Ethiopian Church To Unveil The Ancient Hebrew Ark of Convenant On Friday

Bible’s ‘Ark of the Covenant’ about to be unveiled? Ethiopian patriarch tells pope he will show artifact to world

The patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia says he will announce to the world Friday the unveiling of the Ark of the Covenant, perhaps the world’s most prized archaeological and spiritual artifact, which he says has been hidden away in a church in his country for millennia, according to the Italian news agency Adnkronos. Abuna Pauolos, in Italy for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI this week, told the news agency, “Soon the world will be able to admire the Ark of the Covenant described in the Bible as the container of the tablets of the law that God delivered to Moses and the center of searches and studies for centuries.”
The announcement is expected to be made at 2 p.m. Italian time from the Hotel Aldrovandi in Rome. Pauolos will reportedly be accompanied by Prince Aklile Berhan Makonnen Haile Sellassie and Duke Amedeo D’Acosta.

Abuna Pauolos, patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia “The Ark of the Covenant is in Ethiopia for many centuries,” said Pauolos. “As a patriarch I have seen it with my own eyes and only few highly qualified persons could do the same, until now.” According to Pauolos, the actual Ark has been kept in one church, but to defend the treasure, a copy was placed in every single church in Ethiopia. He said a museum is being built in Axum, Ethiopia, where the Ark will be displayed. A foundation of D’Acosta will fund the project.
The Ark of the Covenant is the sacred container of the Ten Commandments as well as Aaron’s rod and a sample of manna, the mysterious food that kept the Israelites alive while wandering in the wilderness during their journey to the promised land.

The Bible says the Ark was built to the specifications of God as He spoke to Moses. It was carried in advance of the people and their army by priests. It was also carried in a seven-day procession around the walled city of Jericho. The idea that the Ark is presently in Ethiopia is a well-documented, albeit disputed, tradition dating back to at least 642 B.C. The tradition says it was moved to Elephantine Island in Egypt, then to Tana Kirkos Island in Ethiopia and finally to its present site at St. Mary’s of Zion Church in Axum. Ethiopians believe it is destined to be delivered to the Messiah when He reigns on Mount Zion – the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 3:16 points to a time when the Ark will vanish not only physically, but from the minds of the people: “And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.” The Book of Revelation says the Ark is in the temple of God in heaven (Rev. 11:19). Muslim scholars say it will be found near the end of times by the Mahdi – a messianic figure in Islam.

Funmi Iyanda turns down being a presenter on CNN

She explains why “Surely, that would have taken my career backward. Why would I want to be a presenter on CNN when I make shows that CNN would happily commission and buy? I have been offered several shows to produce and host for a number of international platforms. Two are in development, both are continental and audacious. If CNN offered me my own Piers Morgan type of gig, then yes! You know what would be great? If I am able to do the same for a coalition of NTA, AIT and Channels. Right now the policies and economies that are against it are daunting but time will tell.”

Tuface, D'Banj Win BET Awards

The BET Awards took place last night at the Shrine Auditorium in LA and Nigeria's Tuface Idibia and D'Banj won Best International Act For Africa. It was a tie between them. Other nominees for the category were: Fally Ipupa (Congo DR)  D-Black (Ghana), Angelique Kidjo (Benin), and Teargas (South Africa).
Big congrats to them. But why a tie? Why not one or the other? What do you guys think of this?  Who would you give best dressed?

D'Banj, Tuface at 2011 Pre-BET Awards Party in LA

                                 Cecil Hammond, Fally Ipupa, Trey Songz and D'Banj

                                      2face, Fally, Tiwa Savage and D'Banj

Pictures from the 2011 pre-BET awards party that took place in LA yesterday

Miss Taraba, Sylvia Nduka, is the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria 2011

Most Beautiful Girl In Nigeria 2011 is Sylvia Nduka, a University of Lagos Accountancy undergraduate from Anambra State. Apart from the title, Sylvia also won N3m cash prize and a brand new Hyundai car.

Italy calls it quit on Libyan war

Italy's call for immediate halt of Libya war hits NATO

Three months after NATO first bombed government targets in Libya on March 21, one of the top three powers driving the coalition's anti-Qaddafi campaign, has had enough. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini called for an immediate halt in hostilities in Libya "to allow humanitarian aid to reach civilians in the country." Following his announcement to the lower house of parliament in Rome, the government won a confidence vote over a package of tax cuts and an end to Italy's involvement in the NATO-led military campaign in Libya.

Military sources report that since 90 per cent of NATO's air strikes and operations for enforcing a no-fly zone come from bases and command centers in Italy, Rome's pullout badly jolts the entire war effort against the Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi. France may decide to carry on its air strikes from the French aircraft carrier the Charles de Gaulle and Britain from its air bases in Cyprus. But the operation will be seriously hampered and its prospects of victory against the Qaddafi regime undermined. The only chance of success would depend on US President Barack Obama overruling the Italian decision and restoring the United States to full participation in the coalition's military assault by operations similar to its Tomahawk missile and air bombardment in the first two weeks of the campaign. However, the White House, already facing overwhelming congressional opposition to any US military involvement in the Libya, would never get its expansion past this wall of resistance.

Berlusconi viewed as unhealthy the combination of the euro zone's decline and the receding prospects of a coalition victory in Libya. The only way to save the country from being sucked into deep economic distress, he calculated, was to pull out of the war on Qaddafi and restore Rome's pre-war economic ties with his regime. Italy must now help repair Libya's damaged oil industry, the source of a third of its energy needs before the war and get its fuel exports back on track. The Berlusconi government survived a no-confidence vote Wednesday, June 22, only by the offer of a package of tax cuts and Italy's withdrawal from the Libya war.  After giving up on the Benghazi-based rebels' competence to get their act together and set up viable institutions of government - at least in the areas under their control - the Italian prime minister decided that mending his fences with Muammar Qaddafi was the better option

Three Russian designers of Iran's nuclear plant die in plane crash.

The three Russian nuclear scientists who planned, designed, built and put into operation Iran's first nuclear reactor at Bushehr this year, died Tuesday night, June 20, when a Rusaero flight from Moscow to Petrozavodsk in northwest Russia crashed. They were among the 44 passengers who were killed. Their loss is a severe blow to Russia's atomic reactor industry as well as its nuclear program as a whole, since the three, Sergey Ryzhov, Gennady Banuyk and Nikolay Trunov, specialized in running installations in tandem and synchronizing various systems.

The Russian company OKB Gidropress, Moscow, which employed them as chief planners of nuclear plants, is proud of having sold reactors to five countries including Iran. The authorities have ordered an investigation to find out why all three senior nuclear scientists were aboard the same airliner in violation of Russian security regulations which prohibit more than one high-ranking politician, military figure or executive of a sensitive industry taking the same flight.

New report ranks Nigeria the 14th most failed state in the world.

Nigeria has once again been ranked the 14th most failed state in the world; only better than Somalia, Sudan, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Central African, Iraq, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Pakistan, and Yemen.

The is according to the seventh annual Failed States Index report 2011 ranking by Fund for Peace, an American independent non-profit research and educational organization that works to prevent violent conflicts and promote sustainable security in the world.

Nigeria maintains its same position as that of last year. 

War fever in Syria

War fever in and around Syria after Syrian President Bashar Assad’s speech Monday, June 20, sparked riots by disappointed protesters in Damascus and Latakia.

Military sources checked reports from Cypriot aviation sources that Syria had closed its airspace to civilian traffic and found its skies were still open. According to other sources, some Iranian, Turkish military helicopters are infiltrating northern Syria on reconnaissance missions.

Arab sources report NATO is planning to fly extra troops from Spanish and Germany bases to the Izmir Air base in western Turkey to expand the current number of 400. Damascus accuses Turkey of seeking to seize Syrian territory on the pretext of providing a buffer zone for Syrian refugees.

Forbes: The Highest Paid African Soccer Players

Based solely on their annual salaries, these are the highest-paid African soccer players:

Yaya Toure
Country of citizenship: Ivory Coast
Club: Manchester City
Annual salary: $13.5 million

Samuel Eto’o
Country of citizenship: Cameroon
Club: Inter Milan
Annual salary:  $12 million

Emmanuel Adebayor
Country of citizenship: Togo
Club: Manchester City
Annual salary: $12 million

Kolo Toure
Country of citizenship: Ivory Coast
Club: Manchester City
Annual salary: $10.3 million

Frederic Kanoute
Country of citizenship: Mali
Club: Sevilla FC
Annual salary: $8.6 million

Didier Drogba
Country of citizenship: Ivory Coast
Club: Chelsea
Annual salary: $8 million

John Mikel Obi
Country of citizenship: Nigeria
Club: Chelsea
Annual salary: $5,800,000

Michael Essien
Country of citizenship: Ghana
Club: Chelsea
Annual salary: $5,500,000