UN estimates Ebola fight to cost nearly $1bn

At least 2,400 people have died from the Ebola virus, with Liberia bearing the brunt of the fatalities [EPA]

The number of Ebola cases in West Africa could start doubling every  three weeks and it could end up costing nearly $1bn to contain  the crisis, the World Health Organisation has warned. In a report released on Tuesday, WHO said about $987.8m is needed for everything from paying health workers and buying supplies to tracing people who have been exposed to the virus,  which is spread by contact with bodily fluids like blood, urine or diarrhoea.  About $23.8m alone is needed to pay burial teams and buy body bags, since the bodies of Ebola victims are highly infectious and workers must wear protection suits. Nearly 5,000 people have been sickened by Ebola in Liberia,  Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal, since it was first recognised in March. WHO says it anticipates that figure could rise to more than 20,000. At least 2,400 people have died, with Liberia bearing the brunt of the fatalities. Aid promises Recent weeks have seen a flurry of promises of aid. On Tuesday, US President Barack Obama was expected to announce  the deployment of 3,000 American troops to help provide aid in the region. Inf But Doctors Without Borders told the UN  health agency that the global response  to Ebola was falling far short of what is needed.  "The response to Ebola continues to fall dangerously behind,'' Joanne Liu, president  of the medical charity, told a meeting at the United Nations in Geneva.  "The window of opportunity to contain this outbreak is closing. We need more countries to stand up, we need greater deployment,  and we need it now.'' In addition to the US troops, the WHO agency said China  has promised to send a 59-person mobile laboratory team to Sierra Leone that includes lab experts, epidemiologists, doctors and nurses. Britain is also planning to build and operate an Ebola clinic in Sierra  Leone, and Cuba has promised to send the country more than  160 health workers. Still, hospitals and clinics in West Africa are now turning the sick away because they do not have enough space to treat everyone - a sure-fire way to increase the spread of the disease, which in this outbreak is killing about half of those it infects. The United States, in particular, drew criticism last week when it promised to set up a 25-bed field hospital in Liberia that would  only serve foreign health workers. Many thought the contribution was discriminatory and paltry, given that experts were saying Liberia needed at least 500 more treatment beds.

Nigeria soldiers face death for mutiny

Twelve found guilty of attacking commander after convoy ambush in Boko Haram-controlled area.

A dozen Nigerian soldiers have been sentenced to death for mutiny  and the attempted murder of their commanding officer after their comrades were ambushed by the armed group Boko Haram. In a decision announced early on Tuesday, a military tribunal in Abuja found 12 soldiers of the 7th Division guilty and five  others innocent. All the accused denied the charges. The executions will be carried out by firing squad. The revolt happened on May 13 after soldiers were ordered to drive at night a road frequently attacked by Boko Haram. The soldiers initially refused, saying it was a suicide mission. They eventually followed orders, and were ambushed. The convoy was driving from Chibok, the northeastern  town from which more than 270 girls and women  were abducted from a school a month earlier. The bodies of the dead were brought to northeastern  city of Maiduguri, leading to a demand by colleagues to speak to the 7th Division's commanding officer, Amadu Mohammed. They threw stones and shot at him, witnesses said. The officer took refuge in an armoured vehicle and was unharmed. Brigadier general Chukwuemeka Okonkwo, the court  martial president, said the sentences were subject to confirmation by Nigeria's military authorities but said there  was no doubt about the gravity of the offence. The panel considered "its likely effect on the counter-insurgency  operations in the northeast as well as its implications on  national security", he told the court. Nigeria's army has been under pressure to end the bloody five-year rebellion that has claimed thousands of lives,  made tens of thousands of others homeless and seen the armed groups make territorial gains in the northeast in recent weeks. But front-line troops have frequently complained of a lack of adequate weapons and equipment to fight the better armed rebels, while there have also been reports that troops have  not been paid or received proper food supplies.

School Shooter T.J. Lane's Prison Time Included Drugs, Segregation

Before his failed prison break, Ohio school shooter Thomas “T.J.” Lane racked up a poor record that reflected his trouble adjusting to life behind bars. His 18 months at Allen Correctional Institution were marked by seven violations, including smoking marijuana, self-mutilation and an insolent attitude toward superiors, discipline records released Monday show. Lane was given 10 days in segregation in July 2013 after corrections officers noticed he had three different tattoos on his chest — charging him with self-mutilation.

He’s also accused twice of refusing to carry out assignments while attending classes. “He sits and complains that education makes him ill (and) that he gets migraines because of it,” his records say. The teacher allowed him to stay in class and draw, but Lane would make images of himself with the word “killer” and scrawl “kitty cats” over his math assignment.

Lane, 19, had busted out of prison late Thursday scaling a fence with two other inmates before they were all caught, police said. He was transferred from Allen Correctional Institution, a minimum/medium security prison, to Ohio’s only super-maximum prison in Youngstown. After the transfer, officers at his former facility found Lane’s cell had an array of prison contraband, including clothing, 15 books and Pokemon cards. Lane was sentenced in March 2013 for the fatal shooting of three students at Chardon High School — an attack he has never fully explained. On Monday, Allen Correctional added razor wiring along the security fencing and said they implemented other changes.

Zimbabwe’s First Lady Awarded PhD 2 Months After Enrollment at University

Robert & Grace Mugabe

Grace Mugabe, the wife of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, has reportedly been awarded a PhD in Sociology just two months after enrolling at University of Zimbabwe.

Robert Mugabe happens to be the chancellor of the school, International Business Times reports.

For her thesis, the first lady carried out a study of children’s homes in Zimbabwe.

Many are questioning the plausibility of someone earning a PhD in just eight weeks.

“A doctorate involves writing a thesis, after having a research question prepared, writing a proposal and then writing the thesis where one needs to research it, critique it then it can be marked, but that could take a few years,” said Greg Linnington, a lecturer at the university.

Another university administrator expressed bewilderment at the awarding of the PhD, stating that one would need a good Master’s degree before enrolling for a doctorate program.

The first lady reportedly obtained her first degree in Chinese Language in 2011.

Zimbabweans are expressing outrage about the issue.

Photo Credit: Getty Images/Peter Macdiarmid

Iggy Azalea's ex claims she gave him permission to sell their sex tape

Iggy Azalea's former boyfriend/manager who is shopping their sex tape now claims the rapper signed her rights away to him, giving him legal authority to market the tape.

According to TMZ, the ex, Hefe Wine (pictured right) said Iggy signed a lengthy agreement with him in 2009 which gives him exclusive rights to 'manufacture, sell, distribute and advertise 'any' recording embodying visual images. And TMZ has obtained the document. Continue to see the document...

From TMZ

Iggy signed the contract to cut records and music videos, but Wine believes all he has to do is put a music bed under the sex tape which he claims would then give him exclusive rights to sell it. 

In other words, he believes Iggy has no legal ability to block a sex tape if he wants to sell it.

What's more ... the contract provides that Wine has the legal right to create, host and maintain a website to market Iggy's works, so he believes he could create a website which would host the video

Man allegedly rapes his own daughter

The man you see in this pic is being accused of sexually molesting
his own 5 year old daughter (pictured right). This happened in the
 Italuwo community in Ikorodu Road, Lagos. I don't have much details
 but according to a source, a neighbour suspected the man was
assaulting the little girl and alerted people in the area. When confronted,
 he denied it but the girl confirmed she'd been molested. He was
 beaten and taken to the community security post. This pic was taken
 as he was being interrogated. Details later...

Synagogue building collapse: 45yr old woman walks out of rubble alive

A 45-year-old-woman today Tuesday September 16th allegedly

 walked out alive from the rubbles of the collapsed building at 

the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Ikotun, Lagos.

Ibrahim Farinloye, the PRO of the National Emergency

 Management Agency, NEMA, South-West Zone, told 

journalists in Lagos that the woman walked out on her 

own at 2a.m very early today but the woman was not identified.

"A woman of about 45 years old walked out of the

 rubble on her own around 2a.m today. She was able towalk away from the collapse with just a broken wrist. 10 more bodies were recovered, leaving59 dead and 131 rescued alive,“ Farinloye said.
So far 59 bodies have been recovered and Farinloye expect 

rescue workers to recover more bodies.