationship. “I’ve known [Kenneth] since I was 14,” Nicki said. “There’s a different level of passion and friendship with him. I’ve said we f**k four times a day, but it’s more than that. There’s a different level of nurturing; he always knows what to say to make me feel empowered. I’m happy and healthy.” You could tell how deeply Nicki feels about Kenneth not just from her words, but from the way her voice softened and changed while talking about him. You could hear her smile through the radio! Nicki hasn’t been shy when it comes to talking about her relationship. She really wasn’t kidding when she said that she talks about how much they have sex! Remember the Instagram posts and the PDA? S...

Mexican Drug Kingpin El Chapo Drugged, Raped 13-Year-Olds: Prosecutor A witness in the trial of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman told the US government the Mexican drug kingpin drugged and raped girls as young as 13, according to court documents unsealed Saturday. Longtime associate Alex Cifuentes told authorities a woman would send Guzman photos of young girls to choose from, with a fee of $5,000 per girl. Cifuentes used this service himself three or four times, having sex with girls as young as 15-years-old, the government said in the documents, adding he "witnessed the defendant do the same on multiple occasions, with girls as young as 13 years old." The former Sinaloa cartel leader, 61, would allegedly sometimes drug the girls with "a powdery substance" with Cifuentes' help before raping them. But Cifuentes, who lived with Guzman in 2007 and 2008, did not mention any of this in four days of testimony during the trial, which ended on Thursday after ...

Nigeria' Vice President 'Safe and Sound' After Helicopter Crash on Campaign Trail . Nigeria's Vice President Yemi Osinbajo escaped unhurt after his helicopter crash-landed on Saturday, his spokesman said. Pictures from the scene showed the helicopter on its side after the incident in Kabba, a town in Kogi State in the central region of Nigeria. Osinbajo was on the campaign trail for his All Progressives Congress (APC) party ahead of this month's general elections, and delivered a speech as planned shortly after the crash. "We are extremely grateful to the Lord for preserving our lives from the incident that just happened. Everyone of us is safe and no one is maimed," Osinbajo said in the speech, according to spokesman Laolu Akande. "God has kept us safe and alive, delivered us from death so we can do more for our people and country," he said..

Banksy Fake Banknote Artwork Joins British Museum Collection. More than a decade after he cheekily stuck a fake artwork to the wall of one of its galleries, Banksy has officially joined the collection of the British Museum for the first time. The museum has acquired its first work by the anonymous graffiti artist, a fake £10 banknote depicting Diana, Princess of Wales, which will join its collection of coins, medals and other currency. The work, entitled Di-faced Tenner, was one of thousands of copies produced by the artist in 2004 as part of a planned art stunt. Unlike the other artwork, a fake cave painting on concrete, which was loaned again to the museum for a recent exhibition on dissent and protest, the note has been donated to the museum by the artist’s representative Pest Control. Tom Hockenhull, curator of modern money at the museum, said he had been trying for years to get hold of a genuine Di-faced Tenner to add to the museum’s collection of “skit notes”, or parodie...

'Mission Impossible' Movies Get Official Release Dates Paramount Pictures has announced the release dates for the next two installments of Tom Cruise‘s Mission: Impossible! The studio revealed that the seventh and eighth films in the series will be released on July 23, 2021 and August 5, 2022. Earlier in the month, it was announced that director Christopher McQuarrie – who helmed the last two films, Rogue Nation and Fallout – is on board to write and direct the two new installments. “We couldn’t be more excited to build on the massive success of Mission: Impossible — Fallout by reteaming with Chris and Tom on these next two films, following two successful collaborations,” Paramount Picture CEO Jim Gianopulos said in a statement.

US Governor Apologise for Racist Yearbook Photo. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has apologised after his 1984 medical yearbook page emerged, showing a photo featuring men in racist costumes. The picture showed a man in blackface and another man in Ku Klux Klan robes. It appeared on a page with other photos of Northam as well as personal details about him. “I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now,” he said in a statement. The yearbook page, which came from the paediatric neurologist’s time at Eastern Virginia Medical School, was first published by conservative website Big League Politics.

Ugand Seizes 750 Pieces of Ivory Being Smuggled from Sudan Ugandan authorities have seized 750 pieces of ivory and thousands of pangolin scales being smuggled from neighboring South Sudan in one of the largest seizures of wildlife contraband in the East African country. The ivory and pangolin scales were discovered inside hollowed-out logs in the Ugandan capital Kamapala, authorities said on Thursday. Two Vietnamese men, suspected of smuggling, were detained. The illegal cargo was discovered after officers at the Ugandan tax authority (URA) scanned three six-metre containers carrying timber logs which had crossed the border from South Sudan. After growing suspicious, a team secretly tailed the cargo to a warehouse in Kampala and made the bust. "Logs were hollowed out and filled with ivory and pangolin scales then resealed with tons of melted wax to disguise the contraband," URA spokesman Vincent Seruma told AFP news agency. "In a single container there were ...

Facebook and Twitter Removed ⛔ Hundreds of Accounts Linked to Iran, Russia and Venezuela. Facebook and Twitter both announced on Thursday they had taken down hundreds of accounts believed to have been part of coordinated influence operations from Iran, Russia and Venezuela. Facebook removed 783 pages, groups and accounts that it said posed as local actors in countries across Europe, the Middle East and south Asia and shared content that was largely repurposed from Iranian state media. The accounts, some of which had been active since 2010, had garnered about 2 million followers on Facebook and more than 250,000 followers on Instagram. While Facebook demurred from ascribing a motive to the operation, researchers with the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab who analyzed the accounts said that it appeared designed to amplify views “in line with Iranian government’s international stances”. “The pages posted content with strong bias for the government in Tehran and again...

Lebanon announced the formation of a government on Thursday ending over eight months of wrangling amid heightened fears of a major economic collapse. The Western-backed Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri now faces a big challenge in delivering the reforms needed to address dire public finances and unlock billions of dollars in pledged aid and loans to boost growth. Hariri, who will head a 30-member cabinet, said bold moves were needed without delay to address chronic problems facing the heavily indebted state. "We are facing economic, financial, social and administrative challenges," Hariri said at a press conference in Beirut after the announcement. "It has been a difficult political period, especially after the elections, and we must turn the page and start working," he said. Vicky Khoury, a member of the Sabaa Party, which emanated from the civil society movement, said the new government should first "kick-off the economic wheel". It should ...