Jerry Douglas' Blog

Blaise Compaore (Burkina Faso)  Blaise Compaore came to power in 1987; following a coup which saw former president and close Compaore ally Thomas Sankara murdered. Compaore has described the murder as an accident, but the true events remain a mystery due to a lack of investigation. He overturned many of his predecessor’s policies, and went on to win elections in 1998, 2005 and 2010. Under his rule Burkina Faso has been accused of violence against journalists and members of civil society. Compaore is said to be in the process of redrafting the constitution in order to remain in power beyond the end of his term in 2015. Francois Bozize (Central African Republic) Francois Bozize Yangouvonda came to power as the President of the Central African Republic after he led a successful coup against former president Ange-Felix Patasse. He seized power, redrafted the constitution and held elections which, after a runoff, he won. Bozize was re-elected in 2011. A 2009 report

Paris St Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic believes Wayne Rooney should join the French club if he decides it is time to leave Manchester United. United are adamant that Rooney is not for sale, and plan to offer him a new contract, while PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi insists there has been no approach for the England international. However Sweden international Ibrahimovic claims PSG would be the obvious choice of club if the 27-year-old ever departs Old Trafford. Ibrahimovic said of Rooney: "If he wants to be part of the best project in football then there is only one club to sign for. "Only he knows the decision he is going to make in the summer but the project we are trying to build here is clear. "We are not content with being the dominant force in France, we want to be the top club in Europe as well. "I can understand why the owners are interested in Rooney - he is in the top 10 of strikers in Europe. Source:  sky sports

Well, they have, if you believe the reports from Celebrity blog, MediaTakeOut.. MediaTakeOut.com just got word this morning that a MAJOR news publication will SHORTLY be reporting that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have SPLIT!!! According to our snitch, the pub reportedly has a HIGH LEVEL snitch who is saying that the pair has AGREED to split - but are not going to announce ANYTHING until after this season of Kourtney and Kim Take Miami, and AFTER the Kanye's album release this summer. The word is that the couple is SCARED of all the bad press that they'd receive if they SPLIT SO SOON. As for the "baby" ..we'll see what happens. True? False? Guess we'd just have to wait and see. Source:  MediaTakeOut

The Hisba Board of the northern state of Kano has discovered 20 HIV positive and five pregnant among the 1,000 women to be married in the third batch of mass wedding on Sunday. The Commander General of the board, Sheik Aminu Daurawa, disclosed this in an interview. He said the affected women were detected during the medical screening conducted on the prospective brides by the board across the 44 local government areas of the state. Aminu said that 20 prospective couples were also found to be HIV positive during the mandatory medical check-ups. He said that each of the 44 councils would hold the wedding prayer session for 21 couples while the session for the remaining 76 couples would be conducted in the state capital. The commander general said the board had set aside N10 million to be paid as dowries to the brides in addition to providing other essential items for the couples. Aminu said that the renowned Kano-based businessman, Alhaji Isiyaka Rabi’u and the Governor

Indications emerged last night that President Goodluck Jonathan may have resolved to declare amnesty for the Boko Haram sect. This was the outcome of a meeting between the president and the leadership of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) at the presidential villa, Abuja. This is even as Jonathan has summoned a security meeting with chiefs in the country, which will be held today at the presidential villa. Jonathan also used the occasion to deny ever ruling out amnesty for the sect. The president is expected to set up an amnesty commission to fine- tune details of clemency to the sect members. Former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Prof Ango Abdullahi, told State House Correspondents after the meeting which ended at about11:30pm that the president’s response to the call for amnesty at the meeting, which is sequel to the one held between the president and the NEF in May last year, was positive and that he assured the NEF delegation that the amnesty for t

Shock and outrage have greeted Tuesday's accidental airing of the death hoax of revered South African former president, Nelson Mandela, fondly called Madiba. The Universal Channel (shown on DStv channel 117) had aired a programme 'Remembering Nelson Mandela', apparently from an already prepared file on the global icon. The channel on MultiChoice's DStv pay-TV cable network platform had accidentally aired the obituary to its millions of viewers who took to the social networks to express their shock and grief. Mandela's health had relapsed last week following infection of his lung. But latest reports from the hospital indicates that his condition is improving. But realising its gaffe, the cable network has expressed its dismay at the technical error, noting that it was a glitch and not intentional as claimed in some quarters. It tendered apology. The statement released by the Universal Networks International which programmes the Universal Channel on DStv