AirAsia Flight Found Upside Down At The Bottom Of The Sea

Passengers on Flight 8501 knew they were going
to their doom: Search pilots reveal victims had
time to put on life-jackets before jet crashe
and two were found holding hands in the Java
Sea

*Seventh body pulled from water at crash site
was wearing a life-jacket

*Pilot assisting search added that three victims
were found holding hands

*Details indicate passengers knew plane was
about to crash and suggests some may have
been alive after impact

*Two coffins arrived at Juanda Airport for
identification earlier today

*Family members have been stationed there
since the plane vanished from radars just 42
minutes after departing the airport on Sunday

*Next of kin have been asked for DNA samples to
help identify the victims

*More victims are expected to arrive at the
airport as the day progresses

*But search for further bodies is being hampered
by stormy weather

*Strong winds and currents moved floating
wreckage 30 miles overnight

Passengers on board doomed AirAsia flight 8501
would have have been aware that the plane was
going crash, it has emerged, after search pilots
revealed victims had time to put on life jackets.
Representatives from Basarnas, Indonesia's
search and rescue agency, said a seventh body
recovered from the Java Sea this morning was
wearing a life jacket, while a pilot assisting the
operation claimed three of the victims were found
floating in the water still holding hands.
Some of the recovered bodies were fully clothed,
which could indicate the Airbus A320-200 was
intact when it hit the water - supporting the
theory that the plane did not explode or break up
in mid-air and may instead have suffered an
aerodynamic stall.
The fact that one person put on a life jacket
suggests those on board had time before the
aircraft hit the water, or before it sank.
This would make the search pilot's claim that
three of the victims were found still holding hands
more feasible, as it suggests not all passengers
died on impact, although it raises questions over
why the AirAsia captain did not raise a distress
signal before the crash.
Ships and planes have been scouring the Java
Sea for flight QZ8501 since Sunday, when the
AirAsia plane lost contact during bad weather 42
minutes into its flight from the Indonesian city of
Surabaya to Singapore.
Despite suggestions passengers may have been
alive during the plane's final few moments in the
air, the the pilots did not issue a distress signal in
the time between asking permission to fly higher
to avoid bad weather and six minutes later when
air traffic control lost contact with the plane.
'This morning, we recovered a total of four bodies
and one of them was wearing a life jacket,' said
Tatang Zaenudin, an official with the search and
rescue agency.
He declined to speculate on what the find might
mean.
Earlier Lieutenant Airman Tri Wobowo, who co-
piloted the C130 Hercules aircraft that first saw
debris of the plane on Tuesday, told Indonesian
newspaper Kompas: 'There are seven to eight
people. Three [of them] again hold hands.'
A pilot who works for a Gulf carrier said the life
jacket indicated the cause of the crash was not
'catastrophic failure'. Instead, the plane could
have stalled and then come down, possibly
because its instruments iced up and gave the
pilots inaccurate readings.
'There was time. It means the thing didn't just
fall out of the sky,' said the pilot, who declined to
be identified.
He said it could take a minute for a plane to come
down from 30,000 feet and the pilots could have
experienced 'tunnel vision ... too overloaded' to
send a distress call.
'The first train of thought when you get into a
situation like that is to fly the aircraft.'




http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/
article-2891639/AirAsia-crash-victims-floating-
alongside-tragic-passengers-luggage-wreckage-
doomed-jet-discovered-Java-Sea.html

Pic: D'banj sleeps next to his Best Africa Collaboration 2014 plaque

 

 

D'banj and other stars he collaborated with won Best Africa Collaboration for Cocoa Na Chocolate at the recently held All Africa Music Award. List of nominees in his category below... David O and Mafikizolo (Tchelete) Diamond platnumz ft david o(number one) Uhuru ft Dj bucks,Oskido, Professor and uri-da-cunh (Y-tjukutja) Dbanj and Friends (cocoa Na Chocolate) Mavins/don jazzy (dorobucci ) See him lying next to his plaque, with his chains and Rolex watch also chilling...:

Coup Attempt Foiled in The Gambia

 

 

There was a failed coup attempt by presidential guards in The Gambia today Dec. 30th. According to reports, some presidential guards stormed the presidential palace in Banjul, the country's capital and shot sporadically in the air. The whereabouts of Gambia's president, Yahya Jammeh is said to be unknown but many believe he is in Paris or Dubai. An army source who spoke to AFP said the attackers had been completely warded off and the situation has been brought under control.

Twitter User Toks Olagundoye Engages to a Man She Met On Twitter

Despite the fact that social networks in recent times is getting all such of abuse from user, some people still take their time and very watchful and polite when using the social network. 
Toks Olagundoye is a Twitter user and she recently got engaged to a man she met on Twitter. How lovely a kinda event like this.
Congrat to her as we watch out...

Skye Bank Appoints Interim MD for Mainstreet Bank

Skye Bank Plc says it has appointed Mrs. Amaka Onwughalu as the interim Managing Director of Mainstreet Bank. This is contained in a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Monday in Lagos. Skye Bank said that Onwughalu would also oversee the affairs of the bank as the Deputy Managing Director. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria formally handed over the management of Mainstreet Bank to Skye Bank Plc on Dec. 18. The bank also said that directors of Mainstreet Bank had also resigned their appointments on that date. It added that the bank had constituted interim management board that comprised of Onwughalu as managing director and Mr. Dotun Adeniyi as an executive director. The bank said that the interim management board was expected to steer the affairs Mainstreet Bank in the next six months. It also said that the appointments would afford the bank the opportunity to pursue the integration of the operations of the two banks. According to the notice, Onwughalu was appointed to the Board of Skye Bank on November 30, 2008. It described her as an astute bank administrator with over 27 years of experience. The bank added that she rose to the position of acting Managing Director of Reliance Bank in April 2005 till the merger scheme, which gave birth to Skye Bank in 2006. It also added that she was in charge of the Treasury Group, the International Funding Group, Corporate Banking Group and International Subsidiaries of the bank in her current capacity as DMD It said that Adeniyi was also appointed to the board on November 30, 2008. It described Adeniyi as a banker with over 28 years experience spanning corporate banking, commercial banking, retail banking, international trade finance and banking operations. He is currently Skye Bank’s Chief Risk Officer. Adeniyi started his banking career as a Trainee Manager with the United Bank for Africa in 1986. 

Punch (online)

Pics: VP candidate Prof Osinbajo takes his campaign to the streets of Obalende

APC Vice Presidential candidate Prof Yemi Osinbajo was in Obalende, Lagos on Saturday Dec. 27th to  campaign for his party. See more photos after the cut ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Source: Lindaikeji Blog

Justin Bieber didn't buy a $60m private jet after all...

Well, technically he never said it was his...we all assumed it was after he posted the photos on his instagram page and wrote "New jet for Christmas, and she's beautiful". But according to TMZ, it was merely chartered by Justin for a Christmas flight from Canada to NYC. It was a 22-seater G4 plane which is up for sale. He didn't buy it!

AirAsia QZ8501: Forty Bodies Found in Missing Plane Search

At least 40 bodies have been recovered from the sea in the search for missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501, the Indonesian navy says.

The bodies were spotted along with debris floating in the Java Sea off the Indonesian part of Borneo, in one of the search zones for the plane.
There has been no official confirmation that the remains come from the plane.
The Airbus A320-200, carrying 162 people from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore, disappeared on Sunday.

Relatives cried and hugged each other as bodies were shown on live TV

 

Searchers have found what they think is the missing plane's slide

 

Pictures of debris were taken by search and rescue aircraft

  

The search operation is now in its third day, with the area widened to cover 13 zones over land and sea.
During a news conference by the head of the operation, shown live on Indonesian TV, pictures of the debris were shown including a body floating on the water.
Relatives of passengers on the plane watching the pictures were visibly shocked.
Later, the Indonesian navy reported that 40 bodies had been retrieved by one warship.
Its spokesman said the rescuers were continuing to recover bodies and were "very busy now".
AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes tweeted to the families: "My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ 8501. On behalf of AirAsia my condolences."

Search operation head Bambang Soelistyo said he was 95% certain the objects shown were from the plane, adding that a shadow was spotted under water which appeared to be in the shape of a plane.
All resources were now being sent to the area where the debris was found, he said.
Mr Soelistyo added that ships with more sophisticated technology were being deployed to check whether larger parts of the plane were submerged beneath the debris.
Indonesian civil aviation chief Djoko Murjatmodjo, quoted by AFP news agency, said "significant things" such as a passenger door and cargo door had been found.
He added that the objects had been found 160km (100 miles) south-west of Pangkalan Bun in Borneo's Central Kalimantan province.
At least 30 ships, 15 aircraft and seven helicopters joined the operation when it resumed at 06:00 local time on Tuesday (23:00 GMT Monday).

 

Search and rescue operations are now in their third day

 

The operation, led by Indonesia, includes assistance from Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, with other offers of help from South Korea, Thailand, China and France. The US destroyer USS Sampson is on its way to the zone.
Communication lost On board the plane were 137 adult passengers, 17 children and one infant, along with two pilots and five crew.
Most were Indonesian but the passengers included one UK national, a Malaysian, a Singaporean and three South Koreans.
The plane left Surabaya at 05:35 Jakarta time on Sunday and had been due to arrive in Singapore two hours later.
Safety officials say the captain had asked for permission to take the plane higher but, by the time permission was granted, communication with the plane was lost.
It was officially declared missing at 07:55.
AirAsia previously had an excellent safety record and there were no fatal accidents involving its aircraft.





http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30630330

Cameroun Launches Air Strikes against Boko Haram

 Boko Haram fighters

Cameroun has carried out its first air strikes against militant Islamist group Boko Haram, after it overran a military base and attacked five villages, officials have said.

The military repelled the coordinated attacks and regained control of the base, they added.

At least 41 militants and one soldier died in the attack, the officials said.

The Nigeria-based group is increasingly carrying out cross-border raids, threatening Cameroun’s security.

The latest fighting was the most intense, lasting for three days along several fronts, reported the BBC from Cameroun’s capital Yaounde.

About 1,000 militants attacked five villages, including Amchide, and seized the nearby Achigachia military base, army spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Didier Badjeck, told Reuters news agency.

“After that, the head of state ordered the air force to carry out strikes. With the bombardment, the fighters were forced to decamp from Achigachia,” he said.

In a statement, Cameroun’s Information Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said the multiple attacks showed that Boko Haram had adopted a new strategy aimed at “distracting Camerounian troops on different fronts, making them more vulnerable in the face of the mobility and unpredictability of their attacks”.

At least 34 militants were killed after the army raided one of their bases in Cameroun, while another seven were killed in a separate clash which also claimed the life of a soldier, Bakary said, Reuters reported.

The air strikes marked “a new escalation in the Camerounian response... to multiple enemy attacks”, he added, AFP news agency reported.

Last week, Cameroun said it had dismantled a Boko Haram training camp on its territory, and had seized 84 children who were being trained there.

More than 40 of its soldiers have been killed in fighting with Boko Haram this year, according to Reuters.

Boko Haram launched its insurgency in North-eastern Nigeria in 2009, saying it wanted to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.

It recruits mainly unemployed youth and has seized large swathes of territory in Borno State, raising fears that it could launch an assault on its main city, Maiduguri.

At least 2,000 civilians have been killed by the group in Nigeria this year.

The kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram in April from the town of Chibok in Borno sparked international outrage.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/cameroun-launches-air-strikes-against-boko-haram/197978/

Bodies, Debris from Missing AirAsia Plane Pulled from Sea off Indonesia

AirAsia debris

Indonesian rescuers searching for a missing AirAsia plane carrying 162 people pulled bodies and wreckage from the sea off the coast of Borneo on Tuesday as relatives of those on board broke down in tears on hearing the news, Reuters reported.

Indonesia AirAsia's Flight QZ8501, an Airbus A320-200, lost contact with air traffic control early on Sunday during bad weather on a flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.

Indonesia's search and rescue agency confirmed the debris was from the plane. The agency's chief, Soelistyo, said "more than one" body had been recovered.

The plane has yet to be found and there was no word on the possibility of any survivors.

Pictures of floating bodies were broadcast on television and relatives of the missing gathered at a crisis center in Surabaya wept with heads in their hands. Several people collapsed in grief and were helped away, a Reuters reporter said.

"You have to be strong," the mayor of Surabaya, Tri Rismaharini, said as she comforted relatives. "They are not ours, they belong to God."

A navy spokesman said a plane door, oxygen tanks and one body had been recovered and taken away by helicopter for tests.

AirAsia chief, Tony Fernandes, who has been in Indonesia since the plane went missing, said he was rushing back to Surabaya.

"Whatever we can do at AirAsia we will be doing," he said on Twitter.
About 30 ships and 21 aircraft from Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and the United States had been involved in the search of up to 10,000 square nautical miles.

The plane, which did not issue a distress signal, disappeared after its pilot failed to get permission to fly higher to avoid bad weather because of heavy air traffic, officials said.

Flight QZ8501 was travelling at 32,000 feet (9,753 meters) and had asked to fly at 38,000 feet, officials said earlier.

Pilots and aviation experts said thunderstorms, and requests to gain altitude to avoid them, were not unusual in that area.

The Indonesian pilot was experienced and the plane last underwent maintenance in mid-November, the airline said.

Online discussion among pilots has centered on unconfirmed secondary radar data from Malaysia that suggested the aircraft was climbing at a speed of 353 knots, about 100 knots too slow, and that it might have stalled.

The plane, whose engines were made by CFM International, co-owned by General Electric and Safran of France, lacked real-time engine diagnostics or monitoring, a GE spokesman said.

Such systems are mainly used on long-haul flights and can provide clues to airlines and investigators when things go wrong.

Three airline disasters involving Malaysian-affiliated carriers in less than a year have dented confidence in the country's aviation industry and spooked travelers across the region.

Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 went missing on March 8 on a trip from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board and has not been found. On July 17, the same airline's Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/bodies-debris-from-missing-airasia-plane-pulled-from-sea-off-indonesia/197982/

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes Tweets Condolences to Families of Those Aboard QZ8501

The  CEO of AirAsia Tony Fernandes tweeted condolences to families of those aboard QZ8501:
He wrote in his tweet... "My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ 8501. On behalf of AirAsia my condolences."

Jonathan, Buhari, Others Set for Battle as INEC Substitution Deadline Expires Tuesday

With today being the deadline for the substitution of candidates for the presidential election, the stage has been set for President Goodluck Jonathan and General Muhammadu Buhari, among other presidential candidates, to square up against one another, as their political parties can no longer replace them as their parties’ standard-bearers.

With this, the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) would print their names on the ballot papers, whether or not any of them decides to opt out of the presidential election.

The same also applies to candidates vying for National Assembly posts across the country.

However, the governorship and state assembly aspirants have up till January 13 to either withdraw or have their parties submit substitutes to INEC in their place.

The presidential and National Assembly elections are billed to hold on February 14 while that of the governorship and state assembly will hold on February 28.

According to the electoral guidelines released by INEC, today is the last day for withdrawal of candidates and replacement of withdrawn candidates by political parties.

This is in accordance with Section 35 of the Electoral Act 2010, which provides for political parties to make up their minds on their candidates not later than 45 days before the election.

Besides Jonathan and Buhari, other presidential candidates include Tunde Anifowose-Kelani who will be contesting on the Action Alliance platform; Prof. Comfort Oluremi Sonaiya - Kowa Party; Chief Chekwas Okorie - United Progressives Party; and Chief Martin Onovo - and National Conscience Party.

Others are Dr. Ibrahim Nani - African Democratic Congress; Godson Okoye - United Democratic Party; Rafiu Salau - Alliance for Democracy; Kelvin Alagoa - Peoples Party of Nigeria.

The Allied Congress Party of Nigeria will be fielding Alhaji Ganiyu Oseni; African Peoples Alliance, Alhaji Adebayo Ayeni; and Hope Democratic Party, Ambrose Owuru.

This comes as INEC has redeployed its Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) ahead of the 2015 general election.

In a letter dated 24th December 2014 and signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Mrs. Augusta C. Ogakwu, the RECs were directed to conclude all hand over and taking over formalities by Wednesday, 31st December, 2014.

Their redeployment is as follows:

S/N     NAME                           STATE OF ORIGIN       NEW POSTING

01      Prof. O.E. Onukaogu                Abia                            Enugu

02      Prof. Tukur Sa’ad                     Adamawa                    Bauchi

03      Ahmed Makama                       Bauchi                         Taraba

04      Mike Igini                                 Delta                            Edo

05      Selina Omagha Oko                  Ebonyi                         Abia

06      Edwin Offor Nwatarali            Enugu                            Anambra

07      Sadiq Abubakar Musa              Kaduna                       Sokoto

08      Jibrin Ibrahim Zarewa               Kano                           Kebbi

09      Hussaini Ahmed Mahuta          Katsina                         Kaduna

10      Abubakar Umar Garba Wara    Kebbi                          Zamfara

11      Emmanuel Onucheyo                Kogi                            Kwara

12      Rufus O. Akeju                         Lagos                        Oyo

13      Abdullahi Umar Danyaya         Niger                           Nasarawa

14      Timothy A. Ibitoye                   Osun                           Ogun

15      A.L. Ogunmola                         Oyo                           Osun

16      Barito Lenusikpugi Kphagih    Rivers                          Bayelsa

17      Haliru A. Tambuwal                 Sokoto                         Jigawa

18      Kassim Gana Geidam               Yobe                           Gombe

19      Ibrahim Bagobiri Marafa          Zamfara                       Katsina

20      Aniedi Ikoiwak                         Akwa-Ibom                 Delta

21      Habu Zarma                              Gombe                        Yobe

22      Akin Orebiyi                             Ogun                           Lagos

23      Hussaini Halilu Pai                    FCT                             Kogi

24      Kwanga Godwin Mbatsavbee   Benue                         Plateau

25      Sylvester Okey Ezeani              Anambra                     Cross River

26      Minkaila Abdullahi                   Jigawa                         Kano

27      Lawrence Azubuike                  Imo                              Ebonyi

28      Sam Olugbadebo Olumekun     Ondo                           Ekiti

29      Istifanus Ishaku Dafwang          Plateau                         Benue

30      Gesila Khan                              Bayelsa                        River

31      Samuel Madaki                         Taraba                         Borno

32      Gabriel Ada                              Cross River                 Imo

33      Jacob Shekwonudu Jatau          Nasarawa                   FCT

34      Baba Abba Yusuf                     Borno                          Adamawa

35      Segun Agbaje                            Ekiti                            Ondo

36      Nasir Ayilara                             Kwara                         Niger

37      Austine Okojie                          Edo                             Akwa-Ibom

Source: ThisDay Online

Somalia: Al-Shabaab Intelligence Chief Captured

Somali government forces on Saturday captured a top commander of the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab, two of the country's military officials said.

Zakariya Ismail Ahmed Hersi, Al-Shabaab's intelligence chief, was captured in a house near the town of El Wak, Somali military commander Isack Hussein Mursal told state-run radio.

He was a close associate of former Al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike near Barawe city in September.

Somali forces captured Hersi and his driver without confrontation, officials said. The U.S. State Department had issued a $3 million reward for information leading to his capture.

"Zakariya has told us following his capture that he left Al-Shabaab a year and half ago and since then was looking for to surrender to the Somali government," Col. Abas Ibrahim Gurey, a senior military official, told CNN.

The capture comes after militants with the group, which is linked to al Qaeda, attacked a large African Union base in Mogadishu on Thursday, killing three Ugandan soldiers and a civilian.

Al-Shabaab has said that attack was revenge for the U.S. airstrike that killed Godane. The State Department had offered a $7 million reward for information on Godane's location.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/27/world/africa/somalia-al-shabaab/index.html?hpt=hp_t4

Scotland Confirms Case of Ebola

Health officials in Glasgow, Scotland, have confirmed a case of Ebola.

"The patient is a health care worker who was helping to combat the disease in West Africa" and returned from Sierra Leone late Sunday night, the Scottish health agency NHS Scotland said.

The patient flew via Casablanca, Morocco, and London Heathrow Airport, arriving at Glasgow Airport on a British Airways flight around 11:30 p.m., the statement said.

"The patient was admitted to hospital early in the morning after feeling unwell and was placed into isolation at 7.50 a.m. All possible contacts with the patient are now being investigated and anyone deemed to be at risk will be contacted and closely monitored. However, having been diagnosed in the very early stages of the illness, the risk to others is considered extremely low."

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's head of government, led a meeting of the Scottish Government Resilience Committee "to ensure all necessary steps are being taken," and she spoke with British Prime Minister David Cameron, NHS Scotland said.

Following established protocol, the patient "will be transferred to the high-level isolation unit in the Royal Free hospital, London, as soon as possible. This is where the facilities, staff and systems are in place to ensure the best quality and safest care."

Access to the unit is restricted to specially trained medical staff. A specially designed tent, with controlled ventilation, will be set up over the patient's bed.

"Scotland has been preparing for this possibility from the beginning of the outbreak in West Africa and I am confident that we are well prepared," Sturgeon said in the statement.

"We have the robust procedures in place to identify cases rapidly. Our health service also has the expertise and facilities to ensure that confirmed Ebola cases such as this are contained and isolated effectively minimizing any potential spread of the disease."

She added, "Scotland's NHS has proved it is well able to cope with infectious diseases in the past, such as swine flu, and I am confident we will be able to respond effectively again."

The patient was working with Save the Children at an Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone, according to Michael von Bertele, humanitarian director at that organization.

"Our thoughts are with the individual, their family and colleagues at this difficult time. We wish them a speedy recovery," he said in a statement.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/29/health/ebola-scotland/index.html?hpt=hp_t3