Gist Arena

Tally-ho, Marlboro Man.  Best known as the rugged cowboy who starred in the Marlboro Man cigarette advertisements, Darrell Winfield died Monday at home in Wyoming at age 85. His cause of death was not listed in his obituary on a Fremont County, Wyoming, news website. Often called the most successful tobacco advertising campaign ever, the Marlboro Man appealed to American men because of his masculinity, individuality and freedom. Though some of the Marlboro Men in the famous cigarette advertisements launched in the 1950s were actors, Winfield was the real thing. Winfield was working at a Wyoming ranch in 1968 when Leo Burnett/Philip Morris Advertising came looking for real cowboys to feature in the campaign, according to his local obituary. He often wore his own clothes and provided many of the animals in the photo shoots. "His family said he loved horses, rodeo, especially team roping, ranching, and the cowboy way of life," accord...

President Jonathan paid a surprise visit to Maiduguri, Borno state earlier today Jan. 15th where he met and addressed Men and officers of the 7 Division Nigeria Army at the Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri. He was received at the airport by the state Governor, Kashim Shettima. More photos below

Two migrants have been arrested after allegedly going berserk and killing ten passengers aboard a boat heading from Africa to Spain after believing that a priest's prayers caused bad weather. The pair are accused of hitting their victims with wooden planks which they then used to push them overboard during a row which began when a Nigerian priest started praying because he feared bad weather would capsize the boat. Police believe the alleged killers wrongly interpreted the priest's prayers as the cause of the bad weather, leading them to kill up to ten passengers on the boat that eight babies perished on. They are also suspected of robbing their victims - mostly Nigerians - of around £1,200 before pushing them to their deaths. Only 29 of the 50 people who boarded the rickety boat in Nador, Morocco, after paying smugglers to help them reach Spain, made it to Europe. Dailymail  reports that ,Eight babies were among those who went overboard as t...

Pakistani Muslims today called for the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists to be hanged for drawing the Prophet Mohammed on its latest front cover. As worldwide protests continued for a second day, nearly 300 people from a religious group rallied in the eastern city of Lahore, carrying placards saying 'Down with Charlie Hebdo'. One banner read: 'Making blasphemy cartoon of the Prophet is the worst act of terrorism. The sketch-makers must be hanged immediately.'  Cartoonist Renald Luzier, who drew the image, had argued earlier this week that there should be no exceptions to freedom of expression. The rally came as Pakistani lawmakers staged their own demonstrations outside parliament after passing a resolution condemning the image of Islam's prophet in the French satirical newspaper Culled from Dailymail,/AFP

Royal fathers across Nigeria have joined millions of Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to attest to the fact that Orijin, the modern and contemporary drink from Guinness Nigeria is the fastest selling and the most innovative alcoholic beverage in Nigeria today. When the Guinness team visited the palaces and kingdoms of these Obas, they were received with royal embrace amidst pomp and fanfare. The Obas attested to the orijinality of the brand and how their chiefs and citizens have chosen it to be their number one choice of drink. The Obas appreciate the fact that it is a drink made by Africans for Africans and this is what has distinguished it from other drinks. Guinness Nigeria Plc is known for outstanding and quality products which have stood the test of time, they are constantly innovating to ensure that their customers are treated to the best at all times. To further attest to the success of the Orijin brand, Orijin recently won awards from Ad...

The State House press release below..   President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan undertook a surprise visit to Maiduguri Thursday on the occasion of Nigeria’s Armed Forces Remembrance Day to meet with officers and men of the Armed Forces currently in the frontline of the war against terrorism and insurgency in the country.  Accompanied by the Chief of Defence Staff, Service Chiefs, the National Security Adviser and the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency, President Jonathan visited officers and men of the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army at Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri to thank them for their patriotic and courageous service to the nation. The President told officers and soldiers of the Division that the nation was very proud of them and grateful for their dedication and commitment to the defence of the civilian population against terrorists and violent extremists.  President Jonathan also assured the troops th...

Someone just sent me this photo.cannot verify its authenticity but it's a photo of a girl beheaded, with her hands and legs tied. They say her body was found in a canal at Alaka in Surulere. See the uncensored photo below

Shocking video has emerged showing a veiled woman being publicly executed by Al Qaeda for alleged adultery - a sentence that has sickened even the Islamic State. The footage shows the woman, who is wearing a black robe and a hijab (headscarf), being ordered to crouch down on the pavement in front of a crowd of masked jihadi fighters in Syria. Behind her, a militant declares that she has been convicted by an Islamic court of being an adulterer, condemning her for allegedly running a brothel. A gunmen then pulls out a pistol and shoots her in the head with a single shot as chants of Allahu Akbar - Arabic for God is greatest - ring out from the baying mob. The video, which was posted on social media, has drawn condemnation even from rival Islamists, with one ISIS supporter asking 'which Sharia (Islamic law) is that???'. The footage, which has not been independently verified, appears to have been filmed by a jihadi fighter on a mobile phone, reported...

I don't know how true this information is, According to Tribune News , Investigator Nurcahyo Utomo an expert examiner blackbox recording of National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC). He was assigned to check the recording of a conversation Captain irianto that fateful plane flew Air Asia, QZ8501. But it was not an easy task for him, because he knew very close to the former pilot of the Indonesian Air Force pilots. As quoted from Dailymail, Wednesday (14/01/2015), Nurcahyo can not imagine what the last words of Captain irianto, before the plane crashed in the Strait dikemudikannya Karimata. “Listening to a recording of the black box can be annoying repetitive and requires good mental strength,” he said. “Listening to the black box recording an aircraft involved in an accident do not like listening to music or discussion,” he continued. According to him, based on the experience of listening to recordings of conversations black box of some aircraft that cras...

It was with high expectations that I went gone through details of the Abuja peace accord recently agreed by the political party leaders, mandating decent and civilized campaign conduct among the contestants, their agents and supporters. I was not disappointed. It is a positive step in the direction of democracy, for which I must commend the efforts of those seasoned interventionists, Emeka Anyaoku and Kofi Annan. Adhered to with good will and sincerity, it should  ensure a wholesome space for future elections, and pre-empt further  violence. It might even come close to what the democratic ideal should be, as canvassed by others, including Governor Fashola a few years ago – a people’s fiests! From personal interest however, I was disappointed that the communiqué makes no reference to the violence done to members of the electorate whose identities are stolen, abused and debased during this exercise. It is rapidly  becoming commonplace to encounter totally f...

Is it not better late than never?

President Jonathan arrived Maiduguri, Borno state, this afternoon in a surprise visit. Accompanying the President is the Chief of Defense staff, Air Vice Marshall Alex Badeh and National Security adviser, Sambo Dasuki. Pres. Jonathan was received at the Maiduguri airport by the state governor, Kashim Shettima. Details and pics later