News, activities, events and information about everything you need to know about Nigerians living in London, UK
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Monday, 26 September 2011
First Lady Michelle Obama Celebrates the Success of Million PALA Challenge at Nickelodeon’s Worldwide Day of Play
First African woman to win Nobel Peace Prize dies of cancer
Kenyan queen: Wangari Maathai after winning the Nobel peace Prize in 2004
The first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize died in a Nairobi hospital yesterday while undergoing treatment for cancer. She was aged 71 .
Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, which enabled poor women to plant 20-30 million trees in Africa.
The Arab Spring: Saudi women gain vote for the first time but not allowed to drive
Saudi Arabian women to vote and tun in elections |
Saturday, 24 September 2011
Friday, 23 September 2011
How to use Facebook's new gadgets effectively
Facebook opened its F8 conference on Thursday and announced that it had passed 800 million users (which Facebook measures as users that have logged in during the past 30 days). That means Facebook has added about 50 million users since July. Founder Mark Zuckerberg also noted that Facebook had recently seen its first day in which half a billion people logged into the site.
Thursday, 22 September 2011
UBS $2.3bn 'rogue trader' says sorry
The alleged UBS 'rogue trader' Kwame Adoboli accused of gambling away a record £1.5 ($2.3bn) appeared in court for the second time Thursday for fraud charges. He apologised to the court for wrongful trading during the pre-committal proceedings in London saying, he was 'sorry beyond words'.
Zimbabwe's forgotten children
Xoliswa Sithole is a South African film-maker based in Johannesburg. She was awarded a BAFTA, for her role in producing the BBC/True Vision documentary Orphans of Nkandla, chronicling the effects of Aids in Africa. She released a film called Zimbabwe's forgotten children showcasing the struggle children face.
Zimbabwe, when Xoliswa was growing up there, was the breadbasket of Africa and had one of the best education systems in Africa if not the world according to Xoliswa Sithole. The healthcare system was great, too.

Zimbabwe: Harare's street kids
There are also the street children. When Xoliswa Sithole lived in Zimbabwe in his twenties, there were hardly any street children in Harare.Children are now not only living on the streets, they are giving birth on the streets. A second generation of street children is growing up.The system was supposed to take care of its people, but it has failed.
BBC
For a child born in apartheid-era South Africa, as I was, it was a land of opportunity. After my mother moved to Rhodesia, I received a first-class education, and graduated from university in post-independence Zimbabwe. It is startling how quickly a society can fall apart.
Xoliswa Sithole's film, Zimbabwe's Forgotten Children, follows the stories of a number of children struggling to survive in the country today.
Zimbabwe has become a very hard place to be poor, and poverty is ugly. Conspicuous consumerism is very evident, and greed is also very visible.
He shot the film undercover, after getting a permit to make another film, about my childhood and how it has shaped me.

Esther with her mother and baby sister
Xoliswa Sithole was raised as a child of the Zanu party. His stepfather's cousin Ndabaningi Sithole, founder of Zanu, was a prominent politician, and hiscousin Edison Sithole the first doctor of law in southern and central Africa - he disappeared in 1975, abducted by Ian Smith because he was a human rights lawyer and political activist.
But while Xoliswa Sithole was making this film the Zimbabwean government launched Operation Murambatsvina (Remove the filth) - a slum clearance programme that left thousands of people on the streets.
Xoliswa Sithole's film, Zimbabwe's Forgotten Children, follows the stories of a number of children struggling to survive in the country today.
Zimbabwe has become a very hard place to be poor, and poverty is ugly. Conspicuous consumerism is very evident, and greed is also very visible.
He shot the film undercover, after getting a permit to make another film, about my childhood and how it has shaped me.
Esther with her mother and baby sister
Xoliswa Sithole was raised as a child of the Zanu party. His stepfather's cousin Ndabaningi Sithole, founder of Zanu, was a prominent politician, and hiscousin Edison Sithole the first doctor of law in southern and central Africa - he disappeared in 1975, abducted by Ian Smith because he was a human rights lawyer and political activist.
But while Xoliswa Sithole was making this film the Zimbabwean government launched Operation Murambatsvina (Remove the filth) - a slum clearance programme that left thousands of people on the streets.
This made Xoliswa Sithole resolute to make another film, about Zimbabwe's children. He focuses mostly on three stories.
There are Michelle and Grace, who live with their father Joseph. Joseph dreams of saving enough money to pay for his children's education, but for now they all work - by digging bones from a rubbish heap and selling them.
"What I am doing is child abuse really," he says. "They should not be working like this. It hurts me."
There is Esther, who looks after her mother as she dies of Aids, and also her younger brother, Tino.
After her mother dies, Esther's life becomes simpler. "It's much easier to look after Tino now, because I don't have to look after mum as well," she says. Esther's case is not an unusual one in today's Zimbabwe. It's a common scenario.
"What I am doing is child abuse really," he says. "They should not be working like this. It hurts me."
There is Esther, who looks after her mother as she dies of Aids, and also her younger brother, Tino.
After her mother dies, Esther's life becomes simpler. "It's much easier to look after Tino now, because I don't have to look after mum as well," she says. Esther's case is not an unusual one in today's Zimbabwe. It's a common scenario.
Zimbabwe: Harare's street kids
There are also the street children. When Xoliswa Sithole lived in Zimbabwe in his twenties, there were hardly any street children in Harare.Children are now not only living on the streets, they are giving birth on the streets. A second generation of street children is growing up.The system was supposed to take care of its people, but it has failed.
In less than a generation, the country has changed beyond all recognition.
BBC
South Africa - the new land of milk and honey
Desperate Zimbabweans come into South Africa illegally daily to escape poverty
More than a year after the signing of a power-sharing deal aimed at rescuing Zimbabwe's shattered economy, young people are still leaving the country in droves, seeking a better life in South Africa.
"Not much has changed in Zimbabwe over the past year," says 21-year-old Blessed Rugaru, a day after arriving in South Africa from the eastern Zimbabwean city of Mutare. She has left behind her parents, who have both lost their jobs.
Zimbabwe's economy has stopped its freefall - mainly because the government has adopted foreign currencies instead of the worthless Zimbabwe dollar.
But this means that those without access to hard currency are in a desperate situation.
The Red Cross has launched an appeal to aid some 220,000 people - mainly in rural areas - it says have no access to money from abroad.
And so those who can send South African rand back to to their families are increasingly valuable.
"There is nowhere to work in Zimbabwe - even if you are educated there are just no jobs," says Brian Ngovu, 17.
They are some of hundreds of Zimbabweans waiting in long queues to be served at a refugee reception centre in Musina in Limpopo Province.
It opened its doors in July 2008 to deal with the thousands of Zimbabwean asylum-seekers then camping out in an open field in the border town.
There are three refugee centres in South Africa and the Limpopo centre, close to the Beit Bridge border post, receives the largest number of people - about 350-400 new asylum applications daily.
"The trends have not changed, we are still seeing the same large groups of people coming here as before the elections last year," says a senior official at the centre.
He refuses to give his name in case he gets "into trouble for speaking to the media".
Queuing for change
The halls and corridors of the centre are packed; the air is warm and stuffy and there is very little conversation as people wait their turn.
Many applications for refugee status are turned down |
Mr Ngovu is in the queue that snakes outside; beads of sweat have formed on his face.
He has been in South Africa for a year - trying to get a job but failing as he does not have legal documents.
He is living in Thohoyandou, about 100km (62 miles) from Musina, with friends who sometimes get jobs at gardeners or painters, but they never get anything long-term because they do not have papers.
"I am looking for a job here so I can help my family back home. If I can get papers for asylum I can get a good job," he says.
But unemployment is high in South Africa and he left school a year before graduating. With no official qualification, finding a job - even with legal documentation - will be difficult.
In a country of close to 50 million people, more than 23% of South Africa's citizens are without jobs.
But between three and four million Zimbabweans are believed to have already crossed into South Africa.
Xenophobic fears
Tension in some townships and informal settlements with a large number of foreigners is on the rise again, following last year's spate of xenophobic attacks.
Some 3,000 foreign nationals, mostly Zimbabweans, were recently driven from their homes in a township outside Cape Town - their shacks were set alight and their belongings destroyed.
Ms Rugaru says fears of more attacks against Zimbabweans are never far from her mind.
"I am worried that the attacks might happen again," she says.
"Things are not good right now in Zimbabwe but I will go back, home is best."
But she is prepared to stay in South Africa as long as it takes to get her refugee papers.
"When I get asylum papers I will use them to apply for study bursaries here," she says.
"I want to be able to build computers from scratch and then I can fix the broken computers in my country."
No guarantees
Both Ms Rugara and Mr Ngovu believe the answer to their troubles is being awarded refugee status.
However, the authorities at the centre say only cases that have "merit" are considered.
"South Africa is obliged by AU [African Union] laws to give permits to refugees, but most of these people do not qualify for refugee status," the senior official explains.
"We cannot give refugee status to people who only leave their country because there are no jobs; these people are economic migrants not refugees," he says.
Although many Zimbabwean asylum requests are rejected, until its economy starts to recover, people will continue to risk their lives crossing the crocodile-infested Limpopo river to earn the hard currency their families need to buy food back home.
BBC
BBC
In the spotlight:South Africa's parentless families
Nokubonga is the only one of her siblings attending school. |
Many thousands of South African children live in homes with no parents, largely as a result of HIV/Aids. Life is desperate for the children left at the head of their families. At the age of 10, Nokubonga Qaba was left with the daunting responsibility of raising her four younger siblings in a remote village in Eastern Cape Province. Now aged 17, she says her family knows the pain of going to bed on an empty stomach all too well. "Sometimes there is no food in the house for days and I have to go knocking on neighbours' doors begging for food for my family," she says. "Sometimes they give, sometimes they don't." Her plight is not unique in South Africa. About 150,000 youngsters are raised by other children after their parents die. Many of the deaths are blamed on Aids-related illnesses - South Africa has the highest prevalence of the disease anywhere in the world. Poverty Nokubonga's parents died from tuberculosis in 2002 leaving her and her siblings in the care of their ailing grandmother. When her grandmother died in 2004, Nokubonga assumed the role of mother, father and sister. "We lived on grandmother's pension money, which wasn't a lot, so when she also died our lives took a turn for the worse," she says. With her siblings - and now her own one-week-old son - to look after, her days start at 0400 with a walk of at least 12km (seven miles) from their village mud-hut to collect firewood and clean water. "It gets so cold in the morning sometimes that my entire body goes numb and I can hardly walk," she says. "It's not easy at all, but I know I have to do it. I need the water to cook porridge for us and the rest so we can bath." Her brothers and sister all call her mama. In 2002 there were 118,000 children living without parents; by mid-2007 there were 148,000 Some 146,000 of the children are black. Eastern Cape Province has the second largest number of child-headed homes in the country according to the South African Institute of Race Relations. The children were between two and seven years old when their parents died, and their real mother and father are a faded memory. In the family home all six children huddle around a fire made on the floor in the main room of the house - which serves as a kitchen and the lounge. Rusty pots are piled up on a table in the corner along with plastic plates. There appears to be little or no food in the house. "It wasn't always like this," Nokubonga says. "When our parents were still alive we didn't have to worry about a lot of things. Food, clothes and money to go to school... things were easier." Ambition When Nokubonga's grandmother died she was helped by a non-governmental organisation in the nearby town of Lusikisiki to negotiate a government grant. Reverend Mthimkulu Msikinya, head of the Lusikisiki Child Abuse Resource Centre, says most of the families still live in desperate poverty despite the allowance. In the tiny room, there is only one bed it is shared by five children "We help where we can but in the end a grant can only do so much," he says. The town has seen a rising number of households where children bring up other children, he says. "Diseases such as HIV/Aids have had an enormous impact in the number of children who are orphaned and left having to fend for themselves," he says. Nokubonga does not get any financial help from the father of her baby - he is still in school and his family, like hers and many others in Eastern Cape Province, is living from hand to mouth. She receives 650 rand ($87; £53) of foster grant every month, but this does not go far in a country battling a recession and soaring food prices. "Sometimes the money gets finished in the middle of the month and we run out of food," she says. She has an older sister, 23-year-old Zodwa, who does not live with them but sends a small amount of money when she has been able to land part-time work. Nokubonga returned to classes in 2007, when they began receiving the grant - but there is not enough money for them all to attend. She hopes to get her younger sister Zanele, who is looking after the baby during the day, back into school next year and her brothers after that. Despite all the hardship Nokubonga is determined to persevere with her school work and she wants to become a social worker. In the meantime, she survives on grants, food parcels and old clothes donated by the community, trying to give her brothers and sister an easier life than she has had. To help children like Nokubonga, please make a donation or to sponsor a child please visit http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/aids-africa/projects-by-country/aids-south-africa SOS Children has worked specifically on projects supporting families affected by HIV / AIDS since January 2002 based on its eight SOS Children's Villages. These are termed ‘Family StrengtheningProgrammes’, as they increase the ability of a vulnerable family to care for their child and thus prevent child abandonment and family breakup. |
X-Factor USA launches today in UK
The first ever X-Factor has been launched in America by TV mogul, Simon Cowell. After the controversy surrounding Cheryl Cole's removal, US TV critics slammed Simon Cowell's decision to replace Cole with Nicole Scherzinger on the X Factor judging panel, American viewers seem to have the same opinion, choosing not to tune in to the series launch.
Simon Cowell and Paula Abul 'in love'
The pair once worked together as judges on American Idol but Cowell has since recruited Abdul to his new U.S series of the X Factor which premieres tonight in the States.
Abdul opened up about their relationship on the Today show in New York yesterday morning where she was promoting the new series.
She joked to presenter Ann Curry that she and her former American Idol arch nemesis are 'like an old married couple without the sex.'
Abdul was asked what made her sign-up to the new series and reunite with Cowell two years after she quit American Idol as a judge.
She replied: ‘Maybe because I'm a glutton for punishment? Or maybe it's because we've established quite an amazing friendship.
'We're like an old married couple without the sex - by choice! We get along so well. It took ten years to understand each other.’
She said she felt 'blessed' to be part of the show and went on to coo Simon's praises: ‘I've always known I'm a strong woman but he's really taught me some inner strength. He always provoked me and challenged me and the more I stood up for myself and the more I stood up to him the more he embraced me.’
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Palestinian State? UK and USA block vote
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is determined to bring Palestinian membership of the United Nations to the Security Council this week.
The Obama administration has signalled equally emphatically that, if Mr Abbas pushes for a vote, then the US will, if necessary, use its veto to block the move.
US President Barack Obama has said that a "genuine peace" between Israel and the Palestinians can only come through negotiations leading to an agreement between the two parties themselves.
US President Barack Obama has said that a "genuine peace" between Israel and the Palestinians can only come through negotiations leading to an agreement between the two parties themselves.
Celebrating World peace day
In 2002 the General Assembly officially declared September 21 as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace.
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Humiliating case of rape uncovered in Abia State University
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Miss Angola wins Universe 2011
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Winner Angola's Leila Lopes |
A new Miss Universe was crowned last week: She's Miss Angola, business student Leila Lopes, and she plans to work on HIV advocacy worldwide, in addition to helping her own country.
"As Miss Angola I've already done a lot to help my people," Lopes, 25, said Tuesday morning after taking home the crown. "I've worked with various social causes. I work with poor kids, I work in the fight against HIV. I work to protect the elderly and I have to do everything that my country needs.
The most significant icon that hip hop has ever produced -Tupac
“Given that he had survived the first shooting in 1994, a lot of us just believed it wasn’t that bad. When we got the word he passed, we convened at the hospital,” Kevin Powell, a fan said. “It was sad. It seems like yesterday. It was the beginning of the end of what we call the golden era of hip hop. Powell is writing a biography of Shakur with the blessing of Afeni Shakur, Tupac’s mother.“He’s more relevant than ever not just here in America, but all over the globe,” Powell said. “He really is the most significant icon that hip hop has ever produced.
GM Mosquitoes Bred To Tackle Dengue Fever
Millions of genetically modified mosquitoes are being released into the wild in the Brazilian city of Juazeiro to try to wipe out dengue fever.
The dengue fever-spreading mosquito
The viral disease affects between 50 and 100 million people a year.
While symptoms of the illness - which occurs in tropical climates - are usually mild, around 1 in 20 people will become seriously ill.
Currently, there is no vaccine and no treatment, so the only way to fight the disease is to destroy the mosquitoes that carry it.
Up until now, pesticides have been used to kill them, but they are becoming increasingly resistant.
Somalian pirates murder British holidaymaker and kidnap wife
Kenyan isolated seaside
David and Judith Tebbutt were on holiday at the exclusive Kiwayu Safari Village, close to the border with Somalia, when they were attacked early on Sunday morning. Kenyan police have arrested a man suspected of being involved in the incident.
Fear as Nigerians brace themselves for likely civil war
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Slain Boko Haram member - Babakura Fugu |
Nigeria is in a high state of alert after recent bombings and killing have increased in its northern states. Nigerians are scared and no one knows where the next bomb will explode. Mant others are just unhappy with the way in which the country is being led. The US is getting jittery too about the state of affairs in Nigeria and top Army officials have pointed fingers at Al Qaeda for the upheaval.
World crisis :46 million Americans now live in poverty
The U.S. poverty rate climbed last year to its highest level in 27 years, with more than 46 million Americans - one in every six - suffering in the struggling economy.
The 15.1% poverty rate, up from 14.3% in 2009, was at its highest level since 1983, according to the annual Census Bureau report released Tuesday.
The number of people living in poverty was the highest since the U.S. Census Bureau began tracking the figures 52 years ago.
"It's disappointing that the poverty rate is going up," said Mayor
Friday, 16 September 2011
Slavery in UK!
17 Sept 2011 - Four men were last week charged with slavery offences, following an investigation into an alleged slave camp at a Travellers' site in Bedfordshire.
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Shocking racism uncovered in the New York Fire Service
The years haven't much eased Irene Smith's pain. Some days are good, she says. Some less so. But her son, Leon W. Smith Jr., is always on her mind.
It was Leon Smith's dream to become a firefighter, Smith said. Growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., the family lived right across the street from a firehouse. She said she always knew just where to find her boy. "He knew his calling even then," she said.
Texas: 1556 homes destroyed by fire
BASTROP, Texas — A huge fire has engulfed homes in Texas. According to Bastrop County officials the number of homes destroyed by the wildfire raging east of Austin has risen to 1,556 and the number is expected to rise. So far,17 people whom the city officials have been unable to contact have been declared missing.
The effects of 9/11 on the New York City Fire-fighters
Learning to Live: Firefighter Bill Butler. (Photo: Nigel Parry) |
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Ignite Ladies Night Online Event by Victorious International - We are Victorious Empowerment (WAVE) is on Saturday 22 May 2021
It's time for another inspirational night for women. Save the date: Saturday 22 May 2021 on Zoom. Register to attend at Eventbrite: htt...
