Welcome to Olamama's blog!!!: June 2018

Saturday 30 June 2018

Apple, Samsung resolve smartphone design fight after 7 years

Apple and Samsung Electronics reached a settlement in their US patent battle, ending a seven-year fight over smartphone designs that spanned the globe. The string of lawsuits started in 2011 after Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder who died that year, threatened to go “thermonuclear" on rivals that used the Android operating system and accused Samsung of “slavishly” copying the iPhone design. The companies didn’t disclose the terms of the accord and didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

A couple of drug dealers were sentenced to death then executed immediately in front of school children to serve as a deterrent to the children. The criminals were sentenced to death by shooting and immediately marched to a firing squad as part of a government crackdown. School children were made to watch the execution.
Pan Hui, a teacher from the local Yunlong Middle School, told China News that such events could help "educate" and "frighten" the students, and they could also make the students fearful of committing crimes.

A 21-year-old Indian woman along with her lover kidnapped a two-and-a-half-year-old boy in Ludhiana, India, to offer him as a “human sacrifice” so that her second marriage is successful. According to police, Parminder Kaur, alias Sonia, and Chandan Tiwari confessed they kidnapped the child after a tantrik told them “if they wanted to have a successful married life, they will have to sacrifice a child to appease the Gods”.

Switzerland's Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri and Stephan Lichtsteiner have avoided bans for their 'double-headed eagle gesture' celebrations in their side's World Cup win over Serbia. Fifa fined Xhaka and Shaqiri 10,000 Swiss francs (£7,632) and Lichtsteiner SFr5,000 (£3,816) for "unsporting behaviour" for the gesture, which symbolises the Albanian flag. Xhaka and Shaqiri are ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, where a Serbian crackdown on the Albanian population ended with Nato military intervention in 1999.

A small plane on test flight crashed into a construction site in a densely populated part of India’s financial capital Mumbai killing five people including one on the ground. There were four people on the 12-seater aircraft, disaster management officials said, with witnesses reporting hearing a loud blast as it smashed into a half-built structure. “There was a huge explosion and the adjacent tree caught fire and the fire spilled on the streets,” a man was quoted as saying on the NDTV news channel.

Angola has given legal recognition to a gay rights lobby group, sources briefed on the decision said on Wednesday, marking a major breakthrough for the closed and conservative society. The LGBT association which was founded five years ago, called Iris Angola, called the Justice Ministry's decision an "historic moment".

After 70 years in business, the iconic Toys "R" Us will close all of its 735 stores in the U.S. for good this week. This comes 9 months after the retailer filed for bankruptcy. The corporation filed for bankruptcy, back in September. Then, to the disappointment of customers, they announced that the doors to all their stores will close on Friday, June 29, 2018.

A woman in India has been arrested for allegedly killing her 10-month-old son after the infant’s body was found in a water-filled drum outside her house, police said on Monday. A senior police official said the woman, in contrast to the general narrative on female infanticide, has revealed that she killed her son because she wanted a girl child.

Italian giant, AC Milan have been banned by UEFA from competing in the Champions League and Europa League for the 2018-19 season after breaching Financial Fair Play rules. UEFA announced the shocking decision on Tuesday, citing that AC Milan would not be able to play in any European competition for the 2018/19 campaign despite qualifying for the Europa League.

#WorldCup2018: Germany crashes out of World Cup after embarrassing defeat by South Korea

The curse of the World Cup winners continues. A "shocked" Germany became the third straight reigning champion to be knocked out in the group stage at the next World Cup -- following Italy and Spain -- after losing 2-0 to South Korea in Group F on Wednesday.
In an embarrassingly poor performance Germany went behind in the game's closing stages when Kim Young-gwon scored following a video review, with Son Heung-min then breaking away -- German keeper Manuel Neuer was by this stage in the South Korean half -- to add the second.

McDonald's and Starbucks have been caught in a crackdown on plastics in India. The restaurant chains were among dozens of companies hit with fines in Maharashtra state — India's second-largest with a population of more than 100 million — at the weekend, a government official said. The ban on single-use plastic items including shopping bags, food containers and cutlery, was announced in late March but went into force on Saturday.

England legend and former Manchester United football star, Wayne Rooney, 32, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with the MLS side DC United. On signing the deal today, the former Everton star said: 'It is fantastic to be joining D.C. United at such an exciting time in the club's history with the new stadium opening in just a few weeks.

Moscow and Washington have agreed to hold a long-delayed summit between US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin. The announcement follows a meeting between President Putin and US National Security Adviser John Bolton. Mr Trump said his meeting with Mr Putin could take place after next month's Nato summit in Brussels. The president said the meeting could possibly take place in the Finnish capital, Helsinki.

The French government has introduced a plan to bring back national service for all 16-year-olds. It was an idea put forward by Emmanuel Macron in his presidential campaign, to promote a sense of civic duty and national unity among French youth. But some remain unconvinced of the benefits.

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said he suspects a group linked to the former first lady was behind an attempt on his life. Two people died and more than 40 were hurt in an explosion near Mr Mnangagwa at a rally in Bulawayo on Saturday. Mr Mnangagwa told the BBC's Fergal Keane that he suspected the G40 group, which supported Grace Mugabe for the presidency, had carried out the attack. Mrs Mugabe's husband, Robert Mugabe, was forced from power last year.

The Dutch Upper House of parliament yesterday passed a law banning the wearing of face-covering veils in public buildings, such as schools, government offices and hospitals. The Lower House approved the bill in 2016, after attempts to impose a more general ban on burqas and other face-covering veils failed. The new law bans all face-covering garb, including for instance motor helmets and ski-masks, in public buildings, but not on the street.

A mother and her four daughters conspired to murder their policeman father because he won't let them wear jeans and also so they can get his £88,000 pension. Meharbaan Ali, an Indian policeman, was killed after his wife and daughters hired assassins to do the dirty job. The bloody corpse of the sub-inspector was discovered dumped in a sewage canal in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, just 250 metres from the family home on Sunday.

At least 30 cars were burnt when a fuel tanker exploded along Otedola bridge on Lagos-Ibadan expressway yesterday 28th June. Some sources say the cars affected were over 50.
Videos shared online shows the extent of the damage done by the explosion. Huge plume of black smoke can be seen rising into the sky as the fire raged along the expressway.
More pictures after the cut

Five people have been shot dead and twenty injured during a mass shooting at Maryland's Capital Gazette newsroom. Police responded at the scene within 60 seconds of the call of an active shooter at the newsroom in the 800 block of Bestgate Road, Annapolis, at around 2.40pm. Acting police chief William Kamph confirmed five people had been killed and many more had "serious injuries" in the attack.

Joseph "Joe" Jackson, the patriarch who launched the musical Jackson family dynasty, has died today at a Las Vegas hospital.Jackson was the father of and at times manager to pop stars Michael and Janet Jackson, along with the sibling singing group, The Jackson 5.
No cause of death has been released, but Jackson had reportedly been in ill health.
"I have seen more sunsets than I have left to see," read a tweet posted Sunday from Jackson's official Twitter account. "The sun rises when the time comes and whether you like it or not the sun sets when the time comes."

Thursday 28 June 2018

English bulldog scoops $1500 prize money after winning World’s Ugliest Dog pageant

A British bulldog named Zsa Zsa has pocketed the princely sum of $1500 after emerging winner of the World's Ugliest Dog competition which held in California. In addition to the prize money, the winner of the pageant is awarded a trophy and flown to New York for media appearances.

Ghana’s President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, has stopped all ministers of state and government officials from traveling abroad until further notice. The directive was issued in a press statement signed by chief of staff Akosua Frema Osei-Opare and warned that only foreign affairs and regional integration minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchway would be allowed to travel.

Manchester United have signed Phil Neville's 16-year-old son Harvey after he left Valencia. Neville, a midfielder, will join United's academy after leaving the La Liga club at the end of last season.
I am very proud and excited to have signed for the club I have supported my whole life," he said.

Egyptian football pundit Abdel Rahim Mohamed died from a heart attack after Egypt crashed out of the World Cup following 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia on Monday. Rahim was reported to have become increasingly emotional watching the game at TV studios in Cairo. When he was due to analyse Egypt's 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia he was rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack.
In a report by Egypt Today, it was confirmed that Mohamed was taken to hospital by his son after the defeat where he was pronounced dead. Egypt's coach, Hector Cuper has since expressed his condolences in a press conference.

Mother sentenced to 8 years in prison for choking newborn to death

A New Jersey mother was sentenced to eight years in prison for the death of her newborn daughter. The Franklin Township woman named Jade Fanz, 21, pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter by choking her newborn daughter until she died, the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office said.

It is enough to wake the tired eyes of the groggiest commuter. A striking white and pink bullet train themed around the Japanese cartoon character and marketing phenomenon Hello Kitty. The bespoke train will begin a three month run between the western cities of Osaka and Fukuoka on Saturday. It was unveiled by the West Japan Railway firm which hopes the use of a famous local export will boost tourism.

Rapper, Meek Mill has been denied a new trial in a ruling by controversial Judge Genece Brinkley. According to court documents viewed by Pitchfork, the widely criticized Judge Genece Brinkley announced Monday that the court would be denying his petition for PCRA relief as Meek allegedly "failed to meet his burden of proof" when presenting evidence that one of his arresting officers had credibility issues.

Algeria's Abdelaziz Bouteflika has sacked his powerful police chief, who was seen as a possible successor to the 81-year-old head of state. Gen Abdelghani Hamel had led the police since 2010. No reason was given for the 62-year-old's dismissal but it comes amid a drug-trafficking scandal that has shaken the establishment. The police have denied media reports that the general's personal chauffeur was involved in smuggling cocaine. However, the force admitted that one of its fleet of drivers had been arrested in connection with the case involving the seizure of more than 700kg (1,540lb) of cocaine from a container ship in May.
The shipment, destined for a prominent businessman, came from Brazil and the drugs were found in boxes marked "halal meat".
Gen Hamel's sacking comes as a surprise as he is close to the president and has survived other difficult situations in his eight years as police chief.

Wednesday 27 June 2018

Napoleon's Waterloo hat sold on anniversary of battle

A military hat belonging to Napoleon, said to have been salvaged from the battlefield after his 1815 defeat at Waterloo, has been sold at auction for €280,000 (£245,000; $325,000). The former French emperor was renowned for his "bicorne" hats, so-called because they had two points.

Harvard University is discriminating against Asian-American applicants, a non-profit group suing the flagship US academic institution has claimed. Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) said Harvard preferred white, black and Hispanic applicants, some less qualified than Asian-American ones. It said Harvard consistently ranked Asian-American applicants lowest on personal traits such as likeability.
Harvard denied this, saying admission rates for Asian-Americans had grown. Asian-Americans currently make up 22.2% of students admitted to Harvard, according to the university website. African-Americans constitute 14.6%, Hispanic or Latino 11.6%, Native American or Pacific Islander 2.5%.
A category of all others, mainly white students, is just under 50%.

Thai teenage football team trapped in cave may be 'still alive'

Thailand's deputy PM has said he is optimistic a group of young footballers trapped inside a cave are still alive, as the search enters a third day. The boys, aged between 11 and 16, and their coach entered the cave in Chiang Rai province on Saturday. Navy divers resumed their efforts on Tuesday after rising waters had halted the search. They had reportedly seen fresh footprints inside the cave complex, raising hopes for the group's safety.

Mamoudou Gassama, the Malian immigrant who scaled an apartment building in Paris to save the life of a dangling 4-year-old last month, was honoured at the 2018 BET Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sunday night in Los Angeles, California. The 22-year-old received a humanitarian award alongside Anthony Borges, James Shaw Jr., Justin Blackman, Naomi Wadler, and Shaun King.
The “Spider-Man Parisian” has since been granted a French citizenship by French President Emmanuel Macron, and was also offered an enrollment to be a firefighter at the French fire service with a pay of 600 euros monthly for his humanitarian gesture.

Egypt goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary became the oldest player in World Cup history during Monday's group match against Saudi Arabia. El-Hadary, 45, who plays for Taawon in the Saudi Arabian first division captained his country in what was also his World Cup debut in the game and also made a spectacular penalty save in the game which took place at the Volgograd Stadium.

The alleged rape and murder of a young comedian as she walked home at night in Australia has prompted an outpouring of public grief and anger. The body of Eurydice Dixon, 22, was found at a football field in Melbourne early on Wednesday, only hours after she had performed a gig at a city bar. A man, 19, has been charged by police.

A white cop was fired for arresting his daughter’s black boyfriend for no reason, then saying ‘We’ll make shit up as we go.’
John Kovach Jr. pulled 18 year-old Makai Coleman over in April and told him ‘You’re going to jail’ – and ignored an emergency call telling him to attend a road rage incident to do so.
When the young man prostested that hadn’t done anything wrong, Kovach said: ‘You’re going to jail. Have a seat in my car,’ before issuing the threat about making an offense up.

A 23-year-old woman was arrested on Friday for allegedly poisoning food served at a feast hosted by a relative that resulted in the deaths of five guests. Her intent, police said, was to kill her husband and in-laws, whom she claimed victimised her over her complexion and cooking. Police said 23-year-old Pradnya Survase of Khalapur, about 70 km from Mumbai, confessed to mixing a powder used to kill snakes into the dal that was served to later batches of guests at the feast hosted by her relative Subhas Mane in Mahad on Monday.

The U.S. health regulator approved GW Pharmaceuticals Plc’s epilepsy treatment on Monday, making it the first cannabis-based drug to win approval in the country and opening floodgates for more research into the medicinal properties of cannabis.

Following the sudden death of XXXTentacion, the 20-year-old rapper's music catalog has skyrocketed in sales on both Amazon and Apple Music. In the hours since he was gunned down, on Monday (June 18), XXX's full-length projects, ? and 17, have earned placements at the No. 1 and No. 2 slots respectively on Amazon's Movers and Shakers Digital Music list.

Rats have been blamed after bank notes that amount to 1.2m rupees (£13,300, $17,600) were found shredded to bits in a malfunctioning cash machine in Assam, India. Technicians arrived to fix the malfunctioning ATM and were shocked to see the money in it has been destroyed. Pictures of the shredded bank notes at the State Bank of India branch in Tinsukia district were widely shared on Twitter.

A French Catholic priest on Friday spoke of his shame after being forced into instant retirement for hitting a two-year-old boy for crying during his baptism. Father Jacques Lacroix, 89, said “I am finishing my ministry now” and that “there is an end to everything.”
He carried out the bizarre assault during a ceremony at the Collegiate Church in Champeaux, near Melun, in the south-eastern suburbs of Paris, last Sunday, reports Daily Mail. In a video of the incident that has gone viral, a clearly irritated Father Jacques is seen shouting at the boy.
“Calm down, calm down, you must calm down,” he says, adding “be quiet” before squeezing the boy’s face in his hands.
Watch the video after the cut

An all-you-can-eat deal in a restaurant serving super spicy food sounds like a genius marketing campaign. But for one venue in southwestern China it turned out to be a disaster. Ravenous customers devoured so much the venue was forced to close its doors with thousands of dollars of debts.

La Liga sells 2019-2022 TV rights for US$1.33b

Spain's La Liga announced on Monday it had sold its 2019-2022 television rights for €1.14 billion (US$1.33b) per season. The four bids accepted for the Spanish market total €3.4 billion, an average of €1.14 billion for each of the coming three seasons, an increase of 15 per cent on the last three seasons, La Liga said in a statement. Spanish companies Telefonica and Mediapro were the successful bidders.
Eight lots went out to tender, with none reaching the reserve price, but La Liga decided to provisionally award four lots, saying it was confident the other four would be awarded in the "coming months".
"With these provisional results, La Liga highlights the growing value of Spanish football. The world's best league is also a leader in the leisure and entertainment sector," La Liga said.

Man sentenced to 20 years prison for killing girlfriend’s daughter with bear hug

A woman is blaming social services over the death of a young girl, who was killed while her mother’s boyfriend gave her a bear hug. Antrinette Pharr raised her 4-year-old niece, Mariya Owen, and her siblings for 3 and a half years until recently when a judge granted custody to their biological mother.

A search is underway to rescue 12 teenage soccer players and their coach who are thought to be trapped in a cave in northern Thailand. Investigators believe the group, who have been missing since Saturday, crawled into the Tham Luang Nang Non Cave through a narrow 15-meter long channel. Rising waters then blocked the path, which is about as wide as a single person, leaving the group stuck inside the cave network, Kamolchai Kotcha, an official with Thailand's national parks authority, told CNN.

Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty before Portugal conceded an injury-time spot-kick in a 1-1 draw with Iran at the World Cup on Monday as the European champions set up a last-16 clash with Uruguay.
Portugal will face Uruguay in Sochi on July 30 for a place in the quarter-finals after ending Iran's hopes of reaching the knockout phase for the first time.

General Electric drops out of Dow index

General Electric is losing its place on the Dow Jones Industrial Average after more than a century in a move that reflects its declining fortunes and a changing US economy.vWalgreens Boots Alliance will take its spot on the financial index, which tracks shares of 30 companies deemed representative of the US economy. The change took effect on 26 June. The firm that runs the index said the change was intended to reflect the growth of the healthcare sector.

Dozens were injured, and at least one person killed, in an explosion Saturday at a rally in Addis Ababa attended by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, officials said. In footage from state TV, bodyguards rush Ahmed unharmed off the stage where he had been sitting after the blast.
Eight people are in critical condition, Health Minister Amir Aman said on Twitter.
Six suspects were arrested, according to state broadcaster ETV, which carried a statement from the Federal Police Commission.

The police have confirmed 86 persons killed by suspected herdsmen during an attack on Gashish district of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State. Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mathias Tyopev, said on Sunday that six people also were injured while at least 50 houses, two vehicles and 15 motorcycles were razed. He confirmed the casualty figure and destruction after a search and rescue team from the Plateau State Police Command visited the communities affected by Saturday’s attack.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte courted controversy after he called God “stupid” for the concept of “original sin” in the Bible’s creation story, news portal Rappler reports. Addressing a summit in Davao City on Friday, Duterete, an open critic of the Catholic Church, said that he had issues with the Bible and questioned God’s logic, calling him “stupid.”

Panic grips northern Mozambique following 'terrorist incident at local supermarket'

Panic reportedly gripped northern Mozambique after reports of terrorists storming a supermarket emerged on social media. According to BBC, a group of armed men – possibly with links to an Islamist jihadist group currently terrorising the province – had taken hostages at the supermarket. Schools and business were forced to shut down, as they feared being next on the list of the armed group, the report said.

Saturday 30 June 2018

Friday 29 June 2018

Thursday 28 June 2018

Wednesday 27 June 2018

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Sunday 24 June 2018