APC Gives Fsyose A Comprehensive Tongue-lashing

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose Photo credits: punchng.com

APC Gives Fsyose A Comprehensive Tongue-lashing

The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has condemned Governor Ayodele Fayose for tagging as a liar, its Presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari.

The party was reacting to media reports where Fayose castigated Buhari as not competent to contest election.

The State Publicity Secretary of the party, Taiwo Olatubosun on Tuesday, March 10, said Fayose's action gave him away as an unconscionable character who ought to hide his head in shame over his sundry activities that marked him out as a tragedy on the question of integrity stating that he is not competent to question any Nigerian over issues relating to integrity.

"Buhari told Nigerians about his educational qualification and reasons for visiting London. Except Fayose who said he saw Buhari in a London hospital, other people saw him at a private home and Chatham House where he delivered a public lecture. Lying is a question of integrity; a liar does not have integrity. Lying leads to deceit, stealing, conspiracy, murder and other vices. "

"While Buhari has never and would never be associated with any of these vices in both private and public life, same cannot be said of Fayose who goes about with chains of alleged criminalities tied around his neck. It is amusing that a man once convicted of lying at the Ekiti State High Court would be the one accusing the innocent of lying."

"The latest in his lies is the denial of his involvement in the criminal conspiracy with his link in the Ekiti poll fraud as his voice was heard on how he collected INEC soft copies he printed to fraudulently win June 21, 2014 governorship election," Olatubosun said.

"While describing Fayose as a rare breed in brigandage with no sense of shame, Olatubosun said Fayose had baggage of alleged crimes on his neck from which he had not exonerated himself advising him to start thinking of how to plan a life after paying for his alleged crimes, noting that Buhari's presidency was a reality that could not be stopped by Fayose's frustrating tantrums."

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Maiduguri explosion 34 killed, 42 injured

Maiduguri explosion 34 killed, 42 injured

ANOTHER bomb went off yesterday in Maiduguri, the troubled Borno State capital.

The explosion occurred as residents were struggling to free themselves from the hangover of last weekend's multiple bombings.

The scene of yesterday's blast is the famous Monday Market where no fewer than 34 people died and 42 others injured.

A commercial driver who dropped passengers just before the El-Kanami Roundabout near the market, Hamisu, said: "I was in my car (a Volkswagen Golf), dropping three passengers that I picked from Gomari straight to Kasuwa through the Post Office peacefully and smoothly.

Maiduguri explosion 34 killed, 42 injured

ANOTHER bomb went off yesterday in Maiduguri, the troubled Borno State capital.

The explosion occurred as residents were struggling to free themselves from the hangover of last weekend's multiple bombings.

The scene of yesterday's blast is the famous Monday Market where no fewer than 34 people died and 42 others injured.

A commercial driver who dropped passengers just before the El-Kanami Roundabout near the market, Hamisu, said: "I was in my car (a Volkswagen Golf), dropping three passengers that I picked from Gomari straight to Kasuwa through the Post Office peacefully and smoothly. When the last passenger was alighting from the car, I heard a heavy, strange sound that shook everywhere and everything around."

He went on: "Immediately we saw heavy black smoke opposite us at the small entrance of the Monday Market near the El Kanemi Roundabout by the Mai Nono(fresh cow milk) place where these Fulani women sell nono, fresh cow milk around 4.47 pm

"I was terribly scared and could not even move an inch from my car, shivering for some minutes before I started my car and drove away.

"When I took the other way out of the scene, I saw soldiers and civilian JTF rushing to the scene. People were running up and down, confused and terrified. Some were pushing others down – all out of confusion and fear.

Mustapha Idi, a civilian JTF member, described the attack as "deadly and terrible"

He said: "We have so far been able to carry about 30 bodies to the hospital and over 30 seriously injured people, apart from those who ran away from the scene, wounded and those that went to the hospital on their own."

A hospital source said: We have 34 deaths and 42 wounded people. The ambulance vans are coming."

PDP govs meet in Lagos, plot Buhari’s fall

PDP govs meet in Lagos, plot Buhari’s fall

The Peoples Democratic Party Governorship Forum (PDPGF) met in Lagos yesterday to sell the candidature of President Goodluck Jonathan to Nigerians. They harped on the need that the President’s opponent, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congresss (APC) is too old to withstand the rigours of office.

One of the governors confided in Daily Sun that they had met on Monday and decided to intimate the media and Civil Society Organisations that President Jonathan should be given a second term in view of his transformation policies.

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Bess Myerson once wrote that “to fall in love is awfully simple, but to fall out of love is simply awful.” Especially if you are the one who wanted the relationship to last. Mending a broken heart is never easy. There is no quick way to stop your heart from hurting so much. To stop loving isn’t an option. Author Henri Nouwen writes, “When those you love deeply reject you, leave you, or die, your heart will be broken. But that should not hold you back from loving deeply. The pain that

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Yesterday's Apple Watch presentation was an exercise in empty spectacle: A big old show by a company that had nothing to say. The Apple Watch isn't all that impressive . Definitely not compared to the rumors of an omni-present life-pal that loomed so large before its release. It may get there eventually, but it

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MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, March 10 (Reuters) - Suspected Boko Haram militants attacked the town of Ngamdu in Nigeria's northeast Borno state early on Tuesday, killing about a dozen people, witnesses and a security source said.

The town, which has been hit several times by militants, lies on the border of Borno and Yobe states. Borno is the heartland of Boko Haram's six-year insurgency, which aims to carve out an Islamic state.

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Military sources in Nigeria say their ground forces are starting to reclaim areas seized by Boko Haram militants.

In the past months, the Islamist group has taken control of Nigerian towns and military bases in the northeast, but the army says normalcy has now been restored to some regions.

Lieutenant Colonel Asuqou Eka, the Commanding Officer of the Nigerian troops, made the announcement.

“We have claimed all captured territories,” he said. “As we are speaking, Madagali is the only local government which is yet to be recovered, so normalcy has been restored.”

A multinational force has been mobilised to help Nigeria defeat Boko Haram. In recent days, thousands of troops have crossed the country’s northern and eastern borders with the aim of taking back key towns.

Some 8,700 soldiers have been deployed from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin.

Military sources from Niger and Chad said 15 soldiers from the five-nation coalition died in a joint offensive over the weekend of March 7-8, 2015.

A second Niger military source claimed 300 Boko Haram fighters had been killed in the same operations, although there is no official confirmation of the death toll.

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Krissy O is set to debut in the Nigerian music scene. (SAP)

2nd Runner-up at the MTN Project Fame Season 7, Christian Kwabena Amoah, aka, Krissy O is set to make his debut in the Nigerian music scene with two brand new singles.

The singles are titled 'Bum Shorts' and 'Jogodo'.

The budding Ghanaian artiste, at an album launch recently held at the Xovar Lounge in Lekki, Lagos, revealed his plans to compete effectively and carve a niiche in the music industry with the new joints.

Krissy O, who had the fortune of being inducted into the Hall of Fame of MTN Project Fame as the best dancer and performer of all time, was full of gratitude to God with the way his career has blossomed within a short time.

"I am really grateful to God with the way things have turned out for me and to be where I am today. In fact, it is an amazing feeling and I don't know how to describe it. It is a testimony that God has destined me for greatness. So, all my fans out there should watch out for me.'"

On his future plans in his career, he said: "I will like to feature in a song with 2Face, Wizkid, Patoranking, Tiwa Savage, among others, because I regard them as trail blazers."

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Jonathan, Mu’azu fight over Buhari

Abuja - The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party is currently enmeshed in a fresh crisis, reports The Nation.

The fresh crisis borders on the verbal attacks on the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari and some of the North’s prominent politicians by the PDP’s presidential campaign organisation’s and First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan.

The Northern leaders in the PDP were said to have taken exception to comments credited to the First Lady, where she made reference to people from North as people who breed more children than they can cater for.

They are also miffed with the First Lady for referring to Buhari as being “brain dead”.

The Northern leaders are not happy with the President for not coming out to condemn and caution his wife.

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You want to be entertained? Look out for where Senator Ibikunle Amosun is speaking on state and national issues. No doubt you would hear a lot about him too. His humour has no bounds. It could crack your ribs. Journalists had so much of him Tuesday in Government House, Abeokuta where he spoke on the projects of his government, the forthcoming elections and critics of his administration in Ogun State where he holds sway as governor.

His opening remarks were spiced with humour, taunting his

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I'm Not Sick - Buhari

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday denied rumours of his ill- health, saying they were unfounded and that he was physically and mentally fit.

Mr. Buhari made the comments as he returned to Nigeria from the United Kingdom where he spent about two weeks.

Solar-powered plane takes off for flight around the world

A handout picture released by the Solar Impulse project shows the solar-powered plane Solar Impulse 2 flying over the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi on February 26, 2015. (AFP photo)

ABU DHABI: A Swiss solar-powered plane took off from Abu Dhabi early Monday, marking the start of the first attempt to fly around the world without a drop of fuel. Solar Impulse founder Andre Borschberg was at the controls of the single-seater when it took off from the Al Bateen Executive Airport. Borschberg will trade off piloting with Solar Impulse co-founder Bertrand Piccard during stop-overs. The Swiss pilots say their aim is to create awareness about replacing "old polluting technologies with clean and efficient technologies.''

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NEW DELHI: The Solar Impulse, world's first solar powered aircraft that took off from Abu Dhabi on Monday morning, is expected to reach Ahmedabad on Tuesday. The aircraft, which is on its historic around- the-world-in-a-solar airplane-flight, will stay in Ahmedabad for four days. Subsequently, the aircraft will make a stop in Varanasi before flying out of India to Myanmar.

"While in Ahmedabad, several events are planned on the theme of renewable energy and sustainable development", said a Switzerland Embassy press statement. Switzerland, that has ranked first for the fourth consecutive year on the global innovative index, is home to this cutting edge innovation. The Solar Impulse, which is aimed to show power of clean energy, is being supported by the Swiss government.

Popular SA rapper killed: report

Hip Hop artist Nkululeko Habedi, best known to his fans as Flabba, has died Photo: Facebook / FlabbaSA (Credit: Facebook / FlabbaSA)


The rapper, whose real name is Nkululeko Habedi, was murdered on Sunday night, according to eNCA. He was allegedly stabbed to death.

The star was 38 years old.

Siyabonga "Slikour" Metane, Habedi's fellow group member and friend, confirmed the death to the news channel saying, "I just got a call from his family. I will be on my way to his family's home."

Utah baby survives car crash after 14 hours in freezing river

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A spokesman said a fisherman discovered the car on its roof at about 12.30pm on Saturday in the Spanish Fork River in Spanish Fork near Provo in Utah.

A baby survived a car crash in a freezing Utah river after being strapped in a car seat upside-down for about 14 hours before being found by a fisherman.

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A middle-aged man, Elijah Agbo from Imilike Agu village in Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State, has been murdered in cold blood.

The act, THISDAY learnt, was allegedly perpetrated by his wife, Grace Agbo. The accused was believed to have hit her husband on the head with a heavy object while he

Missing N30 Trillion - We Have Cases Against APC Too, Serap Replies Okonjo-Iweala

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) has urged Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala to embrace constructive engagement on issues of human rights, transparency and accountability, and to avoid sound bite and opportunistic attacks on civil society organizations.

Executive Director of the Project Adetokunbo Mumuni said this in a statement reacting to the Minister's allegation that SERAP's court case against her was sponsored by the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

Bomb Blasts: Gov Shettima Terminates Campaign

MAIDUGURI – Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State has terminated his ongoing political campaigns to the Southern part of the state following multiple bomb blasts in Maiduguri, the State capital. The termination is contained in a statement issued in Maiduguri yesterday by his Special Adviser on Communications, Mr. Isa Gusau. According to the statement, the governor decided to call off the campaign tour in southern part of the state sequel to the bomb explosions which affected parts of Maiduguri.

Account For Your Role In Killing Of 300 Igbo People In 1969, Fani-Kayode Tells Buhari

Director of Media of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation (PDPPCO), Chief Femi Fani- Kayode, has asked the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) to account for his role in January 29, 1969 coup d 'etat, during which about 300 Igbo people were slaughtered.

Fani-Kayode made the demand during a press conference he addressed in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, where he called on

Where Is Muhammadu Buhari?

Yes, indeed. That is the question. Where is the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC)? The man left Nigeria in mysterious circumstances sometime between February 15 and 19. His manner of disappearing raised eyebrows across the country, for he suddenly melted into ether.

To divert the attention of the curious, his handlers posted numerous false <!--more-->pictures on the Internet and planted same in national newspapers. There, suddenly, was Muhammadu Buhari, confidently emerging from airport formalities at either Heathrow or Gatwick! There, suddenly, was a relaxed Buhari in some well-appointed London studio, granting a press interview.

It didn't take a century for the pack of lies to crumble. It turned out the pictures released of Buhari by his handlers were of the man on a UK visit in 2013. It turned out that the Buhari interview was years old, and had been conducted not anywhere in Europe but inside an Abuja Transcorp Hilton suite. Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose personally visited the suite and demonstrated beyond every iota of doubt that it was the venue of the so-called interview the APC claimed its presidential candidate had granted in London. Eagle- eyed journalists supported Fayose's findings by detailing features of the interview picture that pinned its origin to the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

Why did the APC have to dish out these lies? Why is it that, upon the unraveling of the APC's web of falsehoods, the party decided against tendering an unreserved apology for misleading the Nigerian electorate? The answer lies in the fact that the APC has something to hide, despite its claims to transparency. But it went about the hiding project in an amateur way. The party said Buhari was in London on a "brief working visit"! But his itinerary was unpublished and unknown. Reacting to the consternation caused by this development, the APC said Buhari was in London to deliver a lecture at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, otherwise known as Chatham House, the name of the building in which it is situated.

This raised two questions. Buhari dreams of becoming the President of Nigeria. In that respect, he should be addressing Nigerians, and he could be doing so at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in Victoria Island, Lagos. Instead, he flew 6,275kilometres to talk to white folks and a handful of Nigerians none of whom has the vote. The lies continued to rear their ugly heads. A check at the list of impending Chatham House engagements showed that Buhari's name was not there. The Chatham House talk was, after all, an afterthought. The APC wangled an emergency slot for Buhari at Chatham House, an institute seemingly overcome with the obsession of packaging Buhari for the international community.

After his speech at Chatham House, Buhari granted an interview to Channels TV in which he said that, following his campaign tour of 35 Nigerian state capitals, he needed to leave all the hoopla and cavalcade behind and flee to London, to grab a rest! Isn't there a place in Buhari's entire hometown of Daura for him to retire and recover from his punishing campaign schedule?

Another question: what kind of president will this man make who requires a mandatory escape to England after every month, to clutch at rest? Compare him to President Goodluck Jonathan who has, through the past five years, been directing the affairs of Nigeria, without as much as taking a full annual leave. Yet another question: Would it have been inappropriate for Buhari to admit that the "peeling was from the Iroko's trunk"? if he got exhausted because he went political brain storming, would it have been out of place if the 72- year-old politician acknowledged that he was in Britain primarily to have his pulse taken, his organs examined and his vital signs medically assessed and documented for likely emergencies?

That is the crux of the matter. Buhari needs to come clean on his health status. Not because he is a retired major general. Not because he has left more questions than answers on too many aspects of his controversial past. But because he desires to be President. A politician with intent to lead Nigeria should let Nigerians into the entire picture of his circumstances, in order that they can make informed decisions on his suitability or otherwise for the highest office in the country.

Some opposition politicians have listed all sorts of medical conditions they say are indicative of the man's ineligibility for the presidency. The taste of the pudding, as they say, is in the eating. But, rather than disprove the allegations of poor health against Buhari, his handlers are charging that his opponents wish him dead. This charge holds no water because wishes are no assassins. Were wishes murderers, Nigeria would since have been severely depopulated. Nigerians hold overwhelmingly to the attitude that life belongs only and strictly to God who gives it or takes it as He pleases.

The presidency is a most tasking job. As Chief of Staff in a state government not very long ago, I recall that we reported for work daily at 7am, and hardly closed for the day before 10pm. Still, the governor was liable to phone you at midnight or at 3am, to ask for information, a speech or an explanation, if not your physical presence. And there was the daily manifest, and all the travel and other functions it entailed.

If Buhari required to go abroad for medical attention because he toured 35 states over one month while flying in the comfort of a private jet, how does the man expect to shoulder the exigencies and extreme pressures of presiding over Nigeria, an entity far in excess of any of its component parts in terms of size, complexity, peculiarities, population and international imperatives?

Muhammadu Buhari's "brief working visit" is stretching into one month, during which period he has missed all but one (Chatham House) of the appointments keyed against his name. Like a hermit, he remains strangely incommunicado. Not even Mutesa II, the Kabaka of Buganda, was in this severe form of isolation and seclusion during his London exile in the 1960s.

During the presidential campaigns of 2007, Nigeria,at a stage, suffered the fait accompli of PDP candidate Umaru Musa Yar'Adua being hospitalized in Germany, while his supporters, led by a certain Matthew Olusegun Obasanjo, insisted that he was in robust health. For seemingly endless months in 2010, Nigeria endured the dangerous precedent of presidential power vacuum as Yar'Adua went through death throes in a Saudi Arabian hospital, while his handlers claimed that he was as medically and physically fit as an Olympic sprinter.

Nigeria is again at the epicentre of another explosive political scandal. For nearly a month now, Buhari, the presidential candidate of the APC, has been away from the shores of Nigeria, with his fellow countrymen and women at a loss as to the true circumstances of his self-inflicted exile. The leadership of the APC owes the country a moral and political obligation to answer this straightforward question: Where is Muhammadu Buhari?

Airport Cleaner Who Returned Forgotten N12 Million

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Her face is now known the world over for something positive. She attained celebrity status because of her honesty.

While on duty at the Airport, she

US missionary kidnapped in Nigeria freed

LOKOJA - An American woman kidnapped by masked gunmen in central Nigeria last month was released and handed over to US government officials, police told AFP.

Phyllis Sortor, a missionary with the Free Methodist Church, was seized on February 23 in the village of Emiworo in Kogi state. 'She has been

Ex-CJN, Justice Dahiru Mustapha’s Mother Passes On At 100

The mother of former chief justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Dahiru Mustapha, Hajiya Dije Mustapha has died at the age of 100.

She died yesterday at a hospital in Abuja after a brief illness.

Hajiya Dije left behind the former CJN and three grandchildren.

Hajiya Dije was buried yesterday at Babura Gabas Cemetery in Babura local government of Jigawa State according to Islamic injunction.

The dignitaries that attended her burial were the minister of foreign affairs, Amb Aminu Wali, Emir of Ringim, His Highness Sayyadi Mahmud, Walin Kano, Mahe Bashir Wali, secretary to Jigawa State government, Lawan Audu among others.

Patience Jonathan To Face ICC – DID SHE COMMIT ANY CRIME?

Dame Patience Jonathan

The presidential campaign organisation of the All Progressives Congress has reported the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, to the International Criminal Court.

Two weeks ago, Patience had, while campaigning for her husband in Calabar,

Buhari’s Wife Message To Nigeria Women

WIFE of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Mrs. Aisha Buhari,


WIFE of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, on Sunday said a vote for her husband, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) and the APC was the only sure way of empowering the Nigerian woman.

Mrs. Buhari said this at an event to mark the International Women's Day. The event was held at the APC presidential campaign office, in Abuja.

Buhari's wife, who was represented by the wife of the Nasarawa State Governor, Hajiya Mairo Al-Makura, said the manifesto of the APC already had a detailed plan on how to strengthen the Nigerian woman to contribute meaningfully to national development.

She explained that the APC was conversant with the challenges facing women, especially in the area of healthcare and access to resources needed to better their lot and that of the vulnerable in society.

She said, "The theme of this year's International Women's Day, which revolves around empowering women is already incorporated into the APC manifesto.

I am sure the Buhari/(Prof. Yemi) Osinbajo ticket will implement every aspect of the document, especially as it affects women."

She implored Nigerians to vote for change while asking the womenfolk not to relent in their mobilisation efforts towards the March 28 presidential poll.

In her remarks at the occasion, the National Woman Leader of the APC, Hajiya Ramatu Aliyu, said that "women in the APC, like most Nigerians, were tired of the incompetence of the current administration."

She said, "When you have somebody who is not capable, who is not competent, who is just not there, trying to denigrate who is just ahead, she might not know. A brain dead man will not be walking; we need to get the definition of a brain dead man.

"If any person will call our able, competent General as brain dead; as articulate as our candidate, a man of integrity, of proven stance against corruption, against inequality and everything unconstitutional as brain dead, I wonder how we are going to describe perpetrators of such acts. Just fill in the blanks."

Also, wife of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Fati, described the International Women's Day as a day for women to celebrate one another.

She also urged women to come out in their numbers to vote for the APC to ensure that the party forms the government at all levels.

The event attracted APC women leaders from different states of the federation. It also featured various traditional dance groups who entertained guests.

Sent from my HTC Touch Pro2 on the Now Network from Sprint®.

Sent from my HTC Touch Pro2 on the Now Network from Sprint®.

Shocking Decision at Sweet Briar

S weet Briar College announced Tuesday that it is shutting down at the end of this academic year.

Small colleges close or merge from time to time, more frequently since the economic downturn started in 2008. But the move is unusual in that Sweet Briar still has a meaningful endowment, regional accreditation and some well-respected programs. But college officials said that the trend lines were too unfavorable, and that efforts to consider different strategies didn't yield any viable options. So the college decided to close now, with some sense of order, rather than drag out the process for several more years, as it could have done.

Paul G. Rice, board chair, said in an interview that he realized some would ask, "Why don't you keep going until the lights go out?"

But he said that doing so would be wrong. "We have moral and legal obligations to our students and faculties and to our staff and to our alumnae. If you take up this decision too late, you won't be able to meet those obligations," he said. "People will carve up what's left -- it will not be orderly, nor fair."

The news stunned many in higher education, who assumed that a college like Sweet Briar wouldn't go under. And the announcement set off debates on whether the Sweet Briar board was courageous -- or too quick to give up. Some experts predicted that the demise of Sweet Briar might prompt other boards to take a tougher assessment of their institutions' own vulnerabilities.

Sweet Briar Discussion on 'This Week'

This Week @ Inside Higher Ed, our weekly news podcast, will feature a discussion of the issues raised by Sweet Briar's closure. Click here to receive an e-mail alert when the podcast is published.

At Sweet Briar, while all employees will lose their jobs, the college hopes to offer severance and other support. Students (including those accepted for enrollment in the fall) will receive help transferring. This semester will be the last one at the college, but it will remain officially open through the summer so that students can earn credit elsewhere and transfer it back to Sweet Briar to leave either with degrees or more credit toward degrees. College officials have not determined what they will do with any funds from the endowment or the sale of the campus after various expenses are paid.

Sweet Briar officials cited overarching challenges that the college has been unable to handle: the lack of interest from female high school students in attending a women's college like Sweet Briar, declining interest in liberal arts colleges generally, and eroding interest in attending colleges in rural areas. Sweet Briar is in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. "We are 30 minutes from a Starbucks," said James F. Jones Jr., president of the college.

"We have moral and legal obligations to our students and faculties and to our staff and to our alumnae. If you take up this decision too late, you won't be able to meet those obligations." --Paul G. Rice, Sweet Briar board chair.

Jones said that these challenges intersected. Attracting students to a residential liberal arts college may require institutions to have extensive internship opportunities and nearby attractions. He stressed that the college's leaders and board considered every possible alternative -- including coeducation -- and concluded nothing would help in any way other than to delay the inevitable.

Sweet Briar was founded in 1901, and has operated as a women's liberal arts college throughout its history, known for small class sizes and close student-faculty interaction. The college is considered a pioneer in study abroad and operates a leading study abroad program in France. Sweet Briar's equestrian program is also nationally acclaimed.

But in recent years, the college has been hit hard by sharp increases in the discount rate (the share off of tuition and other fees that students and their families actually pay), while enrollment declined. While applications were going up as a result of intense efforts by the admissions office, the yield (the proportion of admitted applicants who enroll) has been plummeting. Plenty of small private colleges have numbers not that different from some of those on the table that follow, with data provided by Sweet Briar (some figures aren't available for this year):

Sweet Briar Data Points, By Year

2009 -10
2010 -11
2011 -12
2012 -13
2013 -14
2014 -15

Endowment value
$82m
$94m
$85m
$88m
$94m
$85m

Undergraduate enrollment
611
605
610
566
599
561

Applications
572
559
643
763
905
936

Yield
33.3%
37.8%
36.8%
29.1%
25.8%
20.9%

Discount rate (all students)
40.8%
45.6%
50.1%
51.8%
57.0%
n/a

Discount rate (first year)
48.9%
55.8%
54.9%
55.6%
62.8%
61.9%

Sweet Briar provided this figure, current as of January, after publication of the original version of this article. The original data were provided directly by Sweet Briar.

At gatherings of private college administrators these days, there is constant discussion of the best strategy on discounting and tuition policy, and some experts believe that a high discount rate can work for a college -- if the strategy results in more and more students (ideally students with solid academic ability) enrolling. But as the Sweet Briar numbers show, the discount rate has been rising as both enrollment and yield have been falling. And that's unsustainable for most colleges.

When the economic downturn hit in 2008, Sweet Briar initially resisted the urge to increase its discount rate, then in the low 40s. But the class that enrolled in the fall of 2009 was 45 short of its target. Most of the missed target was from first-year students, and college officials believe that they lost students by not offering larger aid packages. A total enrollment that is off by a few dozen is a rounding error at many institutions, but at Sweet Briar that fall, the college suspended retirement payments and eliminated a few positions, and the then president worked for two weeks without pay.

Sweet Briar's overall strategy has been to remain a women's college focused on the liberal arts. Other women's colleges in Virginia have taken different approaches -- and faced plenty of controversy.

Mary Baldwin College has embarked on a plan to preserve its identity as a residential undergraduate liberal arts college by creating new colleges of education and health professions. College leaders say this approach will make the women's residential college financially sustainable, but many professors fear that the institution's liberal arts ideals are being compromised.

Randolph-Macon Woman's College, meanwhile, renamed itself Randolph College and in 2007 started enrolling men . As has been the case at many women's colleges making that decision, some alumnae objected. But more women's colleges in recent years have followed the Randolph model.

Jones said that, at Sweet Briar, going coeducational did not seem like a simple solution. He said that such a move would have required lots of money for scholarships and facilities, and he wasn't subtle about the purpose of the spending. "We would need scholarships to basically buy males," he said.

In addition, the college -- while "woman's" is not in its name -- would have had to consider whether its name would work for a coeducational institution. "The endowment we have never could have supported a move to coeducation," Jones said.

Jones also said that he was increasingly convinced that it is becoming more difficult to recruit students to colleges in rural locations.

Before joining Sweet Briar (of which his wife is an alumna), Jones served as president of Trinity College, in Connecticut, from 2004-14. Trinity is in Hartford, which did enable the college to have internships and programs with businesses and the state government. But even with those possibilities, he said, it was hard to hold on to students on weekends. "They went to New York or Boston. I had students who would drive to Boston for dinner."

There are some elite liberal arts colleges -- places such as Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin and Middlebury Colleges -- that have the prestige to attract students and the financial means to promote both constant campus activities and plenty of opportunities for urban experiences. But Jones said that it is increasingly difficult for other colleges to compete. "Students want a vibrant extramural environment," he said.

Jones said that while he believes the Sweet Briar board made the right decision, he is deeply sad about it. It should concern educators that institutions that are small and have specialized missions and identities have so much difficulty surviving, he said.

The loss of a Sweet Briar is part of a change in "the diversity of American higher education," said Jones. "The landscape is changing and becoming more vanilla."

A Courageous Decision?

Sweet Briar students and alumnae took to social media as word spread on Tuesday to mourn an institution they loved. As they did so, many experts on higher education started to consider the board's actions.

Several told Inside Higher Ed they thought the board had made a courageous, difficult decision. Some didn't want to be quoted by name as they didn't want to appear to be suggesting that other colleges should make the same decision. But they suggested that they believe some boards may be fooling themselves into thinking they have sound strategies -- and that delaying the inevitable would only hurt students, faculty members and other employees.

One expert who did speak with his name attached was Ronald Ehrenberg, director of the Cornell University Higher Education Research Institute. He said that Sweet Briar's "scale of operation was too small" -- such that he wasn't surprised the college couldn't find workable strategies.

He praised the board there. "It seems like a very principled decision," he said. "If we can't maintain our fundamental mission, we should get out of the business. I think more small institutions, especially those in isolated areas, may feel similar pressures in the years ahead."

Another who agreed was Judith Shapiro, president of the Teagle Foundation and former president of Barnard College. "The point is not to say that every liberal arts college in a similar situation should do the same thing," she said. "But I happen to think that what Sweet Briar did was both gutsy and principled. They decided that they could not continue to provide the kind of education that accorded with their mission and values. And they wanted to face that fact -- and that was responsible."

The Teagle Foundation supports the work of many small liberal arts colleges with which they collaborate on certain projects. And Shapiro said she expected to see increased interest in such efforts. But as Sweet Briar's dilemmas illustrated, she said, it's not enough to collaborate or to be able to offer more programs. "The challenge is for institutions to get serious about savings on costs," she said.

She also said she viewed it as crucial that colleges expand programs to inform professors of the economic challenges facing higher education.

"We have to give faculty members a more sophisticated grasp of how institutions are run," Shapiro said.

Richard Ekman, president of the Council of Independent Colleges, cautioned against assuming that the characteristics with which Sweet Briar struggled would necessarily lead other institutions to close. There are liberal arts colleges, women's colleges and rural colleges (and some with all of those traits) that are doing well, even if others are not, he said.

"No one variable by itself guarantees success or assures doom," he said.

The worry Ekman has is that as the norm for higher education becomes large public institutions, it becomes harder for many small institutions with missions that don't look anything like those of a large public. Institutions that are small and "idiosyncratic" matter, Ekman said.

He said he was talking about all kinds of colleges -- "women's colleges and historically black colleges and work colleges and Great Books colleges and colleges of denominations."

The demise of three private colleges in Virginia in the last two years may demonstrate Ekman's fears. Besides Sweet Briar (a women's college), there was Virginia Intermont College (which had Baptist affiliations) and Saint Paul's College (a historically black institution).

Catharine Bond Hill, president of Vassar College and an economist who studies higher education, said via e-mail that she was disappointed by Sweet Briar's decision -- and she urged struggling colleges to consider changes in approaches before shutting down.

"We need to be educating more students in America at the college level, not fewer, so it is so unfortunate that Sweet Briar is closing its doors," Hill said. "The economics are challenging, but I wish they could have figured out a way to make them work. Perhaps this involved too big a change in the way they have done things historically, and they couldn't see their way forward. But closing works exactly against what we need to be doing in America. I wish they had experimented and innovated to address the challenges, demonstrating to others how to productively make education available at lower cost."

Richard Kneedler, who has been a college president and a consultant, said he expected that the Sweet Briar board would face a lot of scrutiny. Kneedler served for 14 years as president of Franklin & Marshall College and was called out of retirement in 2006 to lead Rockford College when that institution -- without an endowment, but with debt -- appeared on the verge of going under. (It didn't.)

Kneedler said he didn't know the details of what Sweet Briar had tried, and that he assumed many alternatives were considered. "But I look at the numbers there, and I find myself saying, 'Gee, aren't there any alternatives?'"

And Kneedler noted that there is at least one case in American higher education where a board thought it made a decision to shut down and was blocked from doing so.

This case involved the laws of Pennsylvania, not Virginia. So Kneedler noted that there is no precedent for Sweet Briar. And courts in most states have let private women's colleges -- against the wishes of alumnae -- admit men.

The Pennsylvania case involved Wilson College, whose board voted in 1979 to shut it down. A women's college, Wilson faced declining enrollment and a poor balance sheet. But a state judge in essence found that the college's board hadn't made good decisions, and he ordered the board to keep the college going , which it did.

For a while Wilson College rebounded, but by 2012, the board determined that it was falling apart financially, and that only admitting men (and making numerous other changes) would make the college financially viable. Alumnae protested, but the plan was adopted.

Five Nights at Freddy's 3 Release Date: Steam Launch and Game Details

Scott Cawthon's horror point-and-click video game, "Five Nights at Freddy's 3," has just been released on Steam.

The third entry to the critically praised indie video game, "Five Nights at Freddy's" has just been made public on Steam after developer Scott Cawthon announced it on his website in January following a game teaser posted on YouTube.

The video game presents a unique presentation on the horror genre, with a simplistic design focusing on survival, and an overall atmosphere of fear and paranoia.

Part three of the horror video game is set 30 years following the closure of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, when the infamous legend surrounding the place have all but disappeared and become a vague urban myth. However, the new owners of "Fazbear's Fright: The Horror Attraction" are on a mission to rekindle the legend to make the tourist trap as authentic as possible, unearthing every artifact they could find from the old pizza place.

"Five Nights at Freddy's 3" will mark another reappearance of Balloon Boy, this time with a withered countenance, who, while not a character in the original story's timeline, may have been an aging exoskeleton kept away at the horror attraction.

Fans of the game have been speculating that Balloon Boy may not be the same character from the previous games, but an animatronic Springtrap wearing a Balloon Boy mask. This version is reportedly a more troublesome character in the current game.

In "Five Nights at Freddy's 2," players assumed their usual role of the night duty security guard, defending against animatronic animals strangely malfunctioning all over the place, and using security cameras to track their movement.

"Five Nights at Freddy's 3" will give players a chance to achieve a different goal of locating the exit marked as a triangle on the map, making it an escape game instead of a survival one this time around.

Netanyahu Speech Raises Burden for Obama on Iran Nuclear Talks

President Obama with Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter.
Credit: Stephen Crowley/The New York Times



WASHINGTON — President Obama's task of selling a potential nuclear agreement with Iran to a skeptical Congress became far harder on Tuesday after an impassioned speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to lawmakers already nervous about the deal.

"The president has a very heavy burden of persuasion here," said former Representative Lee H. Hamilton, a Democrat and the onetime chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee who now directs Indiana University's Center on Congress. "That task is made much more difficult when a powerful case is stated against the emerging deal, as the prime minister has done."

Although Mr. Hamilton said he doubted many minds were changed by Mr. Netanyahu's words, he said that "what a speech like this does is reinforces and intensifies the opposition at a critical point."

To be sure, others argued that Mr. Netanyahu's address would have an effect opposite to the one he intended — prompting lawmakers undecided about the deal to chalk up Mr. Netanyahu's message as raw politics and discount it.

Continue reading the main story

"If anything, today's speech pushed moderate Democrats into more of a wait- and-see approach, because it was such a rare event to see a sitting prime minister come over and take issue with a U.S. president on a matter of foreign policy importance," said John Ullyot, managing director of the High Lantern Group and a former top Republican foreign policy aide in the Senate.

Mr. Netanyahu's hotly disputed address constituted a remarkable moment in Washington: a foreign leader taking the podium before members of the House and Senate to argue strenuously against the policies of the sitting American president. In doing so, the Israeli leader was essentially urging lawmakers to trust him — not Mr. Obama — when it comes to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Mr. Netanyahu's address was the third he has given to a joint meeting of Congress. He also spoke in 1996 and 2011.

Visibly irritated by Tuesday's speech when asked about it in the Oval Office afterward, Mr. Obama dismissed the pressure from his Israeli counterpart, pledging to take his case "to every member of Congress once we actually have a deal."

But as he makes that crucial sales job — which will involve persuading lawmakers to go along with the easing of a complex set of sanctions against Iran, some put in place by Congress — Mr. Obama must now overcome not only the animosity of Republicans but also the words of the leader of Israel, whose powerful speech will serve as the counterpoint to a president they already distrust.

"It gives the far right on the Hill live ammo and firms up their view, especially in the House," said Cliff Kupchan, chairman of the Eurasia Group consulting firm and an Iran specialist. "That's going to make a hard sell a really hard sell for President Obama on a final deal."

If nothing else, the speech accelerated the timetable for Congress to debate a forthcoming nuclear deal scarcely one month after Mr. Obama and his team succeeded in persuading restive Democrats to hold off temporarily on teaming with Republicans to push for new Iran sanctions. Ten Democrats signed a letter to Mr. Obama in January pledging not to vote for such a bill until after March 24, when negotiators from seven countries are aiming to reach a tentative agreement on stopping Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions.

Warning of what he called the "countdown to a potential nuclear nightmare," Mr. Netanyahu sought to use the fear that Iran would cheat on any deal, and ultimately escape constraints on its nuclear program altogether, to galvanize United States lawmakers from both parties against Mr. Obama's position. He appealed to their commitments to Israel as a bulwark against their support for the American president.

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, moved quickly after Mr. Netanyahu's address to put the president on notice that lawmakers intended to have their say in the matter.

"Congress and the American people need to be part of this discussion, too," Mr. McConnell said as he moved to schedule debate on legislation that would make any Iran agreement subject to congressional approval. "Congress must be involved in reviewing and voting on an agreement reached between this White House and Iran."

More than a dozen Senate Democrats, including Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, have indicated that they support legislation to impose more sanctions or to give Congress approval power over an eventual deal. That raises the prospect that opponents of an Iran agreement could cobble together a large enough bipartisan coalition to block it — and override a presidential veto if necessary.

Mr. McConnell's move on Tuesday cleared the way for a procedural vote as soon as Monday on the congressional review bill, which Mr. Menendez has co-sponsored.

But Mr. Menendez objected angrily on Tuesday to speeding up the timetable for the Iran debate, saying he would oppose taking up his own bill if Republicans insisted on doing so before March 24. "There's no reason — no reason — to accelerate this process in this way," he said on the Senate floor.

In the longer term, Mark Dubowitz, the executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which has been pushing for a harder line on Iran, said that Mr. Netanyahu might have persuaded "a good number of moderate Democrats that Congress should at the very least have a say" on any deal.

For Democrats who have long viewed themselves as supporters of Israel, Mr. Netanyahu's speech sought to impress upon them the likelihood that they will eventually need to make an awkward, painful choice between the president of their country and their loyalty to the Jewish state.

It would be up to Democrats in Congress to make sure that lawmakers do not override Mr. Obama's veto, a rebuke that would embarrass the president at home and overseas. That task would fall in part to Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the minority leader in the House, who issued a blistering condemnation of Mr. Netanyahu's address, calling it an "insult."

Some Democrats who are strong supporters of Israel praised Mr. Netanyahu's speech.

"Many members of Congress are still hoping to give the president the benefit of the doubt," said Representative Eliot L. Engel of New York, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee. "I certainly think that the prime minister raised some valid points. The question to me is: Are we safer because of the deal? Do we prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon because of the deal, or is there a better alternative?" He added: "You can't really know until you see what's in the deal."

Carrie Underwood announces birth of her son, Isaiah Michael Fisher, on Facebook

Carrie Underwood posted
on Facebook this photo
this morning of her son,
Isaiah Michael Fisher.



Carrie Underwood poses at the 2014 American Country Countdown Awards Red Carpet at the Music City Center on Monday, Dec. 15, 2014 in Nashville, Tenn.

She announced on Facebook today that she gave birth to her first child, a son, on Friday.
AP file

Checotah native Carrie Underwood took to her official Facebook page this morning to announce that she and husband Mike Fisher, who plays for the Nashville Predators National Hockey League team, have welcomed their first child, a son named Isaiah Michael Fisher.

"Tiny hands and tiny feet…God has blessed us with an amazing gift! Isaiah Michael Fisher – born February 27," she wrote on Facebook.

IHOP celebrates National Pancake Day, “You can come back as many times as you want”

IHOP

MILWAUKEE (WITI) — Walking into the IHOP off Fond Du Lac Avenue you'll likely see James Payne greeting guests.

Not only is Payne an IHOP General Manager, he's a member of the U.S. Airforce, and most importantly to him a father.

"Honestly, before I came through the door I kissed my daughter this morning," said Payne.

Payne kept plenty busy at work, as Tuesday marks IHOP's National Pancake Day.

Guests can come in and get a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes with a donation to the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

"You can come back as many times as you want as long as you make a donation," said Payne.

This is especially meaningful to Payne as he has spent many days and nights at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin after his four-year-old daughter, Harmonee, was diagnosed with sickle-cell anemia.

"I know some of the doctors at Children's Hospital and I know how much they care and I know that if they just had that little extra money just to dig a little bit further maybe they can actually find some cures for some of these diseases," said Payne.

Droves of people showed up to enjoy the pancakes

"Very good. I cleaned my plate, very fluffy," said IHOP customer Artasia Fletcher as she enjoyed her pancakes.

And help the cause…

"I'm excited that there is a lot of people here that are supporting Children's. Go people," exclaimed IHOP customer Santosha Landon.

Whether it's $1 or $50 that people are donating every penny makes a dramatic difference as 100% of the proceeds are donated to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

IHop's across the country are hoping to raise $3.5 million over the day-long event, bringing its total donations to $20 million over the last 10 years.

Ryan Reynolds Goes Top Gun with His New Haircut

Last night, actor Ryan Reynolds showed up on Jimmy Fallon's couch to discuss, among other things, his life as a new father, and he brought a clean-as-all-hell haircut with him.

Reynolds rocked the highest high and tight we've seen in a while—the kind that falls just on the right side of the junior Air Force airman/downtown hipster divide. (For those of you at home: when you're not sure which one you resemble, a perfectly tailored suit, white shirt, and tie bar will do wonders.)
We'll bet the new kid's keeping him up at night, so we're totally on board with a youthful haircut to combat dad- tigue. (That's fatigue—for dads.) Fatherhood: it'll change your life, and give you an excuse for a dope haircut.

Technology » What is Freak and who is at risk?

Freak leaves millions of internet users vulnerable

The latest security warning affects those using Google and Apple software and potentially gives hackers access to anything you transmit over the internet. How did this happen, and how do you protect yourself?

What is Freak?

We're bombarded with so many security warnings, all with silly names, that it's easy to become complacent. But "Freak" really could be dangerous.

In theory hackers can trick your computer into using weak encryption, then snatch your data and decrypt it using powerful machines. Millions of people are potentially in danger.

Incidentally, the name is an acronym of Factoring Attack on RSA-EXPORT Keys.

What's at risk?

The bug affects SSL/TLS, the protocols used to encrypt data sent over the internet, potentially endangering anything you transmit online: credit card details, private messages or medical information.

The bug affects SSL/TLS, the protocols used to encrypt data sent over the internet, potentially endangering anything you transmit online: credit card details, private messages or medical information.

Google's Chrome browser isn't affected, but older Android browsers are. Apple's engineers are working on a patch for SecureTransport, but it's not yet out, so if you use iOS or OS X you're also vulnerable.

Those visiting certain websites - around 12 per cent of them - are also at risk.

But don't panic: although the attack is relatively easy to carry out, it's not something that can be done practically on a wide scale so you're more than likely not going to be targeted.

Are hackers using it?

There's absolutely no evidence that this flaw has been used "in the wild". It's possible that governments and criminals have spied on internet users without, quite understandably, advertising the fact.

What caused it?

The US government used to have laws forbidding developers from using strong encryption in software sold abroad. It was, they claimed, a weapon. The idea was to make it easier to spy on people.

In protest the hacker magazine 2600 printed t- shirts with detailed descriptions of the maths behind strong encryption and sold them to nerds around the world during the 90s. I still have mine in the wardrobe.

These laws were phased out after strong criticism and protests but many software makers continued to use weak encryption. Hence the situation we know find ourselves in.

How does Freak work?

When you visit a website your computer negotiates with the server at the other end about how best to protect data as it's sent back and forth.

It seems that certain software, including Apple's SecureTransport, can be tricked into accepting weak encryption – the watered-down 512-bit stuff that the US government used to restrict people to.

Then the hackers can swoop, collect your data and attempt to crack the encryption – which isn't as hard as you'd think.

What was a formidable computing task in the 90s is less so now. Amazon's EC2 service will rent you a bunch of machines as big or small as you'd like, on flexible terms: researchers found that hiring enough to crack a 512-bit key in a few hours costs just $104.

What can be done?

Stronger encryption makes the world of difference: 1024-bit keys are not twice as hard to crack as 512-bit ones, but many, many, many multiples harder. In fact, it would take a million desktop PCs about a year.

Just to make sure, many modern code uses 2048-bit security.
But this is academic if hackers can sneak around the back using Freak. What is needed is quick patches from software makers such as Google and Apple.

The flaw will be patched by websites and software makers quickly, so keep an eye out for updates and install them as soon as you can.

Who discovered it?

Researchers from INRIA in France had been working on this for some time, informing governments and large technology firms so that fixes could be made. However, one company published a blog post on Monday detailing what efforts it had made so far, letting the cat out of the bag.

Facebook planning to test internet services using solar-powered planes in India

Social media giant Facebook is interested in testing internet services through solar-powered plane in India and other telecom connectivity technologies it is developing.

"We are really in development of technologies at connectivity lab. We are not yet launching any pilots. We will in the future, and we are entirely open to launching it in India because there is such a great opportunity in India to connect the unconnected," Facebook Vice President of Internet.org Chris Daniels said.

He said the company is working on alternate internet technologies other than traditional ways of providing connectivity including solar planes and satellites.

"The reason why planes are interesting is that you can have solar powered planes that stay very high in the sky and provide connectivity. Plane can have broad area. That plane can be fuelled by the sun, does not need to have generator or physical infrastructure on the ground. That's potentially an attractive way through which we can provide connectivity," he said.

Facebook expects technologies to bring down the cost of internet significantly.

Web-based companies including Facebook that provide messenger and internet-based calling service have been at loggerheads with telecom operator as it is cutting in to their revenues.

Facebook is now attempting to make truce with telecom operators through its programme internet.org. Under this, it in partnership with telecom operators is providing free access to some basic websites to customers.

In India, Facebook launched internet.org with Reliance Communications.

"Internet.org is a customer acquisition tool. There is a 40 per cent increase in data customers for operators who have turned on internet.org. The fundamental thing that we can do to help operators is to bring them more paying customers. That's the model which supports their business model and network roll out," Daniel said.

Telecom operators have been demanding that there should be revenue sharing model between web-based companies providing messaging and calling services as they invest massively on building network to provide connectivity to the people.

Daniel said such demand does not "make sense at higher level. People are paying for data when they find value in internet. We are trying to help them find value in internet."

The internet.org platform includes Facebook messenger but the social media firm has turned off VoIP or internet-based calling function due to concerns raised by telecom operators.

"Taking into consideration business model concerns that operators have around VoIP, it is not a free basic service which we have chosen with them (operators) to include in Internet.org," Daniel said.

Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Daniels both praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for use of internet.

In India, it's interesting to see how Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi used internet as a campaigning tool," Zuckerberg said.

Daniel said that Facebook is inspired by hearing "Prime Minister Modi's Digital India initiative. I think government in India has done a really fantastic thing in embracing connectivity as one of the key pillars."

He further said: "There are things that we can do to collaborate with Indian government is providing e-government services through internet.org and we have already begun to that with Andhra Pradesh."

Facebook has second largest user base in India after the US. By the end of September 2014, Facebook had monthly active user base of about 112 million and 52 million daily active users.

Globally, the company has 1.35 billion users, while the daily active users are 864 million.

PTI

Mercy Johnson, Daughter Avoid Lagos Traffic By Riding GEJ's Train

Nollywood actress Mercy Johnson and her daughter Purity avoided the incessant traffic gridlock on Lagos roads, especially the Ikeja axis, on Monday, by taking a ride on one of the fully air-conditioned trains commissioned by the Goodluck Jonathan's administration.

According to Mercy Johnson, she decided to take the train to Ikeja instead of going through traffic in Lagos. She posted a picture of herself and daughter on her instagram page with the caption 'Traffic emergency last night.. Ran with my heels off, Purity & I caught the train to Ikeja. No dulling'

She also posted a video of them on the train with the caption 'Purity and I braved a train ride to Ikeja... Not Everytime Endure Lagos Traffic for 5 Hours, Sometimes... .take the tube!'

Fans criticize Sheyi Shay’s outfit for meeting with President Jonathan

Once again, singer, Seyi Shay is in the news over her outfit which has been termed awkward by a section of her fans. Seyi Shay's outfit has recently become one of the trending topics on the social media with more than a few reactions trailing her choice of outfit.

Her outfit at an event held in Lagos on Sunday, March 1, 2015 where more than 5,000 Nigerian youths met with the President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan is beginning raise some controversy. The event held at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos and pictures from the occasion that were released a few hours ago shows Seyi Shay sitting next to the president in a very skimpy outfit.

It would be recalled that a similar controversy trailed her outfit at the 2014 Channel O Music Video Awards which held in South Africa.