Monday, 6 May 2013
Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Girl who performed at Obama inaugural events slain on South Side
After taking their exams Tuesday, Hadiya Pendleton and a group of others decided to hang out at a park on Tuesday just blocks away from their high school on the South Side.
But the trip ended in tragedy when the 15-year-old King College Prep sophomore was fatally shot about a week after she attended President Barack Obama’s inauguration and performed at inaugural events with the King College Prep band and drill team.
Penldeton and a16-year-old boy wounded in the attack were shot in a park near the school about 2:20 p.m., in the 4500 block of South Oakenwald Avenue, police said.
Most of those who were in the park were gang members, and those in the group did not stay on scene to help after the shootings, according to police. The shooting occurred around 2:20 p.m. in the 4500 block of South Oakenwald Avenue.
They boy remained in serious condition Tuesday night. He was also a student at King, according to Pendleton’s friends, though her relatives weren’t sure what school the boy attended.
One of the teens was taken in serious to critical condition to Comer Children's Hospital, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Will Knight.
The other victim also was taken to Comer and police at first believed both victims' conditions had stabilized by a little after 3 p.m., said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Veejay Zala.
At Comer this evening, a group of young people sat and stood inside the entrance to the hospital's emergency room, along with the principal of King high school.
Many hugged as they brushed tears from their eyes and consoled each other and Pendleton's parents.
"She was awesome," one girl said of Pendleton outside the hospital's ER.
Friends of the slain girl said King was dismissed early today because of exams, and students went to the park on Oakenwald--something they don't usually do.
Friends said the girl was a majorette and a volleyball player, a friendly and sweet presence at King, one of the top 10 CPS selective enrollment schools. Pendleton performed with other King College students at President Barack Obama’s inaugural events.
Neighbors said students from King do hang out at Harsh Park, 4458-70 S. Oakenwald Ave., and that students were there this afternoon before the shooting took place. A group of 10 to 12 teens at the park had taken shelter under a canopy there during a rainstorm when a boy or man jumped a fence in the park, ran toward the group and opened fire, police said in a statement this evening.
The attacker then got into an auto and left the area, police said.
Neighbors reported hearing shots about 2:20 p.m.
Desiree Sanders said she heard six gunshots and called 911 after a neighbor told her that some teens had been shot. Neighbors told her as many as 10 young people had been hanging out at the small park, and most scattered after the shooting, though a few stayed behind with the victims.
Those in the group were not cooperating with police, however, and investigators had no detailed descriptions yet of either the attacker or the vehicle in which he left. Central Area detectives were investigating, and they had no one in custody as of about 8:20 p.m.
Police crime data show no serious crimes happened in the 4400 or 4500 blocks of South Oakenwald Avenue Dec. 19 to Jan. 20.
“It’s a great neighborhood. Nothing like this has happened since I’ve been here,” on the block, said Roxanne Hubbard, who has lived in the neighborhood for 19 years.
As a matter of policy, Chicago Board of Education officials refuse to confirm whether any child is a student at Chicago Public Schools because a policy on student identification passed by the board several years ago has never been implemented.
Tuesday, 29 January 2013
JUDGE OKS $4B BP OIL SPILL CRIMINAL SETTLEMENT
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A federal judge on Tuesday approved an agreement for BP PLC to plead guilty to manslaughter and other charges and pay a record $4 billion in criminal penalties for the company's role in the 2010 oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance also heard testimony from relatives of 11 workers who died when BP's blown-out Macondo well triggered an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and started the spill.
BP agreed in November to plead guilty to charges involving the workers' deaths and for lying to Congress about the size of the spill from its broken well, which spewed more than 200 million gallons of oil. Much of it ended up in the Gulf and soiled the shorelines of several states. The company could have withdrawn from the agreement if Vance had rejected it.
Neither the Justice Department nor BP presented arguments to the judge before her decision in New Orleans.
The deal doesn't resolve the federal government's civil claims against BP. The company could pay billions more in penalties for environmental damage.
BP separately agreed to a settlement with lawyers for Gulf Coast residents and businesses who claim the spill cost them money. BP estimates the deal with private attorneys will cost the company roughly $7.8 billion.
For the criminal settlement, BP agreed to pay nearly $1.3 billion in fines. The largest previous corporate criminal penalty assessed by the Justice Department was a $1.2 billion fine against drug maker Pfizer in 2009.
The criminal settlement also includes payments of nearly $2.4 billion to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and $350 million to the National Academy of Sciences.
In a court filing before the hearing, attorneys for BP and the Justice Department argued that the plea agreement imposes "severe corporate punishment" and will deter BP and other deep-water drilling companies from allowing another disaster to occur.
The Justice Department has reached a separate settlement with rig owner Transocean Ltd. that resolves the government's civil and criminal claims over the Swiss-based company's role in the disaster.
Transocean agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of violating the Clean Water Act and pay $1.4 billion in civil and criminal penalties. U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo has scheduled a Feb. 14 hearing to decide whether to accept that criminal settlement. A different judge will decide whether to accept Transocean's civil settlement.
Many relatives of rig workers who died in the blast submitted written statements that were critical of BP's deal. Twenty-eight-year-old Gordon Jones' family members said BP's sentence should include a personal, face-to-face apology to his widow and children by BP executives. A brother of Jones also had urged Vance to consider stiffer penalties that prohibit or limit the company's ability to operate in U.S. waters.
Vance, however, said she couldn't get involved in plea negotiations and only could impose a sentence that adheres to the agreed-upon terms if she accepted it.
Also killed were Jason Anderson, 35, of Midfield, Texas; Aaron Dale "Bubba" Burkeen, 37, of Philadelphia, Miss.; Donald Clark, 49, of Newellton, La.; Stephen Ray Curtis, 40, of Georgetown, La.; Roy Wyatt Kemp, 27, Jonesville, La.; Karl Kleppinger Jr., 38, of Natchez, Miss.; Keith Blair Manuel, 56, of Gonzales, La.; Dewey A. Revette, 48, of State Line, Miss.; Shane M. Roshto, 22, of Liberty, Miss.; and Adam Weise, 24, Yorktown, Texas.
Four current or former BP employees have been indicted on separate criminal charges. BP rig supervisors Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine are charged with manslaughter, accused of repeatedly disregarding abnormal high-pressure readings that should have been glaring indications of trouble just before the blowout.
David Rainey, BP's former vice president of exploration for the Gulf of Mexico, was charged with withholding information from Congress about the amount of oil that was gushing from the well.
Former BP engineer Kurt Mix was charged with deleting text messages about the company's spill response.
A series of government investigations have blamed the April 20, 2010, blowout on time-saving, cost-cutting decisions by BP and its partners on the drilling project.
Angola president's daughter 'Africa's first female billionaire'
(CNN) -- Businesswoman Isabel Dos Santos, daughter of long-serving Angolan president Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, is Africa's first female billionaire, according to business publication Forbes.
The 40-year-old's investments in publicly traded companies in Portugal, including shares in a cable TV firm, as well her assets in at least one Angolan bank, "have pushed her net worth over the $1 billion mark," said the magazine, known for its annual rich lists.
Her first business endeavor was in 1997 when she opened a restaurant in Angola's capital, Luanda, according to the magazine. Since then, she's expanded her business interests to a number of industries, sitting on the boards of several Angolan and Portuguese companies.
A former Portuguese colony, Angola is the second largest oil producer in the continent. Over the last decade, the southwestern African country has emerged from the wreckage of a 27-year civil war to become one of the continent's major economic player. President Dos Santos, who has been in power since 1979, has presided over Angola's post-war economic growth and rebuilding efforts. He won a new term last year when the ruling MPLA party was declared winner of the August 31 elections. Greased by growing oil revenues and China's credit lines of billions of dollars, Angola's economy rocketed by an average annual growth of 17% from 2004 to 2008 before falling to single-digit figures after the 2008 global financial crisis. But despite the heady financial data and the progress made since the end of the war in 2002, Angola still remains one of the most unequal societies in the world. The country, which has a population of some 18 million people, ranks 148th out of 187 countries in the U.N.'s Human Development.
Corruption is also prevalent, with Angola ranked 157th out of 176 countries and territories on Transparency International's 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index. "Corruption is a major problem and the perception of corruption in Angola by investors is increasing," says Alex Vines, head of the Africa Program at London-based think tank Chatham House. According to Forbes, Isabel Dos Santos is the biggest shareholder in Zon Multimedia, the biggest cable TV operator in Portugal, owning a 28.8% stake. She also has a 19.5% holding at Banco BPI, one of Portugal's largest publicly traded banks. Forbes said that in Angola, the president's daughter sits on the board of Banco BIC and is reported to own a 25% stake in the bank. "There is nothing wrong with the president's daughter being a business entrepreneur as long as she's obtained those contracts in an open and competitive process," says Vines.
Bubbling Under: Nenaya Jazmine – I Dey Try 4 U
Nenaya Jazmine, vivacious and talented “ 
” 2_-year old singer from Nigeria is starting off 2013 with a serious bang as she releases her 4th single – “I Dey Try 4 U”. The track is written and composed by Nenaya Jazmine herself; recorded, mixed and mastered by Dan Steinbrink. The track, which is already receiving generous radio play across various outlets in Nigeria, is proving to be the ultimate lover’s anthem for 2013. Nenaya Jazmine describes the track as one that will relate very well among any individual, male or female, who has stopped at nothing to please their significant other. She also says that there is a hidden message behind the track which she will disclose later. For the 1st time, Nenaya Jazmine also invites the camera into her recording session. So, listen up, watch and share your thoughts on this. | ENJOY!!!
” 2_-year old singer from Nigeria is starting off 2013 with a serious bang as she releases her 4th single – “I Dey Try 4 U”. The track is written and composed by Nenaya Jazmine herself; recorded, mixed and mastered by Dan Steinbrink. The track, which is already receiving generous radio play across various outlets in Nigeria, is proving to be the ultimate lover’s anthem for 2013. Nenaya Jazmine describes the track as one that will relate very well among any individual, male or female, who has stopped at nothing to please their significant other. She also says that there is a hidden message behind the track which she will disclose later. For the 1st time, Nenaya Jazmine also invites the camera into her recording session. So, listen up, watch and share your thoughts on this. | ENJOY!!!Monday, 28 January 2013
BIG BROTHER AFRICA KICKS OFF SOON
2013 Big Brother Africa Season 8 is Set To Kick Off. This year show will come with a few twists and surprises.
Brazil nightclub fire in Santa Maria kills 233
At least 233 people have died in a fire that swept through a nightclub in a university city in southern Brazil, police and officials say.
Local media say the fire began when a band let off fireworks at the Kiss club in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul.
Many victims reportedly inhaled toxic fumes or were crushed as panicking clubbers tried to escape.
Bereaved families have been weeping over the coffins of their loved ones at a gym used as a temporary mortuary.
Out of respect for the dead, Brazil postponed a ceremony due on Monday in the capital, Brasilia, to mark 500 days to the 2014 football World Cup.
The first funerals in Santa Maria are expected on Monday morning, local newspaper Diario de Santa Maria reports.
Authorities have released the names of 230 of the victims, with three bodies still to be identified.
According to Brazilian broadcaster Globo, most of the victims were aged between 16 and 20.
More than 100 people were being treated in hospital, mostly for smoke inhalation.
President Dilma Rousseff, who cut short a visit to Chile, has been visiting survivors at the city's Caridade hospital along with government ministers.
She said earlier that everything possible would be done to help the injured and the families of the victims.
"I would also like to say to the Brazilian people and to the people of Santa Maria that we stand together at this time, and that even though there's a lot of sadness, we will pull through," she said, speaking from Chile.
A firefighter told BBC News he had never seen such a tragedy in his life, with the victims "so young".
The priority for the authorities is now to identify the dead with many distressed relatives arriving at the scene, but in the hours ahead the focus will turn to the cause of this accident and safety procedures at the club, the BBC's Gary Duffy reports from Sao Paulo.
The death toll, which had earlier been put at 245, was revised down by fire officials.
'Ceiling on fire'
The fire broke out some time after 02:00 (04:00 GMT) when between 300 and 500 people are believed to have been in the club, where a band was playing.
According to Diario de Santa Maria, students from the city's federal university (UFSM) were holding a freshers' ball.
Thick smoke engulfed the venue after acoustic insulation caught fire, officials say.
"We looked up at the ceiling in front of the stage and it was catching fire," eyewitness Luana Santos Silva, 23, told Brazil's Globo TV.
"My sister grabbed me and dragged me out on the ground."
The exit, she said, was a "small door for lots of people to come out by".
The young woman's sister, Aline Santos Silva, 29, commended the emergency services: "Help arrived really quickly, ambulances, police."
Fire crews tried knocking through an exterior wall to help those trapped inside to escape.
Fifty bodies were found in the club's toilets, a doctor told AP news agency.
"The toxic smoke made people lose their sense of direction so they were unable to find their way to the exit," said Dr Paulo Afonso Beltrame, speaking by phone from Caridade hospital.
"Apparently they confused the bathroom door with the exit door."
Speaking to BBC Brasil, Sergeant Arthur Rigue, from the local fire department, said: "I never witnessed a tragedy like this in my whole career.
"These people are so young… There were many bodies piled up in various parts of the place. Some were in the toilet. They died of asphyxiation."
Fire chief Guido de Melo told local media. "People started panicking and ended up treading on each other."
Identification
A temporary morgue was set up in a local gym as the city's main morgue is unable to cope.
Family members came to identify the dead, led in one by one to see the bodies, Diario de Santa Maria reports.
President Rousseff said the air force had made "resources" available at an air base near Santa Maria to help.
Santa Maria has a population of about 250,000 people, while UFSM has some 27,000 students.
Are you in Santa Maria? Please send us your eyewitness accounts using the form below.
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