Monday, 20 August 2012
British Film Maker Jumps to Death
British-born filmmaker Tony Scott, director of such Hollywood blockbusters as "Top Gun" and "Crimson Tide," jumped to his death on Sunday from a bridge over Los Angeles Harbor, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said.
Onlookers saw Scott, who was 68, parking his car on the Vincent Thomas Bridge and leaping into the water below at about 12:30 p.m. local time (1930 GMT), according to Lieutenant Joe Bale, a watch commander for the coroner's office.
Bale said the body was recovered by law enforcement from the harbor shortly before 3 p.m. and was subsequently identified as being that of the filmmaker and younger brother of fellow movie director Ridley Scott.
A note was found in Scott's car that Bale said he believed would turn out to be a suicide note, though he was not familiar with its contents. "Typically, when they find a note in cases like this, it's not a shopping list," he said.
The bridge, the surface of which clears the harbor's navigation channel by a height of about 185 feet, connects the port district of San Pedro at the southern tip of Los Angeles to Terminal Island in the harbor.
A spokeswoman for the filmmaker, Katherine Rowe, said in a brief statement, "I can confirm that Tony Scott has indeed passed away," adding only, "The family asks that their privacy be respected at this time."
MUSCULAR
Scott, born in North Shields, Northumberland, in England, and frequently seen behind the camera in his signature faded red baseball cap, is credited with directing more than two dozen movies and television shows and producing nearly 50 titles.
He was best known for muscular but stylish high-octane thrillers that showcased some of Hollywood's biggest stars in a body of work that dated back to the 1980s and established him as one of the most successful action directors in the business.
He got his start making TV commercials for his older sibling's London-based production company, Ridley Scott Associates, and segued into movies for television and film.
His feature directorial debut - 1983 vampire movie "The Hunger" starring British rocker David Bowie and French actress Catherine Deneuve - was a flop. But he bounced back three years later with the fighter jet adventure "Top Gun," which starred Tom Cruise as a hot-shot pilot and followed that with another big hit, the 1987 Eddie Murphy comedy "Beverly Hills Cop II."
Other notable directing credits include the 1990 racing drama "Days of Thunder," which also featured Cruise, the 1995 submarine thriller "Crimson Tide," co-starring Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman, and the 1998 spy thriller "Enemy of the State," which paired Hackman and Will Smith. The 2001 espionage drama "Spy Game" teamed Robert Redford with Brad Pitt.
Denzel Washington became Scott's most frequent star, appearing in four other films by the director - the 2004 vengeance drama "Man on Fire," 2006 sci-fi adventure "Deja Vu," a 2009 remake of "The Taking of the Pelham 1 2 3," a subway hostage thriller co-starring John Travolta, and the 2010 runaway-train blockbuster, "Unstoppable."
Scott and his older brother were executive producers together on two successful prime-time television dramas, "Numb3rs," which ran on CBS from 2005 to 2010, and "The Good Wife," which premiered in 2009 and is still running in CBS.
According to the Hollywood website Internet Movie Database, Tony Scott had been in production as the director of a film called "Emma's War," about a British aid worker in Sudan who marries a warlord seeking to control part of the country.
Scott is survived by his third wife, Donna, with whom he had two children.
Saturday, 7 July 2012
3 killed, 30 vehicles burnt as Hausas and Yorubas Clashes in Ogun State
A bloody clash between some Hausa and Yoruba in Ibese, Yewa North Local
Government of Ogun State on Wednesday claimed the lives of three persons
and left no fewer than 30 vehicles burnt.
Our correspondent, who visited the scene of the crisis on Thursday, learnt that the violent clash between the members of the two ethnic groups began on Wednesday night following a disagreement between two unidentified men over a commercial sex worker.
The violence was said to have later escalated and became an inter-tribal crisis.
About 25 articulated vehicles, three cars and five motorcycles were said to have been destroyed in the violence. Also, almost all the shops in the nearby market were reportedly looted.
Residents of the busy town were said to have fled the community.
Armed policemen were deployed in the troubled town to forestall further break down of law and order while an Armoured Personnel Carrier was seen stationed in front of the Dangote Cement Factory located within the community.
The Chairman of the task force in the affected market, Sikirulah Akinsola, confirmed to newsmen that the violence erupted due to a disagreement between two persons over a commercial sex worker.
Akinsola, who also doubles as the Bada Orile of Ijako Village, a suburb of the town, said more than 200 persons of Yoruba extraction who felt aggrieved by the alleged killing of their kinsman had decided to demonstrate on the streets when the crisis erupted.
According to him, one Kehinde had also allegedly been killed last May by a suspected Hausa man in the town.
The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi confirmed the incident, but said no one was killed.
Adejobi, an assistant superintendent of police however said the violence in the town had nothing to do with ethnicity.
He said, “It was caused by a LovePeddler and some of the drivers had a problem with some men who claimed to be Ibese indigenes. There was no ethnic colouration. There was no casualty and only 14 vehicles were burnt.”
Our correspondent, who visited the scene of the crisis on Thursday, learnt that the violent clash between the members of the two ethnic groups began on Wednesday night following a disagreement between two unidentified men over a commercial sex worker.
The violence was said to have later escalated and became an inter-tribal crisis.
About 25 articulated vehicles, three cars and five motorcycles were said to have been destroyed in the violence. Also, almost all the shops in the nearby market were reportedly looted.
Residents of the busy town were said to have fled the community.
Armed policemen were deployed in the troubled town to forestall further break down of law and order while an Armoured Personnel Carrier was seen stationed in front of the Dangote Cement Factory located within the community.
The Chairman of the task force in the affected market, Sikirulah Akinsola, confirmed to newsmen that the violence erupted due to a disagreement between two persons over a commercial sex worker.
Akinsola, who also doubles as the Bada Orile of Ijako Village, a suburb of the town, said more than 200 persons of Yoruba extraction who felt aggrieved by the alleged killing of their kinsman had decided to demonstrate on the streets when the crisis erupted.
According to him, one Kehinde had also allegedly been killed last May by a suspected Hausa man in the town.
The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi confirmed the incident, but said no one was killed.
Adejobi, an assistant superintendent of police however said the violence in the town had nothing to do with ethnicity.
He said, “It was caused by a LovePeddler and some of the drivers had a problem with some men who claimed to be Ibese indigenes. There was no ethnic colouration. There was no casualty and only 14 vehicles were burnt.”
Catholic Church Blast Lagos State Lawmakers Over Cremation Bill
THE Catholic Church has asked the Lagos State House of Assembly to allow
the dead rest in peace by throwing out its proposal to pass a bill
legalising voluntary cremation of unclaimed dead bodies in the
state-owned mortuaries.
The bill seeking to legalise voluntary cremation of the dead and unclaimed corpses has already scaled the second reading on the floor of the House of Assembly.
Entitled: A bill to legalise voluntary cremation of corpses and unclaimed corpses in Lagos State,’’ the bill was sponsored by the Chairman of the Assembly’s Committee on Health Care Services, Suru Avoseh.
However, in a statement yesterday, the Administrator of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, His Eminence, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, said it was totally against any move to legalize cremation or the desecration of human corpse in any guise as it believes in life after death.
Cremation is the process of burning the human corpse to ashes and sprinkling the ashes into the sea as is practised in India by the adherents of Hindus, which is the predominant religion in the country and some other parts of the Asia.
The statement signed on Okogie’s behalf by the Lagos Archdiocesan Director of Social Communications, Very Rev. Monsignor Gabriel Osu, advised the law makers to quickly jettison the idea of legalizing cremation and instead concentrate on building more modern cemeteries to cater for the growing number of unclaimed corpses in the state hospitals.
Okogie’s statement read in part, “The issue of cremation is a very sensitive one because it bothers on our culture, tradition and religion. As Africans, it is against our culture and as Christians it is against our religious beliefs. In the Koran, the respect of the dead is very clear.
They do not allow the corpse to stay long, not to talk of cremation. We believe after life and the need to give the dead proper burial as prescribed in the Bible.
“I do not see any one who would want his corpse or that of loved ones cremated. Already you can see the response of Lagosians during the public hearing. Most of those who spoke are vehemently opposed to it. It is not acceptable at all. My advice is for the law makers to quickly jettison the idea and look for better ways of dealing with unclaimed corpses,”
He then urged the government to build more modern and affordable cemeteries in various parts of the state and rehabilitate the old ones that are already in very bad shapes or condition.
According to him, “It is only in Africa that we have no respect for the dead. Go to Atan and Ikoyi cemeteries, for instance, they have been over-taken by weeds. Security is another issue entirely.The dead deserves to rest in peace.”
While intimating his colleagues on the need to support the cremation bill, Avoseh said it addressed the pathetic state of public mortuaries and challenges being faced by health officials due to shortage of land for mass burial of unclaimed corpses.
Avoseh decried the present situation in which corpses were abandoned in mortuaries for several months, thereby stretching the capacity of the mortuaries to their limits.
He said: “During our visit to the mortuaries as a member of the ad-hoc committee, I was disturbed to see heaps of corpses that were not claimed by their relatives. So, Lagos should once again take the lead in the introduction of this legislation (cremation) in the country.”
The bill seeking to legalise voluntary cremation of the dead and unclaimed corpses has already scaled the second reading on the floor of the House of Assembly.
Entitled: A bill to legalise voluntary cremation of corpses and unclaimed corpses in Lagos State,’’ the bill was sponsored by the Chairman of the Assembly’s Committee on Health Care Services, Suru Avoseh.
However, in a statement yesterday, the Administrator of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, His Eminence, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, said it was totally against any move to legalize cremation or the desecration of human corpse in any guise as it believes in life after death.
Cremation is the process of burning the human corpse to ashes and sprinkling the ashes into the sea as is practised in India by the adherents of Hindus, which is the predominant religion in the country and some other parts of the Asia.
The statement signed on Okogie’s behalf by the Lagos Archdiocesan Director of Social Communications, Very Rev. Monsignor Gabriel Osu, advised the law makers to quickly jettison the idea of legalizing cremation and instead concentrate on building more modern cemeteries to cater for the growing number of unclaimed corpses in the state hospitals.
Okogie’s statement read in part, “The issue of cremation is a very sensitive one because it bothers on our culture, tradition and religion. As Africans, it is against our culture and as Christians it is against our religious beliefs. In the Koran, the respect of the dead is very clear.
They do not allow the corpse to stay long, not to talk of cremation. We believe after life and the need to give the dead proper burial as prescribed in the Bible.
“I do not see any one who would want his corpse or that of loved ones cremated. Already you can see the response of Lagosians during the public hearing. Most of those who spoke are vehemently opposed to it. It is not acceptable at all. My advice is for the law makers to quickly jettison the idea and look for better ways of dealing with unclaimed corpses,”
He then urged the government to build more modern and affordable cemeteries in various parts of the state and rehabilitate the old ones that are already in very bad shapes or condition.
According to him, “It is only in Africa that we have no respect for the dead. Go to Atan and Ikoyi cemeteries, for instance, they have been over-taken by weeds. Security is another issue entirely.The dead deserves to rest in peace.”
While intimating his colleagues on the need to support the cremation bill, Avoseh said it addressed the pathetic state of public mortuaries and challenges being faced by health officials due to shortage of land for mass burial of unclaimed corpses.
Avoseh decried the present situation in which corpses were abandoned in mortuaries for several months, thereby stretching the capacity of the mortuaries to their limits.
He said: “During our visit to the mortuaries as a member of the ad-hoc committee, I was disturbed to see heaps of corpses that were not claimed by their relatives. So, Lagos should once again take the lead in the introduction of this legislation (cremation) in the country.”
Messi is the best player in the world, claims Brazil legend Ronaldo
Agencia Brasil
Brazil legend Ronaldo has claimed that there is 'no doubt' that Barcelona star Lionel Messi is the best player in the world.
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The 35-year-old enjoyed
stints at both Camp Nou, and at Real Madrid, and although he admits that
he remembers his time at the Bernabeu more fondly, he cannot help but
admire the Argentine.
"I am more a fan of Real Madrid," he told Marca. "But there is no doubt that Messi is the best player in the world."
The Brazilian went on to
praise Spain's footballing approach at Euro 2012, and commended his
former coach Vicente del Bosque on his use of the 'false nine' during La Roja's tournament victory.
"Football has been changing. I think Spain did a great job without a No.9. I know Del Bosque very well. I had him as a coach at Real Madrid, and he always played me as a pure No.9.
"It
depends on each game, the opponent and much more [as to what formation
you play]. I think the No.9 will always exist and will continue to
figure in the game."
Ronaldo
represented Barcelona betweet 1996 and 1997, and after a five-year
stint in Italy with Inter, returned to La Liga and made over 200
appearances for Los Blancos before leaving the club in 2007.
Man Jailed For Being Idle In Jos
A Chief Magistrates Court in Kasur-Nama area of Jos on Thursday sentenced a man identified as Abdulrazak Saidu to three months imprisonment for being idle.
Prosecutor Yahaya Adamu had told the court that Saidu, the 28 year old man who claimed he hailed from Jigawa, was found idling away and arrested in Mangu Local Government area on February 7, 2012.
The accused was first arraigned before the court on February 20 and he pleaded not guilty to the charge of idleness.
Adamu said the offence contravened Section 405 of the Penal Code Law.
“My Lord, we found him running around doing nothing in Mangu town and after he could not give any satisfactory account of himself, we arrested him and charged him to court,’’ Adamu said.
Saidu, trying to defend himself disclosed that he is a farmer but doesn’t possess any farm land, and he came to Plateau state to see an Islamic cleric.
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