Not True: Angola Denies Burning Mosques And Banning Islam »

Stories had recently flooded the internet that
Angola had banned Islam and was destroying
mosques,

but it seems that there may be no
truth to the rumors.
An official at the Angolan Embassy in
Washington, D.C., who did not want to be
identified while discussing the sensitive
matter, told IBTimes that there is no such
ban, and that the reports are erroneous.
“The Republic of Angola … it’s a country that
does not interfere in religion,” the official
said via telephone Monday afternoon. “We
have a lot of religions there. It is freedom of
religion. We have Catholic, Protestants,
Baptists, Muslims and evangelical people.”
News of Angola’s supposed ban on Islam
originated in the African press, which went so
far as to quote the nation’s president and
minister of culture offering statements that
suggested the premise of the reports was
accurate.
A second official at the Angolan Embassy in
the U.S. reiterated that the diplomatic seat
has not been made aware of any ban on Islam
in the country.
“At the moment we don’t have any
information about that,” the official told
IBTimes via phone on Monday. “We’re reading
about it just like you on the Internet. We
don’t have any notice that what you’re
reading on the Internet is true.”

Airtel backs Lagos Countdown Festival

Lagos – In line with hits vision to become the
most loved brand in Nigeria, leading
telecommunications services provider,

Airtel
Nigeria, has announced its partnership with
Lagos State Government to host this year’s
edition of the Lagos Countdown Festival.
The year-end countdown festival, an initiative
of Governor Babatunde Fashola, started last
year with the aim of placing the state on the
global map, in the same league of cities as New
York, Dubai, London, Sydney and other major
destinations that celebrate the annual cross
over into a New Year. The 23-day event, which
is scheduled to commence from the 8th
through to 31st of December, 2013 will hold at
the popular Victoria Island sea shore, the Bar
beach.
The event is expected to provide a strong
platform for family bonding, interaction, fun,
celebration of music and culture as well great
entertainment for Lagosians and tourists.
Speaking on the partnership with the State,
recently at a press conference in Lagos, Chief
Executive Officer and Managing Director, Airtel
Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya, admitted that the
company is pleased to be partnering with the
Lagos State Government and expressed
commitment to ensure a fun-filled celebration
for guests, especially at the Airtel Exhibition
centre.
Ogunsanya who was represented by the
Company’s Vice President, Corporate
Communications & CSR, Emeka Oparah,
explained that Airtel is passionate about
bringing fun, excitement, laughter and joy to
its numerous customers in line with its
corporate vision.
“The Lagos Countdown 2014 will be a great
opportunity to celebrate and close the year in
grand style. Airtel is calling on all Lagosians
and Nigerians to be part of this great event.
We also urge everyone to visit the Airtel stand
at the venue as we will be showcasing our
superior 3.75G Network,” he said.
He also commended the efforts of the Lagos
State government, adding that the initiative
was consistent with Airtel’s ardent drive
towards excellence because “we thrive on
innovation that has direct bearing on the
quality of life of our customers and
particularly Lagosians in our quest to become
the most loved brand in the daily lives of
Nigerians.”
He added that the network is passionate about
building veritable platforms for the celebration
of both the citizenry and Nigeria as a whole,
noting that, Airtel “will continue to support
initiatives that will bring excitement and
happiness to the door steps of all our
stakeholders.”
Also speaking at the occasion, the Managing
Director of LASAA, Mr George Noah, said the
Bar Beach venue of the Lagos State Countdown
initiative will feature an array of shows
including open mic night, disco nights, live
performance by popular Nigerian artistes,
games and display of light and fireworks. He
also took his time to explain how the state
plans to celebrate this year’s Countdown.
The press conference was attended by popular
Nigerian artistes including African Queen
crooner, 2face Idibia and the boss of Mavin
Records, Don Jazzy.

Mourinho asks Chelsea to show killer instinct

BASEL (AFP) – Jose Mourinho has called on his
Chelsea stars to show their killer instinct as
the Blues look to clinch qualification for the
last 16 of the Champions League at Basel on
Tuesday.
Mourinho’s team can guarantee their place in
the knock-out stages with a draw in
Switzerland, while a victory would ensure they
are certain to finish top of Group E ahead of
their final fixture against Steaua Bucharest.
That clash with Steaua comes in the middle of
a busy December for Chelsea and Mourinho
would prefer to be able to rest players when
the Romanians visit Stamford Bridge.
With that in mind, Mourinho on Monday
challenged his players to show they can finish
off Basel, who are four points behind Chelsea
in third place.
“It’s a period I like,” Mourinho said of the
hectic fixture December schedule. “It’s a
period where I think only the braves can
survive because it’s hard.
“We go into the Christmas period and the
accumulation of matches is so high, but we do
it as a special group with a special mentality,
enjoying the situation, forgetting we don’t have
a Christmas (break) like the Spanish, Italian
and German players.
“I enjoyed the busy period when I was in
England and I missed it when I was in Spain
and Italy.
“Now I’m back I want to enjoy it, I want the
players to enjoy it, and we need a special
mentality to cope with that situation.
“Nine matches and one of them is the match
against Steaua. That’s our motivation for
tomorrow (Tuesday), to try to kill the situation
in the group phase and give us a little bit of
space in December; instead of having nine real,
competitive matches, we only have eight.”

Mourinho looks in the mood for the battle
ahead after trimming his hair to a ultra-short
crew cut during the recent international break.
The former Real Madrid boss borrowed hair
clippers from Chelsea striker Fernando Torres,
cut his hair himself and then sent a picture to
his wife for her approval before heading home.
Asked why he cut his hair, Mourinho said:
“Some people can’t do what I did. In a couple
of months I’ll have hair again. Some other
people cannot do it.
“I decided to do it. I asked Fernando to give
me his machine and I did it myself in front of
the mirror. It’s nice and cheap.
“Mrs Mourinho, I sent a picture before I
arrived at home to see if I could go in. Yes, no
problem.”

“Why is everybody beefing you Toke?” Uti Nwachukwu mocks Toke Makinwa on stage

Last night, media personality, Uti Nwachukwu

while hosting the ELOY awards which held in
Lagos, mocked OAP and Vlogger Toke Makinwa.
Uti who is well known for his ‘party-going
skills’ acknowledged the fact that Toke
Makinwa has taken over – she attends almost
all the celebrity parties in Lagos and fans are
beginning to mock her for that.
“Everybody is beefing
you Toke. Why? You
see, before Toke came
on the scene, I was the most beefed celebrity
for attending so many events, but now,
whenever I go to event these days, I pray to
God that Toke attends too, so I won’t be
insulted alone…since she came around, the
hate on me has lessened because finally there
is someone who attends more events than me.”
Uti jokingly said.
On realizing that Toke and her fiance, Maje
Ayida were not finding the joke funny, Uti
immediately tried to cover up, saying “Toke
don’t mind them, they are hating because you
are successful and doing well”
He further said “You have a sexy man by your
side who many ladies wish they had.”
Well, the last statement made Toke smile coyly
but Maje Ayida didn’t stop frowning at Uti.

Top Nollywood Actress, Uche Iwuji Dumped By Rich Husband Juwon Lawal »

Pretty actress, Uche Iwuji, has described as
unture the story flying all over the place that
her marriage of barely one year has crashed.
Speaking with YES International! magazine on
Sunday, November 17, 2013, somewhere in
Ikeja, Lagos, the actress who tied the knots
with Juwon Lawal, the MD/CEO of an oil
trading and logistics company, ABC Fuel,
sometime in November 2012, maintained that
it’s not true. “Haba! Nooooo! My marriage
hasn’t crashed o!” But her denial not
withstanding, sources are still insisting that
the marriage which produced a baby boy has
since packed up.
“Not just that, Uche is also back to hustling;
looking for movie roles and all that”. Undone,
the sources added that her husband has
allegedly relocated abroad, abandoning Uche
and their baby. “See, Uche na good girl, but
love has been bad and unfair to her.
Remember there was a guy she first co-
habited with in Spain and at the end of the
day nothing came out of it. And before that,
she also dated footballer Joseph Yobo who
later dumped her for this ex-beauty queen,
Adaeze Igwe. Then, Juwon, who she met in
London or so. The truth is that I really feel
for her!” Investigation conducted by YES
International!magazine confirmed that Uche
and Juwon were introduced in London by a
mutual friend who runs Giselle Home Ltd, a
real estate company based in Lekki, Lagos,
and they hit it off immediately.
They courted for some months before sealing
it up with a registry wedding in Lagos. Now,
the news filtering out is that things have
fallen apart between them. A native of Mbano
in Imo state, Uche was born on August 26,
1981 at Randle Hospital, in Surulere, Lagos. A
big admirer of Genevieve Nnaji, she’s from a
family of four (2 boys and 2 girls). And got
into Nollywood in 2000 with a role in Zeb
Ejiro’s Tears in Heaven. A one-time second
runner up in the Miss Lagos Beauty Pageant,
her other works are Dream Again, Way to the
Top, Passion and Pain, My Dream and
Emotional Tears. A Sociology graduate of the
University of Lagos, she was bubbling at an
event when we cornered her for a chat on her
marriage break-up tale.
*I hope it is not true because this actress has
had her heart broken too many times
oooh.love has been hard on her.