Zambian musician arrested for ‘mocking’ president

A Zambian musician was arrested on Monday over a song he composed that officials said defamedPresident Edgar Lungu by accusing him of drinking too much and being incompetent.

Chama Fumba, 31, whose stage name is Pilato, was detained in Lusaka and charged with conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace, his lawyer told reporters at the capital’s central police station.

“The police declined to grant us bail and we requested to them that in that case the matter should quickly proceed to court,” Marshall Muchende said.

Fumba faces a maximum sentence of six months in prison or a fine if found guilty.

The song’s lyrics tell the story of a character named Lungu who grows up in a slum and becomes president.

The Lungu in the song is described as carrying a suitcase filled with bottles of Jameson Irish whiskey and having no idea how to govern.

President Lungu, 58, who took office in January, is a former defence minister.

He suffers from recurring achalasia, a condition caused by narrowing of the oesophagus, and has been regularly hospitalised for treatment.

His election victory followed the death of predecessor Michael Sata.

"MY GP MUST LAUGH 2015"

Blue edge entertainment presents "My Gp must laff",the 1st of its kind. Its going to happen here in the Federal university of agriculture,Abeokuta at the school's prestigious hall,Yakub Mahmood Hall on the 17th of June,2015.
This show will feature some of Nigeria's big boys in the entertainment industry; Akpororo,the one and only Ajebo(my guy),Princess and so on with the likes of several fast rising Funaab stars. Guest artiste for the day is no other than the indigenous Yoruba artiste " Small doctor ".
YOU'LL DEFINITELY NOT WANT TO MISS THIS!!!!!.

India muslim body to launch campaign against making Yoga compulsory in schools

Even as the Narendra Modi government plans to make the International Yoga Day on June 21 a grand success, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Sunday decided to launch a nationwide campaign against making 'Surya Namaskar' and Yoga compulsory in schools.

We have decided to constitute a committee of our members headed by Maulana Wali Rahmani and launch a country-wide campaign against the move of making 'Surya Namaskar' and Yoga compulsory in schools, AIMPLB member Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali told PTI.

"The committee will also find ways to make Muslim community aware of their constitutional rights. During the campaign, we will put forth our view on Surya Namaskar and Yoga and explain as to why it was against our religious beliefs and should not be forced on our children," he said.

Taking the campaign beyond the ambit of Hindu-Muslim tension, the AIMPLB member said that attempts would be made to include people of other religions as well in the campaign.

Speaking at AIMPLB's executive committee meeting held at Nadwat-ul-Ulma here, Mahali also expressed the organisation's willingness to fight legal battles regarding the "interference of courts in Sharia laws".

"Recently some court decisions have come against Sharia laws. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has decided to file an appeal in such cases in court and fight the legal battle as a party in such cases," Mahali said.

Maulana Wali Rahmani was appointed as the acting General Secretary of the Board at the meeting. Maulana Nizamuddin will also continue in the post, he said.

The Board also informed that they will discuss issues like attack on freedom to propagate one's religion, in a separate session and have plans to launch a campaign in this regard.

This is amazing,wonders shall never cease. I'm very sure the students won't be happy with such if given the opportunity to express themselves. I don't think such law should be imposed #justsaying Or what do you feel?

Facts about the "Dead Sea"

While surfing the net yesterday,i came across this wonderful article about the dead sea and its large supply of minerals(salts and the likes). You're definitely going to enjoy this.
The Dead Sea, also known as the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. It’s a hypersaline lake that is truly one of Earth’s unique places. 
1. The surface and shores of the Dead Sea are 423 metres (1,388 ft) below sea level, making it Earth’s lowest elevation on land.

2. The Dead Sea is 377 m (1,237 ft) deep, making it the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. A hypersaline lake is a landlocked body of water that contains significant concentrations of sodium chloride or other mineral salts, with saline levels surpassing that of ocean water.
3. With 33.7% salinity, the Dead Sea is one of the world’s saltiest bodies of water. Although Lake Assal (Djibouti), Garabogazköl and some hypersaline lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica (such as Don Juan Pond) have reported higher salinities.

4. The Dead Sea’s unusually high salt concentration means that people can easily float in the Dead Sea due to natural buoyancy. In this respect the Dead Sea is similar to the Great Salt Lake in Utah in the United States.
5. The Dead Sea is roughly 8.6 times saltier than the ocean. This salinity makes for a harsh environment in which animals cannot flourish (hence its name). The high salinity prevents macroscopic aquatic organisms such as fish and aquatic plants from living in it, though minuscule quantities of bacteria and microbial fungi are present.
6. The Dead Sea is 67 kilometres (42 mi) long and 18 kilometres (11 mi) wide at its widest point. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley and its main tributary is the Jordan River.

7. The Dead Sea area has become a major center for health research and treatment for several reasons. The mineral content of the water, the very low content of pollens and other allergens in the atmosphere, the reduced ultraviolet component of solar radiation, and the higher atmospheric pressure at this great depth each have specific health effects.
8. Biblically, the Dead Sea was a place of refuge for King David. It was one of the world’s first health resorts (for Herod the Great), and it has been the supplier of a wide variety of products, from balms for Egyptian mummification to potash for fertilizers.
9. An unusual feature of the Dead Sea is its discharge of asphalt. From deep seeps, the Dead Sea constantly spits up small pebbles and blocks of the black substance. Asphalt coated figurines and bitumen coated Neolithic skulls from archaeological sites have been found. Egyptian mummification processes used asphalt imported from the Dead Sea region.
10. The world’s lowest road, Highway 90, runs along the Israeli and West Bank shores of the Dead Sea at 393 m (1,289 ft) below sea level.

SHOCKING!! Man sets himself ablaze

A 25-year-old man, Tochukwu Madu, has set himself ablaze after a failed attempt to kill his mother with a cutlass.

The tragedy, which occurred on Wednesday, also led to the razing of their bungalow situated on No. 12 Bonny Street in Umuahia, Abia State.

Part of the building, located at the heart of the state capital, serves as stores for traders, who have converted the street to a mini-market after the relocation of the Umuahia Main Market from a nearby location to Ubani.

According to an eyewitness and a tenant in the building, Mrs. Precious Madu, the culprit, a notorious Indian hemp smoker, attacked the mother around 10:30 pm after locking her up in their two-room apartment.

Another source said he inflicted several deep cuts in the mother’s head and upper arm until she slumped and pretended to be dead before he left her to kill their dog, which was barking inside the compound.

But before he could return to complete his mission on the mother, the woman had managed to escape through the window.

The culprit was said to have made a move to slaughter his elder brother whom he had also locked up in another room, but the brother was smart enough to escape through the ceiling.

The police were quickly alerted by neighbours who noticed the strange development.

When the police arrived the scene and started searching for the suspect, he was said to have disappeared into one of the rooms in their house where he securely locked up himself.

He was said to have poured fuel on himself and set himself on fire that also gulped the entire building.

“As the police were looking for him and could not see him, what we noticed suddenly was that smoke started coming out from one of the rooms. Before it was broken, the whole house was already up in flames.

“When finally, the door to the room was broken, he was found burning and efforts to save him proved abortive as he died immediately as a result of severe burns,” the source said.

Mrs. Madu (tenant), who said she lost all her property to the inferno, appealed to the government and public-spirited individuals to come to her rescue and that of other tenants, adding that nobody could save a pin from the house.

When Southern City News visited the scene of the incident on Thursday, charred cloths and tailoring materials were observed in one of the rooms, which served as a workshop for a tailor.

The rooms were also littered with burnt household items and personal belongings while the roof of the house was damaged by fire.

Meanwhile, the mother is currently hospitalised at the intensive care unit of the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, where doctors are still battling to save her life, following deep machete cuts inflicted on her by the deranged son.

An officer of the state fire services, Mr. Chukwuemeka Okezie, who helped to put out the fire, told our correspondent that if not for the timely intervention of his men, the fire would have spread to other buildings in the neighborhood.

He called for quick and united action against drug abuse and Indian hemp consumption, especially among youths and observed that drug abuse had been on the increase nationwide.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ezekiel Onyeke, confirmed the incident, describing it as ‘very unfortunate’.

Onyeke said the wounded mother had been responding to treatment and appealed to parents to report any of their children or wards suspected to be consuming any form of hard drug to the law enforcement agents for necessary actions to avoid any form of colossal damage.