The Wordsmith Blog™

Present reports reveals that South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius shot Steenkamp, 29, a model and reality TV star, at his home in Pretoria on February 14, 2013. State prosecutors allege the killing was premeditated, but he claims he mistook her for an intruder. For the first time in South Africa, parts of the trial will be televised live. Media interest is high. The arrest of the national sporting hero astounded South Africa. The 27-year-old double amputee won gold at the London 2012 Paralympic Games and also competed at the Olympics. Pistorius pleaded not guilty to all charges, including the “wilful and intentional murder of Reeva Steenkamp” as the trial began. His lawyer is reading out a statement from the athlete, giving his version of events of how Steenkamp died, saying he believed his girlfriend was in bed when he shot at the toilet door in the early hours of Valen

The entry of mobile telecommunication services into the country as announced by the President Olusegun Obasanjo led administration on August 2001 was a grand one. Winning a rousing welcome from the people. Alas! It was the end of bias, the rich and the poor can now play on a level plain ground (Only telecommunication-wise, though). Keeping in touch with family and friends was now a phone call away. The advent of the mobile telecommunication services became a blessing to long distant relationships, business people, amongst many others. It brought communication comfort unequaled, relative peace of mind and mended broken bridges of relationships which have suffered lack of communication earlier. These comfort and gains did not come without a price, in fact, it came with a huge one. The cost of a mobile phone at the time was huge, ranging from #20,000-#50,000 on the average depending on what the user's taste and purse could afford. Buying the phones was not the end of the task, ther

Leader of the Jama’atu Ahlus Sunnati Lidda’awati Wal Jihad, otherwise known as Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, has vowed to launch more attacks on Nigeria and Nigerians. Kingpin of the dreaded sect in a new video made available to newsmen, has threatened to target Nigeria’s refineries and top northern leaders such as IBB, Buhari, Atiku and others. This is coming barely 73 hours after its members wasted several lives in renewed attacks in Adamawa and Borno States. He said the state of emergency currently imposed on Adamawa, Borno and Yobe State would not prevent them from carrying out their attacks. Shekau called on his members in other states, particularly Kano, to attack civilians and government institutions. The full text of his 28-minute video, delivered in Hausa, reads thus; “My brethren…you should hold on to your weapons and continue fighting. Let them understand that our work is not confined to Yobe, Borno and Adamawa (states). Make them understand that we are not restricted by emer

Perhaps you thought the S4 was the height of it, well I gave it a thought too. With its dauntingly novel features I felt there could be nothing more than create a new brand away from the Galaxy series. But alas the flagship is here, The Galaxy S5 is here! Samsung has officially announced its Galaxy S5 smartphone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The tech giant’s new flagship device is powered by a quad-core Krait chip running at 2.5GHz, and features a 5.1-inch, Full HD Super AMOLED display (1920 x 1080). Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone Measuring in at 142 x 72.5 x 8.1mm, the Galaxy S5 tips the scales at 145g and is water and dust-resistant to the IP67 standard. The handset also includes a 16-megapixel camera on the rear, a 2-megapixel snapper on the front, and runs off a 2800 mAh battery. Google’s latest operating system Android 4.4.2 KitKat comes pre-installed. Samsung has confirmed that the phone will be capable of 4K UHD video recording at 38

[Read Text of 1st Interview After Suspension] This is a transcribed version of the major parts of suspended Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi's first interview after his suspension. He spoke to CNBC Africa. ****Read the text below****. On Whether He Was On Notice With Respect To His Suspension: Well, I have been told by my office that a letter was received. As you know, I flew in this morning to Niamey along with other Governors of West African Central Banks to meet with the President of Niger and President of Ghana…Fortunately, I came in with my VP Sarah Alade whom I have been asked to hand over to. I have left the meeting to hand over to her. I have just met the Nigerian Ambassador to Niger who confirmed to me that the President asked him to inform me of the decision. On Accusations Of "Various Acts of Financial Misconduct and Recklessness": I don't know what they are talking about. When I come back, I will see what those allegations are…I don't th