Mercyvill

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President Goodluck Jonathan and the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party on Saturday refused to be part of the final rally organised by a pro-Jonathan group, the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria in Abuja. The rally, which was the last to be held by the group, was aimed at persuading the President to run for the 2015 presidential election. Political observers had thought that the President would use the opportunity to declare his intention to run, having been endorsed as the sole presidential candidate of the PDP.

Britons swearing allegiance to Islamic State could be prosecuted under the Treason Act of 1351, passed during the reign of English King Edward III. ...

Photo: ERproductions Ltd/Blend Images/Getty Images By Tamara Lush ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Step inside All Children’s Hospital and you’re greeted with three things: hand sanitizer, tissues and masks decorated with little cartoon Band-Aids with legs, feet and smiles. “Dirt Squirt Alert!” a sign says. “Stop the spread of germs that make you and others sick!” A sign at the check-in counter calls on people to immediately tell the triage nurse if anyone in the family has a cough, fever and/or runny nose and has been to the Middle East, part of a check for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. Now they ask another question to anyone with flu-like symptoms: Have you been to a country with an Ebola outbreak?

The talks were an opportunity for the EU, Ukraine and Russia to build trust Russia's president and EU leaders have said their talks on the Ukraine crisis - also including Ukraine's president - were positive but difficult. The EU leaders pressed Vladimir Putin to do more to end fighting in the east. The West says Russia is arming separatist rebels and sending troops to eastern Ukraine. Moscow denies this.

Magazine Monitor A collection of cultural artefacts After an online petition gained 65 signatures, Glastonbury has added Native American headdresses to the list of items traders cannot sell at the festival without "prior authorisation". Has the UK woken up to an issue that is controversial in the US, asks Luke Jones. Glastonbury organisers say that this instruction to their market traders is to ensure that sellers "reflect the values of the festival". It follows an online petition that called for the headdresses to be banned, saying the wearing of them by non-Native Americans is "disrespectful".

Download Flash Player now You need to install Flash Player to play this content. Barry Roux: "He is not only broke but he is broken" The sentencing hearing of Oscar Pistorius has heard that the South African athlete has no money left, as both sides' final arguments were made. Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide last month after shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last year, but was cleared of murder. Judge Thokozile Masipa is expected to deliver the sentence on Tuesday. There is no legal limit on the length of a jail term, but the prosecution has argued for a minimum of 10 years. Experts say the typical maximum sentence for the crime is around 15 years. Pistorius' defence team has argued for him to be given community service and house arrest, a suggestion the prosecution said would be "shockingly disproportionate".

Asia Bibi, mother of 5, convicted of insulting Prophet Mohammed in 2010 after argument with group of Muslim women who would not let her drink from same glass. Protesters holding a demonstration against blasphemy laws and for the release of Asia Bibi in Lahore, Pakistan, Nov. 21, 2010. Photo by AP A Pakistani court has upheld the death sentence of a Christian woman whose 2010 conviction for blasphemy led to the assassination of two politicians who supported her, a defense lawye...

Mark Lobel got a close-up look at the world's fastest ambulance with one of its drivers. This dazzling technology showcase in the desert is no oasis. It's part of a big "smart government" programme being developed by tech-hungry emirs and tech-savvy Emiratis. In a packed hall at Dubai's World Trade Centre, the Gulf's technology event of the year, Gitex, is taking place. This year, many of the innovations have been built to not only look good, but to do good. Much of this year's buzz surrounds a refitted sports car, the Lotus Evora, being dubbed the fastest ambulance on earth.

Large areas of Aleppo have been destroyed in the conflict in Syria Iraqi pilots who have joined Islamic State are training its members in Syria to fly three captured fighter jets, according to a UK-based activist group that monitors the conflict. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said witnesses had seen the planes being flown around a military airport in Aleppo. Meanwhile, Iraqi forces have launched an attack on IS militants near Tikrit. The city was among the areas in Syria and Iraq seized by IS this year.

As the outbreak continues to spread, the fear of catching the disease is rising. Experts are learning more about how to contain the virus that has infected around 7,500 people in West Africa. The race is on to stop this deadly disease that kills more than half of those it infects. Here's what is known.

The Danube delta, where the river flows into the Black Sea, is a magnet for birds - the lakes and marshes are host to more than 300 different species. But one bird has not been seen there for many years. "To the memory of the slender-billed curlew," says Dr Janos Botond Kiss, raising a beaker of ruby-tinted plum brandy, pressed from the fruits of his garden. Kiss is legendary in Romanian conservation, a man who knows the Danube delta as well as anyone alive, and he is drinking a farewell to another legend - one of the rarest birds in the world. The slender-billed curlew used to migrate from Siberian breeding grounds to wintering areas in the Mediterranean via the delta's archipelago of waters, marshes and sighing trees. Kiss saw it several times, but it does not come here now.

The 43 students were all training at a college in Ayotzinapa to become teachers The search continues in Mexico for 43 students who have been missing since 26 September following clashes with the police. Omar Garcia is one of the students who witnessed the deadly clashes in which six people died. Here he describes what he saw that evening and what he thinks may have happened to his 43 fellow students. We were coming from the centre of Iguala and the police started to follow us.

Kim Martin, Reeva Steenkamp's cousin: "Pistorius needs to pay for what he has done" South African athlete Oscar Pistorius should be given "sufficient punishment" for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, her cousin has told the sentencing hearing in Pretoria. Kim Martin said Pistorius, 27, "needs to pay for what he has done". He was convicted of culpable homicide last month but cleared of murder and faces up to 15 years in jail, but the judge may suspend it or impose a fine. Prisons chief Moleko Modise later said the athlete would be safe in prison.

Download Flash Player now You need to install Flash Player to play this content. "I wanted to challenge my fate," says Huang Nubo Knowing how to make an impression can be a useful skill in business. Chinese entrepreneur Huang Nubo certainly knows how to do that - before you have even met him. Billionaire Mr Huang is the chair and founder of property and leisure giant Beijing Zhongkun Investment Group, a firm he aims to make one of the world's biggest players in the leisure industry in the next few years. The first thing you notice when you enter his spacious office in Beijing is a vast tank, in which a shark is swimming up and down.

Download Flash Player now You need to install Flash Player to play this content. A Kurdish commander in Kobane has told the BBC's Kasra Naji she hopes the city will be liberated very soon, within the next few day The Islamic State (IS) militant group has been driven out of most of the northern Syrian town of Kobane, a Kurdish commander has told the BBC. Baharin Kandal said IS fighters had retreated from all areas, except for two pockets of resistance in the east. US-led air strikes have helped push back the militants, with another 14 conducted over the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the new UN human rights commissioner has called IS a "potentially genocidal" movement. Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein described the group as the antithesis of human rights. 'Tenuous' Speaking by phone, Kurdish commander Baharin Kandal told the BBC's Kasra Naji that she hoped the city would be "liberated s...

For the past two years China has been running a very public anti-corruption drive - but it's not just crooked officials who have ended up behind bars. One whistleblower found himself in prison when he exposed his boss. "A corruption tour? You want me to show you the worst parts of my town?" Not exactly, we tell our humble host. We want you to show us the places that have been affected by government corruption. He smiles and shakes his head. "It's going to be a long tour!" he jokes. Guangshan, the town where Sheng Xingyuan has spent his life, lies in the heart of China's central Henan province. Local corruption is a serious problem across China, but Henan is renowned for dirty, insider politics that benefit a select few.

Contrary to conventional advice, eating more of some fats may be good for our health, says Michael Mosley. It really is the sort of news that made me want to weep into my skinny cappuccino and then pour it down the sink. After years of being told, and telling others, that saturated fat clogs your arteries and makes you fat, there is now mounting evidence that eating some saturated fats may actually help you lose weight and be good for the heart. Earlier this year, for example, a systematic review, funded by the British Heart Foundation and with the rather dry title " Association of dietary, circulating and supplement fatty acids with coronary risk " caused a stir.

Pistorius would be "more vulnerable" than an able-bodied man in jail, a defence witness said Reeva Steenkamp's cousin has recounted her happy memories of their childhood together, and her pain at hearing that the South African model had been shot dead by boyfriend Oscar Pistorius. Kim Martin told Pistorius's sentencing her death was "the end of the world". She spoke of Reeva's parents' financial problems, and the fact that she had taken up modelling to support them. The BBC's Andrew Harding says this is the first time the court has heard about Reeva outside her relationship. Pistorius was found guilty of the culpable homicide of Ms Steenkamp last month, but was cleared of murder. He faces up to 15 years in jail, although the judge may suspend the sentence or impose a fine. Ms Martin was the first prosecution witness as they outlined their case for Pistorius t...

Download Flash Player now You need to install Flash Player to play this content. Rupert Wingfield-Hayes gets the view aboard the USS George Washington The US prefers to talk about engaging with China, but it is clear its navy is now also practising for a potential conflict, reports the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes. You don't get invited out on a US nuclear aircraft carrier all that often, and after writing this I might not get invited back for a while. On the flight deck of the USS George Washington the noise is like nothing I've ever experienced. A few feet from where I am standing, 11 F/A-18 Super Hornets are lining up to be launched. The first one is hooked on to the catapult; there is a massive crescendo as its engines roar to full re-heat. Then, in a cloud of white steam, the 15-tonne jet is thrown down the deck and off the end of the ship like a toy.

An ancient skull found in Australia suggests our ancestors modified their skulls. Some people still do it today, but why? It doesn't take a degree in human anatomy to realise that there is something unusual about the Cohuna skull. With its flat, sloping forehead and prominent brow ridge, it looks distinctly primitive. For decades, the prehistoric Cohuna skull and others like it have occupied a central and contentious role in answering one of the most important questions in human evolutionary studies: where did our species, Homo sapiens , come from?

CDC asking all 132 passengers to call and be interviewed . A decontamination team enters the apartment of a second Dallas nurse infected with Ebola. (Dallas Police Depar … DALLAS – A second nurse who treated Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan has been diagnosed with the deadly disease a day after flying from Ohio to Texas, officials said. The nurse, identifed by her family as Amber Joy Vinson, 29, reported a fever on Tuesday and was immediately isolated at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, officials said. Federal health officials said she is ill and will soon be transferred to a biocontainment unit at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. The CDC said Vinson was not experiencing symptoms at the time of her flight, but is asking all 132 passengers on Frontier Airlines Flight 1143 from Cleveland to Dallas-Fort Worth which landed at 8:16 p.m. Monday to call 1-800-CDC-INFO.

Chen Guangbiao is a very rich man, worth by his own estimate, more than a billion dollars. In modern day China though, there's nothing unique about that. But Mr Chen owes his fame not to what he has, but to what he's given away. The walls of his office are plastered with certificates that record his charitable donations over the years, many of them documenting multiple millions of Chinese yuan. They suggest a decade or more of unbounded largesse, showered on schools, hospitals, orphanages and victims of floods, typhoons and earthquakes. His motivation, he tells me, is simple.

Khaled Almaeena Friday’s announcement that the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan and Kailash Satyarthi of India was not a surprise to many. At 17, Ms. Yousafzai is the youngest recipient of the prize since they were first awarded in 1901. Malala was acknowledged for helping to promote universal education for children. This is the same Malala who at the age of 14 was shot in the head by Taliban extremists while on her way to school. She had defied their rigid edict of banning education for girls and was walking with her face uncovered when she was shot by criminal elements of the terrorist group.

Maria Dubovikova The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is an exogenous player in the international system that shakes the whole world. Terrorism, as a phenomenon is not new at all, but for the first time in the history of mankind it poses a true, tangible, global and even geopolitical threat much more evident and notable than that of al-Qaeda. ISIS is more than just a terrorist organization with a nebulous structure and numerous cells abroad.  It is an army without a state, but is willing to build one. ISIS is a terrorist army and this sounds somehow new, doesn’t it? The war we are facing now is a total one judging by its goals, as among the ISIS targets there are civilians. What is more dangerous is that by its character ISIS’s war on the international community is a  guerilla, subversive and terrorist war.

Dr. Halla Diyab This article is the last in a three-part series exploring the erosion of the 2011 Syrian uprising. In almost all the videos posted from Syria, most rebel fighters are bearded, shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) every time they kill a regime soldier or target a military base. Female international reporters would appear veiled when reporting from rebel-held areas. The international community still views them as moderates. When Aleppo was controlled by rebels in 2013, the Washington Post reported that they cooperated with al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra to operate a sharia council and impose Islamic law on one of the most diverse cities in Syria. Similar cooperation took place in rebel-held areas along the Euphrates river, and in Raqqah and Deir al-Zour. This makes it very difficult to distinguish moderate rebels from extremists.

You won't get Champagne when you try on dresses, despite what rom coms would have you believe. 1. The part where you gaze longingly at cocktails in mason jars on Pinterest and decide what your wedding "look" will be really only lasts five minutes. Most of your time is spent researching and interviewing vendors, reviewing contracts, writing checks, and trying to get through the never-ending next items on your to-do list. 2. The longer you plan the longer you, well, plan. If you book your venue 15 months in advance thinking you can get around to the rest of the planning in eight months, you are wrong! As soon as you start planning, expect to be planning until it's all done. So, if you don't actually want to spend a year or more planning, don't start until you're ready to just full-on go for it and totally wedding-up your schedule.

Photos to be displayed at U.S. Holocaust Museum are 'smoking gun' evidence of war crimes, State Department official tells Yahoo News The State Department has obtained 27,000 photographs showing the emaciated, bruised and burned bodies of Syrian torture victims — gruesome images that a top official told Yahoo News constitute "smoking gun" evidence that can be used to bring war-crimes charges against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The photos are "horrific — some of them put you in visceral pain," said Stephen J. Rapp, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes, in an interview. "This is some of the strongest evidence we've seen in the area of proof of the commission of mass atrocities."

Public-health authorities are monitoring Dallas hospital workers who cared for a Liberian man who died of Ebola. Their stepped-up efforts come after 26-year-old nurse Nina Pham tested positive for the virus. (AP) In late July, when it looked like Dr. Kent Brantly wasn’t going to make it, a small  news item escaped Liberia. It spoke of Brantly’s treatment – not of the Ebola vaccine, Zmapp, which Brantly later got. But of a blood transfusion. He had “received a unit of blood from a 14-year-old boy who had survived Ebola because of Dr. Brantly’s care,” the missive said . Now months later, Brantly, who has since recovered from his battle with the virus, has passed on the favor. A 26-year-old Dallas nurse named Nina Pham, who contracted the illness while treating the United State’s first Ebola patient, has received Brantly’s blood. It’s not the first time  it has been used to treat Ebola patients. Recovered Ebola victim...

Play Scientists are baffled by two new craters that have been discovered in Siberia. Could it be the collapse of permafrost, or the work of aliens? on.aol.com Scientists believe they now have figured out exactly how those massive craters discovered in Siberia earlier this year were created. And as The Siberian Times reported Oct. 10, the holes may very well be linked to one of the world's most intriguing mystery locations -- the Bermuda Triangle . The three craters were discovered this past summer in the Yamal, which translates to the exotic-sounding " End of the world ," and Tamyr peninsulas, with two being found in the former. The findings prompted a firestorm of speculation in the scientific community and on the internet. Theories of the Siberia craters' origin ranged from underground gas explosions to meteor impacts to UFOs.

Skeptic CEO offers shocking theory. Play The underwater search has resumed for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 — six months after the airliner went missing. Find out what the plan is now. on.aol.com It's been seven months since Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 simply vanished like Amelia Earhart's plane did over the Pacific Ocean in 1937. The latest official news update suggests Flight 370 made a left turn before spiraling into the Indian Ocean. However, one airline CEO is not convinced. Emirates Airlines' Sir Tim Clarke stops short in alleging a cover up in the planes disappearance, and offers this shocking theory: Malaysia Flight MH370 was not on autopilot and was likely under control of the pilot until the very end. A crew member looks out an observation window aboard a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3 Orion maratime search aircraft as it flies over the southern Indian Ocean looking for ...

Long, short, tamed or wild - beards have taken a multitude of forms throughout the years. Despite their long and turbulent history, beards are more popular than at any other time in living memory. Xtopher Grey, pictured, is a prominent competitive beard grower. The World Beard and Mustache Championships will take place in Potland, Oregon on October 25 Interest in bearding is on the rise, with 300 "bearders" expected to compete at this year's competition (CNN) -- When it comes to facial hair, there are few more passionate advocates than Phil Olsen. As the "founder and self-appointed captain" of Beard Team USA, he was responsible for bringing the sport of competitive bearding to the United States in 2003. Since then, things have, well, grown. "It really is quite amazing," Olsen tells ...

Iris Grace Halmshaw is a five-year-old autistic girl who is unable to speak due to her condition. She is, however, able to communicate through the medium of art. She has autism and is unable to speak, but paints for hours at a time Demand for her paintings is rocketing around the world Original artworks sell for thousands of dollars (CNN) -- At first glance, they could almost pass for masterpieces by Monet or Renoir. But these impressionist-style paintings -- which are changing hands for thousands of dollars -- were painted by a five-year-old girl who is unable to speak. Meet Iris Halmshaw, an autistic child from Leicestershire, UK, who has been producing these striking artworks since she was three.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS In an online magazine, the terror group says it is legitimate under Islamic law The Muslim world at large repudiates that interpretation as a perversion of Islam (CNN) -- In a new publication, ISIS justifies its kidnapping of women as sex slaves citing Islamic theology, an interpretation that is rejected by the Muslim world at large as a perversion of Islam. "One should remember that enslaving the families of the kuffar -- the infidels -- and taking their women as concubines is a firmly established aspect of the Shariah, or Islamic law," the group says in an online magazine published Sunday. The title of the article sums up the ISIS point of view: "The revival (of) slavery before the Hour," referring to Judgment Day.

"Most people in Liberia do not believe the virus is real" The Ebola epidemic threatens the "very survival" of societies and could lead to failed states, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned. The outbreak, which has killed some 4,000 people in West Africa, has led to a "crisis for international peace and security", WHO head Margaret Chan said. She also warned of the cost of panic "spreading faster than the virus". Meanwhile, medics have largely ignored a strike call in Liberia, the centre of the deadliest-ever Ebola outbreak.

Globalization and interconnected nature of today's society means that it is now easier than ever to access literature across borders. More and more contemporary African writers like Taiye Selasi, NoViolet Bulawayo and others are now being celebrated on the global literary stage. Global interest in African writing has increased in recent years Writers from the continent have become sought after in the publishing world Local content producers and independent publishers have helped the scene to develop (CNN) -- Take a moment and think of an African author. Have you got the name in mind? Keep it there for a minute. In years gone by, chances are cultural icons like Nigerian literary giant Chinua Achebe or South African Nobel laureate Nadine Gordimer might have popped straight into your head. But lately new names from across the continent are becoming part of popular literary consciousness. "Purple Hibiscus,...

Ojeikere was a Nigerian photographer who passed away in February Throughout his life, he took thousands of pictures cataloging the changing times of his nation Monograph from Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos will showcase the work African Voices is a weekly show that highlights Africa's most engaging personalities, exploring the lives and passions of people who rarely open themselves up to the camera. Follow the team on Twitter. (CNN) -- A young woman stands against a crisp black backdrop. The photographer walks forward and gently turns her away from the camera. Today the focus is not on her face but on the delicate architectural feat that sits atop her head. It seems to almost defy gravity, with light radiating from the hair tower as it spirals upwards in a conical shape.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS Married for a year, Brittany Maynard, 29, found she had aggressive brain cancer She had six months to live, and she didn't want her family to watch her dying in pain Maynard and her family moved to Oregon to take advantage of the Death with Dignity law She says nobody has the right to take away the option from someone who is terminally ill (CNN) -- On New Year's Day, after months of suffering from debilitating headaches, I learned that I had brain cancer. I was 29 years old. I'd been married for just over a year. My husband and I were trying for a family.

. Bishop David Oyedepo (C), founder of the Living Faith Church, also known as the Winners' Chapel, … By Tim Cocks OTA Nigeria (Reuters) - When a guesthouse belonging to one of Nigeria's leading Christian pastors collapsed last month, killing 115 mostly South African pilgrims, attention focussed on the multimillion-dollar "megachurches" that form a huge, untaxed sector of Africa's top economy. Hundreds of millions of dollars change hands each year in these popular Pentecostal houses of worship, which are modelled ...