News: Fuel scarcity in Abuja enters day two

The lingering fuel scarcity is biting harder in the Federal Capital Territory with the queues at petrol station, increasing overnight and some residents spending the night at the stations.

Major petrol stations are still not dispensing fuel though some of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) mega stations across the city have started selling.

The situation has caused major traffic and chaos around petrol stations as car owners scramble to stay in line.

Transport fares have also skyrocketed affecting movement of people and workers in the nation’s capital.

This is coming at a very difficult time, for a number of residents in the city are planning to travel for forthcoming Sallah holiday’s.

Management of petrol stations visited by Channels Television, lamented that trucks are still not allowed into Abuja to dispense fuel.

According to the oil marketers, the federal government has failed to pay them for fuel imports.

Our correspondent Doris Okenwa reports that transport fares in Abuja have trippled, and it’s even more difficult to get public transport since most vehicles are queuing up at fuel stations.

The cost of petrol has also been affected with some vehicle owners purchasing the product between N120 – N150 per litre at the black market.

Ahead of the Sallah celebration, major motors parks in the FCT are experiencing low turnout of passengers.

Motorist who spoke with Channels Television attributed the decline to the insufficient supply of petroleum products to the federal capital.

Meanwhile, transport fares from the FCT to other parts of the country still remain at the same price.

Few passengers who showed up at the motor parks are glad that transport fares have not been increased despite the insufficient supply of petrol to the federal capital.

News:Another T.B Joshua prophesy

It was reported that on Sunday July 15th, 2012, TB Joshua enjoined us to be prepared and expect a plane crash that will take Nigeria by storm.

According to him, if this plane crash is not averted, around 9-12 top Nigerian politicians will die.

He further revealed that the crash will happen on their way back from a conference or meeting.

They will be from nine to twelve in number and they’ll all perish.

He said the devil plans to strike them if they are all together on one flight.

According to his prediction, the solution to this looming tragedy is that all the officials should never board one flight.

Nigerians should be in prayers to avert this coming disaster. What do you think of this prophesy?

News:PRISONER SERVING 32 YEARS IN PRISON IMPREGNATES WIFE AFTER SENDING SPERMS TO HER

A baby boy was born by Caesarian section on Monday, the product of a successful smuggling attempt by a Palestinian prisoner who managed to sneak out a sperm sample to his wife.

Baby Muhannad was born in a Nablus hospital to Dallal Ziben, a 32-year-old mother-of-two from a village in the northern West Bank, whose hus

band Ammar is currently serving 32 life sentences in an Israeli prison. Palestinians are not permitted to receive conjugal visits, and although Dallal Ziben has not set eyes on her husband for 15 years, she says she fell pregnant after being artificially inseminated by sperm her 37-year-old husband managed to sneak out of Hadarim prison in central Israel.

"Praise be to Allah who has blessed us after a long absence with my husband in prison. My husband and I, our two girls and the family have been waiting for this for such a long time," Ziben told AFP shortly before going in for an elective Caesarean.

Ziben, who comes from Meithalun village between Nablus and Jenin, already had an 18-month-old daughter called Basha'er when her husband, who belongs to the Islamist Hamas movement, was arrested. At the time, she was also five months pregnant with their second daughter, Bissan.

"I am very happy. This is the first genuine happiness in our house for more than 15 years. When my mother told us she was going to get inseminated and give us a baby brother, we couldn't believe it. We have always wanted a brother and now the dream has come true," smiles Basha'er, now 16.

After the expectant mother was wheeled into the operating theatre, a group of women from the family gathered outside to wait, breaking into celebratory ululation at the first sound of a baby crying.

Standing outside the operating theatre, the proud grandmother said her son-in-law had named the baby after one of his friends "who was a martyr." Asked if the family objected to the way her daughter fell pregnant, she responded angrily.

"We are honourable people who are known for our good reputation and everyone supports us," she snapped.

For her son-in-law, who no longer has any immediate family living in the Palestinian territories, having a boy gives him a way of prolonging his line, she said, explaining that his mother, father and brother had died, and that a second brother was living overseas.

Details of how the sperm was smuggled out of the prison was kept a closely guarded secret, with the family refusing to give the slightest information.

A spokeswoman for the Israel Prisons Service said she was not aware of the pregnancy, and that security prisoners were not allowed conjugal visits, with the Palestinian Prisoners' Club confirming the same information.

"Visits by prisoners' wives are closely supervised by prison guards and there is no way a prisoner could get time alone with his wife," said a Nablus-based spokesman.

Dr Saalem Abu al-Kheizaran, head of the Razan fertility clinic in Nablus which carried out the insemination procedure, said the sperm had been subjected to a gender separation process to ensure the couple would have a son.

"We received a sample of sperm from the husband in a reliable and clinically secure way. The couple wanted a baby boy, so we carried out a gender separation procedure. We tried the insemination process three times from the same sample, but the first two attempts failed," he told AFP, without going into details.

Abu al-Kheizaran said the right to have a baby was a universal human right.

"For us it is a humanitarian issue – everyone has the right to be a parent. Prison must not stand in the way of this right," he told AFP.

Samer Samaro from the Nablus branch of the prisoners' ministry agrees.

"Having the child is a prisoner's right. We hope to someday reach an agreement with the Israeli side about this issue," he said.

Samaro said that even Israelis were allowed that right, including Yigal Amir, the right-wing extremist who gunned down prime minister Yitzhak Rabin in November 1995.

Amir, who was caught trying to smuggle sperm out of prison in 2006, was later given permission to artificially inseminate his wife, who gave birth to a son in 2007.

Says Samaro: "Even Rabin's murderer had a baby while he was in prison, so why should Palestinians be deprived of that right?"

News: 88 babies born during Redeemed's 60th convention

Sports:International football friendlies take centre stage

Football returns to the fore after the Olympics with August's traditional round of international friendlies to herald the start of the new season.

Around 40 games are scheduled this week, with several high-profile match-ups including England’s bid for revenge against Italy, and Sweden’s encounter with Olympic silver-medalists Brazil. With many first-team regulars missing the fixtures, coaches will have the chance to experiment with young and untested players.

The Grudge match
Germany-Argentina, Commerzbank Arena (formerly the Waldstadion), Frankfurt
Although Germany will be without several first-choice players, this still promises to be an intriguing encounter between two attack-minded sides. Coach Joachim Low will rest Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski, as well as Mario Gomez, who recently underwent surgery. The Germany squad retains a solid look nonetheless, with five players from Borussia Dortmund and four from Bayern Munich in the group.

Low’s Argentinian counterpart, Alejandro Sabella, travels to Frankfurt looking for further encouraging results from his system that sees Lionel Messi lead the line alongside Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero. The Albiceleste coach’s attacking options are such that Carlos Tevez is not even named in the squad.

Other matches include:
 

Spain-Puerto Rico
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has chosen to rest a number of his senior stars for the long trip to Puerto Rico. Xavi Hernandez, Jordi Alba, Juan Mata, Carles Puyol, Alvaro Negredo and Javi Martinez are the players who will not be making the journey.

England-Italy
England face a rematch with Italy, to whom they suffered a penalty shoot-out defeat in the quarter-finals of UEFA EURO 2012. Coach Roy Hodgson has decided to ring the changes, overlooking Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney and calling up Steven Caulker, Jake Livermore and goalkeepers Jack Butland and John Ruddy. Midfielder Michael Carrick also returns to the squad.

The Italians have also made wholesale changes, with coach Cesare Prandelli unable to call upon his large Juventus contingent after their exertions in their recent 4-2 Italian Super Cup victory over Napoli. This gives Prandelli the chance to take a closer look at youngsters Manolo Gabbiadini, Mattia Destro, Stephan El Shaarawy and Marco Verratti, all of whom are tipped for bright futures with Gli Azzurri.

France-Uruguay
One FIFA World Cup™ winner replaced another as head coach of the French national team, with outgoing incumbent Laurent Blanc handing the reins to his former international team-mate and captain, Didier Deschamps.

The experienced Deschamps has brought a new look to Les Bleus’ midfield for the friendly against Uruguay, with Etienne Capoue, Maxime Gonalons, Marvin Martin, Blaise Matuidi and Lille captain Rio Mavuba all in the squad. There are no places, however, for Hatem Ben Arfa, Philippe Mexes, Adil Rami, Yohan Cabaye, Alou Diarra, Florent Malouda and Yann Mvila. Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez, for his part, will rest his star attacking duo of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani.

Mexico-USA
USA will travel to the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City to take on their eternal rivals from south of the border. Mexico have never lost to USA at their fabled home ground, and the last time the two teams met, a year ago in Philadelphia, the result was an even draw.

Elsewhere, the head-to-head between in-form Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Brazil’s Neymar promises to be fascinating. So, too, does the Low Countries derby involving Belgium and the Netherlands, with the latter hoping to bounce back after a dismal showing at the EURO earlier this year.

Star players
Neymar, the spearhead of a young crop of Brazilian talents hoping to flourish in time for the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, failed to make an impression in his side’s 2-1 defeat by Mexico in the final of the Men’s Olympic Football tournament. A Seleçao, whose fans are hungry for renewed success, will be looking to him for inspiration once more against Ibrahimovic’s Sweden.

The statistics
3 – The number of debutants in the France squad named by new coach Deschamps. The trio in question are Christophe Jallet (Paris Saint-Germain), Capoue (Toulouse) and promising defensive prospect Raphael Varane (Real Madrid).