News from around the world.....or something like it

Today, I have some news from within and outside Nigeria, most important of course is the one about Nigeria. My, is this country getting crazy or what? I wonder why he did not declare a state of Emergency in Oyo and Bayelsa States then when the Govs were impeached on corruption charges. Or maybe it’s because the furor was not as much as in Ekiti State. Tsk tsk.

NIGERIA
President Olusegun Obasanjo today declared a state of emergency in Ekiti State following the unconstitutional impeachment of the State governor, Governor Ayo Fayose and his deputy over corruption charges.
"I hereby declare a state of emergency in Ekiti state," he said in a National television broadcast."It is a clear case of usurpation of power. It is dangerous for our democracy ... to allow this flagrant violation of our constitution to go unchecked," Obasanjo said.

Governor Ayodele Fayose and his deputy were impeached on Monday by lawmakers after a judicial panel found them guilty of corruption. The lawmakers had earlier removed and replaced the chief judge who headed that panel; a move which Obasanjo (and the NBA) said was illegal.
Fayose, who was/is in hiding, insisted that he was still the governor. His deputy said she was the acting governor, while the lawmakers named their speaker as the new governor.
The President said this situation could not be allowed to continue as it risked causing a breach of order and safety in Ekiti and elsewhere in Nigeria. He suspended the governor, his deputy and the state house of assembly with immediate effect.

Obasanjo appointed a retired Major-general to run the affairs of the state for the next six months and said the move was to prevent Ekiti descending into anarchy and threatening security in Africa's biggest oil producer.

~OTHER WEIRD NEWS~

NEW YORK
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's car was stolen on Wednesday and his assistant was punched in the face during the carjacking, police said.Bloomberg was not in the 2001 Lexus, which was stolen while the aide was running an errand in Hackensack, New Jersey, local police said.About 9 a.m., a woman approached the window of the car and asked Bloomberg's employee for money, Hackensack police said. When he refused, a man opened the car door and began to argue, they said.
"He punches the driver in the face. She reaches into the car and starts grabbing at the driver and at some point ... they wrestle (the driver) out of the car," a Hackensack police spokesman said.The car was found about two hours later, abandoned by the side of a road in Fair Lawn, N.J. Police said they were still searching for the two suspects.Police said the employee, who helps look after Bloomberg's personal business, was not seriously injured. Police declined to give his identity but said he was 62 years old.

BRUSSELS
BRUSSELS - A Belgian court has sentenced two 73-year-old grandparents to two-year suspended jail terms this week after they were convicted of dealing in heroin and other drugs, the tribunal said on Wednesday.The elderly pensioners had taken over the business of their grandson, who himself had been imprisoned for selling heroin, cocaine and ecstasy.The court established that the couple had sold a variety of drugs to people, including one minor, who dropped by their apartment near the northern town of Aalst. Some even came by to make large orders, the court said."The only thing that counted for them was to continue the profitable drug dealing business of their grandson," the judges wrote in their ruling on Tuesday.The couple, who had no prior criminal record, were also ordered to pay fines of 1,000 euros each.

RIO DE JANEIRO
Brazil, Oct 18 - A 67-year-old Brazilian grandmother who shot and wounded a bag-snatcher in Rio de Janeiro will get a medal from the crime-ridden city's legislators even though she faces trial for illegal gun possession.A spokeswoman for the municipal legislative chamber said on Wednesday deputies had voted unanimously to award pensioner Maria Dora dos Santos Arbex with the Pedro Ernesto Merit medal, for exceptional service to the city of Rio de Janeiro.On October 8, the retired nurse was walking her poodle in the middle-class neighborhood of Flamengo when a thief tried to take her cell phone and purse.Dos Santos Arbex, who said it was the fourth such assault she had faced, took out a .38 calibre revolver and shot the thief in the hand. The man tried to flee but was caught by police, who also charged her with illegal gun possession.She has been released on parole but is awaiting trial. Her case has caused a barrage of criticism against the authorities for doing nothing to contain street crime.Police argue the award sets a bad example, especially since the gun had not been legally registered.