Harry Potter Actor Found Ded In California

One of the villains from the "Harry Potter" movies British actor Dave Legeno has died while hiking in Death Valley, according to TMZ reports.

Legeno's body was found by a pair of hikers on Sunday in an area so remote. A CHP helicopter was called in to remove the corpse.

50-year-old Legeno played the werewolf Fenrir Greyback in the 'Harry Potter' movies. He was also in the film, "Snatch."

The Inyo County Sheriff's Department (in California) says it appears the actor died of heat related issues ... and may have been dead for 3-4 days before his body was discovered. Summer temps in Death Valley are known to go over 120 degrees.

BRITISH VARSITIES WOO ELITE STUDENTS WITH CASH, IPADS

TOP universities are to offer inducements including free mini iPads and laptops, tickets to celebrity lectures and rent rebates as they prepare to battle for Britain’s brightest students

   According to the Sunday Times of London, when the A-level results are announced today, those with high grades will find themselves in a buyers’ market as many of Britain’s elite universities will, for the first time, enter clearing — the process whereby students are matched to spare places.

     Scholarships worth thousands of pounds will also be dangled in front of teenagers, to persuade them to trade up from lower-ranking universities.

     Vice-chancellors at leading universities such as Keele, Southampton, Exeter and Sussex will be taking advantage of a ministerial decision to allow them to recruit unlimited numbers of applicants with grades of ABB and above. A survey of universities by Deloitte reveals that more than a quarter have ambitious plans for expansion.

     Others, however, will be trying to fill half-empty courses shunned by students who want certainty about getting value for their £9,000-a-year fees.

     Don Nutbeam, the vice-chancellor at Southampton, said: “We are competing with 20 or 30 other universities for the most talented. It will be a genuine market place with students using it to try to get a better offer

GERMANY SUMMONS BRITISH ENVOY OVER SPY CLAIMS

THE British ambassador in Berlin has been called in by Germany's Foreign Ministry to respond to spying allegations.

The UK Independent newspaper says the British embassy in Berlin may be…

HOW AFRICA CAN LEAD IN ENERGY, OTHER SECTORS, BY UNECA CHIEF

THE Executive Secretary of the United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Mr. Carlos Lopes, has urged African ministers to be guided by a moral compass of ensuring the “greatest good for the greatest number” of people of the continent.

    Lopes, who made the call while addressing ministers at the Africa Regional Consultative Meeting on the Sustainable Development Goals, explained that sustainable development is about reframing the global development agenda in ways that would give both present and future generations the autonomy to be active forces in their own destinies. “
    “Africa has within its reach, the capacity, the people, resources and opportunities to lead the way on sustainable development,” he was quoted as saying in a statement made available to The Guardian.
   The UNECA chief also proposed opportunities in three sectors where Africa can lead.
   In the energy sector, Lopes said evidence is mounting that Africa’s need to expand its capacity to generate power can be met through renewable energy technologies that deliver clean and sustainable energy supplies. 
    “Overcoming the barriers that prevent the development of renewable energy in a context of climate change will depend largely on improving the policy and institutional environment in Africa,” he said. 
    He added that inclusive green growth is a frontier that could focus on affordable renewable energy services, the promotion of green jobs and the reduction of poverty. 
   According to him, agriculture sector holds the key to unlocking Africa’s growth potential, to attain the seven per cent threshold. “
    He said leveraging the continent’s agricultural sector is critical given its growing population and an ever-increasing demand for food.

EGYPT;S COURT REJECTS BROTHERHOOD'S APPEAL AGAINST BAN

An Egyptian court on Wednesday turned down an appeal by the Muslim Brotherhood against a previous court ruling that banned the group and seized its funds, official news agency MENA reported. A court decided late September to ban all activities of the Islamist group as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) and to confiscate its assets and funds. The decision is seen as one of the interim authorities' move to crack down on the Brotherhood after former President Mohamed Morsi was toppled by military on July 3 in response to mass nationwide protests against his single year rule. According to the ruling, the cabinet will form an independent panel to temporarily supervise and manage the money, until the court gives an irrevocable verdict. MENA said Counsellor Ezzet Khamis was appointed as the head of the committee. The Egypt's oldest Islamist group was dissolved on Oct. 

‘TAYLOR BEHIND BARS IN BRITAIN ALONGSIDE NOTORIOUS MURDERERS, OTHERS’

IF the claims of the family of Liberia’s former warlord, Charles Taylor, are anything to be trusted, he is currently being held in one of Britain’s highest security prisons, alongside notorious murderers, terrorists, psychopaths and paedophiles.

    The facility, HMP Frankland, near the northeastern English city of Durham, houses 800 of the most dangerous offenders in the prison system and is the jail where double child-murderer, Ian Huntley, had his throat slashed by inmates three years ago.

     “He is being incarcerated in Frankland prison,” Taylor’s wife, Victoria Addison Taylor, told Agence France Presse (AFP) Wednesday.

    The revelation by Taylor’s wife was the first indication of the former president’s whereabouts.

    “They took him to this prison where high (risk) criminals, terrorists and other common British criminals are kept and he is being classified as a high risk prisoner... He is going through humiliation and you cannot treat a former head of state that way,” she added.

      It would be recalled that the 65-year-old former president in September lost his appeal over a catalogue of gruesome acts committed by the Sierra Leonean rebels he aided and abetted during that country’s 1991-2001 civil war – one of the most brutal in modern history.

     He was transferred to an unnamed prison in Britain last month.

     However, Frankland is the largest of five high-security prisons in England and Wales, where inmates included the two men jailed for the high-profile murder of British police officer, Sharon Beshenivsky.

    The prison previously held Harold Shipman, one of the most prolific serial killers in recorded history, blamed for up to 250 murders, who hanged himself in HMP Wakefield in January 2004.

    Huntley, 39, jailed for life for the 2002 murders of 10-year-old school friends – Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman – was rushed to hospital in 2010 after being found lying in a pool of blood at Frankland, his throat slashed with a makeshift knife.

     In 2011, two prisoners disembowelled 23-year old Mitchell Harrison, who had been convicted for raping a 13-year old girl.

    Also, triple killer, Kevan Thakrar, stabbed three prison guards several months earlier while British Al-Qaeda activist, Eesa Bharot, needed a skin graft after he was attacked with hot oil and boiling water by fellow inmates in 2007.

    Taylor is likely to spend the rest of his life behind bars after the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) in The Hague upheld his 50-year sentence in September.

    His landmark sentence on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity was the first handed down by an international court against a former head of state since the Nazi trials at Nuremberg in 1946.

    The British government had offered in 2007 to house Taylor in a British jail if he was convicted, and to cover the costs of his imprisonment.

    As Liberia’s president from 1997 to 2003, Taylor was accused of supplying guns and ammunition to rebels in neighbouring Sierra Leone in a conflict notorious for its mutilations, drugged child soldiers and sex slaves.

      He was found guilty of supporting the rebels during a civil war that claimed 120,000 lives between 1991 and 2002, in exchange for “blood diamonds” mined by slave labour.

  Meanwhile, Taylor’s wife said she was getting information on her husband’s poor treatment from his British-based daughter from a previous marriage, Charlene Taylor, who has spoken to the former president once since he was moved to Frankland.

ISRAEL’S FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER ACQUITTED OF FRAUD

A Jerusalem court on Wednesday acquitted Israel’s former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman of fraud and breach of trust charges, paving the way for the right-wing lawmaker to return to his old job.

Lieberman stood down as foreign minister before parliamentary elections earlier this year to face the charges, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the portfolio himself as a temporary solution, pending the outcome of the trial.

Netanyahu telephoned Lieberman immediately after the verdict, congratulating him and telling him he was happy about his "return to the government of Israel," a statement from the prime minister's office said.

Lieberman, appearing outside the courtroom, said of the trial: ``this chapter is behind me...I will focus on the challenges ahead, and there are enough of them.’’

Lieberman heads the Israel Beiteinu party, which formed an alliance with Netanyahu's Likud party in the January elections.

As foreign minister, he was controversial because of his outspoken and hardliner views.

He has already dismissed the revived peace negotiations with the Palestinians, saying he does not believe in their chances of success.

Lieberman had been accused of appointing an Israeli diplomat as ambassador to Latvia as a way of thanking him for providing classified documents about a separate police investigation.

It was alleged that he illegally received millions of dollars from various foreign businessmen.

That separate investigation was closed last year due to insufficient evidence.

Wednesday's verdict came after 17 years of corruption allegations against Lieberman.

Opposition leader Shelly Yechimovich, of the left-of-centre Labour Party, said that in spite of the acquittal, she believed that Lieberman had at least broken ethical codes of behaviour.

UN PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR PHILIPPINES OVER DEVASTATION

UNITED Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed deep sadness over the extensive loss of lives and damage to homes and infrastructure in the Philippines as a result of the Typhoon Haiyan.

His spokesperson, Martin Nesirky, in a statement,  said the UN scribe offered his condolences to the people and government of the Philippines, particularly to those who had lost family members, homes or had been otherwise affected by this disaster.

He stated that the UN humanitarian agencies and partners were working closely with the government to support its efforts to assess the situation and respond rapidly to help people in need.

Similarly, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency relief coordinator, Valerie Amos, called for support to Philippines after the devastation caused by the Typhoon.

"There are varying estimates of the number of people killed, including at least 1,200 according to the Philippines Red Cross. Sadly, it is likely that this figure will rise.

"The Government estimates that some 4.3 million people are affected, across 36 provinces, and initial assessments show that thousands of homes have been destroyed, roads are impassable and people need food, water, shelter and power," the UN official said.

35 Things You Absolutely MUST Agree Upon Before Getting Married

Ask the experts what an engaged couple should discuss before they get married and you’ll probably hear something along the lines of “money, sex, and kids.” Heck, that’s even the name of one relationship book. With all due respect to the experts, I think they may want to work on that list a little bit. Sure, those are all important. But what about the things carefully designed to drive husbands and wives up the wall and right through the ceiling? The tiny beard hairs left in the sink after a shave? The plates placed willy nilly in the dishwasher? Come on, ladies and gentlemen! It’s time to settle the debates a couple absolutely must have before the wedding:

1. Does the toilet paper go over or under the roll?

2. Cats? Dogs? Both?

3. Can you eat breakfast for dinner?

4. Cold pizza: yes or no?

5. Is it acceptable to open presents as they arrive or do you have to wait for the actual birthday or holiday?

6. Should the dirty forks and knives go in the dishwasher with the handle sticking out of the utensil tray or down in the utensil tray?

7. Is it acceptable to leave dishes in the sink to “soak” overnight, or do they need to be cleaned before bed?

8. Toothpaste: cap on or cap off?

9. Again on the toothpaste: roll it from the bottom or just squeeze really hard?

10. Are towels a one-time use item or do you use the same towel until laundry day?

11. How about washcloths?

12. Road trip or flying?

13. What’s the right thread count for sheets?

14. What brand of toilet paper?

15. Mayo or Miracle Whip?

16. Pepsi or Coke?

17. Can you eat the holiday candy out in the display bowl or must it be left there for display?

18. What is YOUR definition of camping?

19. Turn the thermostat down when you go out or leave it alone?

20. At what point is a garbage bag too full to stuff more trash in it?

21. How many times is it acceptable to hit the snooze button?

22. Thrift store shopping: great deals or gross?

23. How far in advance is it OK to plan a vacation?

24. Restaurant reservations: necessary or too restrictive?

25. Roller coasters: love ‘em or hate ‘em?

26. More chocolate chips, less cookie or more cookie, less chips?

27. How much orange juice must be left in the container for it to be returned to the fridge?

28. Chip clips or just roll the bag up?

29. Call the doctor or just take some medicine at home?

30. Where is the prime location for the TV remote to stay?

31. Is it OK to have a TV in the bedroom?

32. Should folded clothes be put away, or is it OK to just pull as needed from the basket of clean laundry?

33. Do you need to write a grocery list or just wait until you’re walking around the store to figure out what you need?

34. Making the bed: must-do or waste of time because you’re just going to get back in it?

35. Is it OK to shave/clip toenails in the living room?

See? So many issues, so little time to get them straightened out before you’re grumbling about that dishwasher.

All right, weigh in: what drives you batty about your partner that you wish you’d settled before the wedding?

FAKE naira note discovered in church offering basket

The Methodist Church, Otapete, in Ilesa, Osun State on Sunday said it discovered fake naira notes in its offering basket.

The church held its 2013 Juvenile and Youth Harvest on Sunday.

Angered by the donation, church officials condemned it, and warned worshipers to desist from such act or face the wrath of God.

A cleric, J.A. Amoo, brought out one of the fake N1,000 notes and showed it to the congregation. He explained that the fake notes were discovered at the bank where the church went to deposit the money; saying it was embarrassing to the church.

‘We must bring this to the notice of the congregation because it is a bad habit; nobody should tempt God so that the Lord’s wrath will not come upon such person or persons.

“I plead with whoever is involved or has similar tendencies to desist. Also let us ensure we crosscheck our money well at all time,” the clergyman said.

Earlier in his sermon, the guest preacher, identified as Reverend Majenjebi, called on the youth to act right at all time.

Mr. Majenjebi told the young worshippers to always listen to their parents and elders’ advice.

He said there were numerous fake clerics in the society, saying many of them established churches as business ventures to dupe innocent people. He called on the public to be cautious of such clerics.

He blamed the establishment of fake churches on unemployment saying such clerics wanted to make ends meet at the expense of the innocent worshippers. He also condemned the policy of employers asking for work experience from fresh graduates before they could be employed.

Bodyguard Or Breast-guard? Rihanna’s Boobs mistakenly Grabbed In Public By Her Security

Sexy goddess and Bad girl singer, Rihanna, has tempted the guys working for her too much by her provocative wears to the extent that one of them lost control and took his hand to her breast rather than her waist recently, in a bid to protect her from the public it was caught on camera

ASUU STRIKE LATEST: Indeed, ASUU set to suspend strike this week

Indications have emerged that the Academic Staff Union of Universities may call off the over four-month-old strike on Thursday.

Barring a last-minute change, the National Executive Committee of ASUU will meet on Wednesday night to consider the position of the congresses of the over 50 public universities on the offer made by the Federal government to revamp the institutions.

The union met with a Federal Government team led by President Goodluck Jonathan last Tuesday in Abuja.

The ASUU leadership, after briefing the zonal coordinators on the offer, had directed the local branches to organise congress meetings between Friday last week and Tuesday (tomorrow).

This is to enable all the lecturers to make input into the action the union would take after its NEC meeting on Thursday.

However, feelers from most universities that had organised their congresses revealed that ASUU would suspend the strike after the Thursday NEC meeting.

In some universities, including the Obafemi Awolowo University and the Lagos State University that have scheduled their congress meetings for Monday (today), union leaders and lecturers expressed hope that the strike would end this week.

Also, some top officials of the union in some of the nine zones of ASUU said even though they were not happy with the plan by the government to inject N220bn yearly into the public universities for the next five years, they were pleased that a commitment had been obtained by the union.

Though the Ibadan Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Dr. Nasir Adesola, confirmed that the NEC meeting would hold on Wednesday, he did not say whether the strike would be called off or not.

“Yes, the NEC will hold on Wednesday evening but ASUU has a process which we are going to follow. NEC reserves the right to call off the strike after due consultation with members and this is why congresses are being called in all the chapters of the union. Please, wait till after the congress,” he told one of our correspondents on the telephone.

But another source said, “Our NEC meeting will hold between Wednesday night and Thursday. Our chapters have started holding meetings to discuss the Federal Government’s offer. This is to allow input from all the lecturers. We have to carry them along to avoid disunity since there are moves by some elements to infiltrate us.”

Another source told one of our correspondents that some members had expressed mixed feelings about the Federal Government’s new offer based on its refusal to honour past agreements.

“The radicals among us are sceptical about this latest offer. They do not believe that government will respect the agreement. Their view is that government only wants to deceive the union to call off the strike before it will jettison it.”

A top official of the union, who confirmed the fears, told one of our correspondents that although members’ opinions at the zonal congresses were divided over the government’s offer, the majority still decided to give the government the benefit of the doubt.

He also said that the majority opinion was that the review of the agreement which was supposed to hold this year should be postponed till next year in the interest of peace.

The official added, “Members were persuaded because President Goodluck Jonathan personally met with the union. They felt since the President was involved in the negotiation this time around, the government would not say that it was arm-twisted to make the offer.

“This is the problem we are having with the 2009 agreement. By now we should be talking about a review but we are still having troubles with implementation.

“Although feelers across the zones are that we should call off the strike, we are going to put down the government offer in black and white and make it public so that nobody accuses us tomorrow of asking for too much.”

Some universities are expected to hold their congresses on Monday (today) to discuss the outcome of the zonal congresses held at nine centres across the country last week.

A source at the meeting between the government and ASUU told one of our correspondents that the government after a long debate agreed to inject N220bn yearly for the next five years beginning from 2014.

He had said, “The meeting should be the longest that we have ever had on this crisis but I can tell you that both parties were frank all through the discussions. The parties also showed commitment towards ending the crisis. The President in particular showed that he was serious about ending the strike and that was why he offered to release over N1tn to the universities in the next five years.

“The money will be released on a yearly basis at N220bn per annum beginning from 2014. For the outgoing year, the Federal Government will only release N100bn and this has been processed.

“In order to show commitment to this deal, the money will be kept at the Central Bank of Nigeria and will be released on a quarterly basis to the universities. So, there won’t be any problem about funding the deal.”

The source added that the National Universities Commission and the Trade Union Congress would be joint guarantors of the new agreement while the Minister of Education would be the implementation officer.

He said that the government also agreed, among other things, to revamp the public universities by ensuring that all the issues that always lead to strike were dealt with once and for all.