Barcelona's Lionel Messi and father accused of €4million tax fraud in Spain

The man widely acclaimed as the world's greatest living footballer, Argentina's Lionel Messi, has been accused by Spanish tax authorities of fraud totalling more than €4m (£3.4m).

The FC Barcelona player and his father, Jorge, are alleged to have filed fraudulent tax returns for four years from 2006 to 2009, according to tax crime prosecutors in the eastern region of Catalonia.

The fraud is alleged to have started before he came of age and while his father was in charge of his financial affairs.

A complex network of companies based in Britain, Switzerland, Belize and Uruguay were allegedly used to keep his income out of the sight of tax authorities.

"The initiative to commit fraud came from his father," tax authorities said, according to Spain's EFE news agency.

Tax prosecutors have lodged a writ at a court in Gava, the Mediterranean beachside town outside Barcelona where Messi lives.

Oprah Winfrey donates $12 million to African American history museum

Oprah Winfrey is giving $12 million to a planned Washington, D.C., museum that will document African American history. Items from her talk show could be part of its exhibits.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture announced Tuesday that Winfrey's gift, combined with her previous donation of $1 million, is its largest to date.

"I am so proud of African-American history and its contributions to our nation as a whole," Winfrey said in a statement released by the museum. "By investing in this museum, I want to help ensure that we both honor and preserve our culture and history, so that the stories of who we are will live on for generations to come."

Construction of the museum, which carries a $500-million price tag, started early last year on 5 acres at Washington's National Mall with a completion date set for sometime in 2015. The U.S. government is providing half of the funding for the museum, which will be the 19th addition to the Smithsonian, with the remainder to be raised by the museum.

Homosexuals Protest over two arrested members in Anambra

ATANI Chief Magistrates’ Court in Ogbaru Council Area of Anambra State, on Wednesday, was disrupted, as suspected members of homosexual family almost stopped court proceedings, following the docking of two of their members for alleged same sex offence.

According to reports, over 50 members of the group from various parts of the state stormed the court premises as early as 9.00 a.m. in solidarity with their two members arrested by the state police command on offence related to same sex violation.

The group, while chanting anti-police and court songs, said they came to express their fundamental human rights and to show solidarity with their members, who were standing trial on some count charge relating to same sex.

UNIUYO Shut as Protesting Students Want Vice Chancellor Sacked

The University of Uyo (UNIUYO) in Akwa Ibom State has been closed down indefinitely.

A statement issued by the registrar of the university, Professor Edak Umondak, which was broadcasted on Akwa Ibom Broadcasting Corporation, said the School had been shut indefinitely as the students were asked to vacate the school campus with immediate effect.

Trouble started in the university following the hike of some fees which the students described as arbitrary as they called for the sack of their Vice Chancellor, Professor Comfort Ekpo.

Protesting round the campus to drive home their point, the furious students described the ₦2,000 fee being charged for GST courses registration as well as the introduction of ₦200 as transport fare to the main campus, as outrageous.

Alleging administrative lapses, coupled with the total darkness the school had been thrown in

NEW VIDEO: Iyanya ft. Flavour - Jombolo

VIDEO: Parents Pay Tattoo Artist Double to Make Their Daughter's Tattoo Painful & Ugly

For many parents, the idea of their 17-year-old daughter getting a tattoo is a true Tattoo Nightmare. But Kristina, star of Spike TV's Tattoo Nightmares, has parents who actually took it one step further than saying no. Not only did they sign the consent form, they paid for the tattoo artist to purposely flub up the tattoo to prevent her from wanting any more.

Say what?

Yes, her parents paid the tattoo artist double to make her experience so awful ("as ugly and as painful as possible") she would be "discouraged from wanting any more."

Check out the video

Nigerian cook tells how he survived for three days trapped under sunken ship

Harrison Okene was in the bathroom of the Jascon 4 in the early hours when the tug begun to capsize in heavy seas, 20 miles off the Nigerian coast. But unlike his 11 colleagues, all of whom were locked in their rooms for safety against piracy and are thought to have perished, Mr Okene was able to locate an air pocket and await rescue.

“I prayed about a hundred times,” he said. “When I was tired, I started calling on the name of God. I was just calling on His name for divine intervention.”

The drama began at 5am on May 26, when the tug – owned by West African Ventures, a Nigerian subsidiary of a Dutch contractor – was caught up in heavy swell. Towing a Chevron tanker in the Escravos area, in the Gulf of Guinea, the boat found itself in trouble.

Kurt Glaubitz, Chevron spokesman, said the boat overturned while towing an oil tanker.

“Initial reports indicated that heavy ocean swells caused the Jascon 4 to capsize, while performing tension tow operations of the tanker,” he said

SHOCKER!!! Model Claimed She Slept with Kanye West Behind Pregnant Kim Kardashian

A Canadian model claims to have slept with Kanye West while he has been in a relationship with Kim Kardashian.

Leyla Ghobadi, 24, told America's Star magazine that their romance began in July 2012 and continued even when Kim announced her pregnancy.

Explaining her decision to reveal the relationship, Leyla said: 'This is going to destroy the Kardashian family. It’s bad. It’s really bad. It’s just embarrassing. But if I were Kim and about to have a baby, I would want to know.'

Kim's representatives have denied the reports, while Kanye's people have yet to respond to MailOnline's request for comment.

Kanye is said to have first set his sights on curvy model Leyla when he saw her dancing in the crowd at his show in Atlantic City in July last year.

Jackie Chan to Stage Musical Based on His Life

Jackie Chan is tuning up a musical based on his life.

The international action star and renowned martial artist says he is currently writing a stage adaptation of his best-selling memoir “I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action,” which will chronicle the lives of his parents, his early education at the Peking Opera School and his rise to stardom through music.

"We are looking for a director for the musical right now," he told reporters at a press conference yesterday at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York. 

Google buys Israel's Waze to keep mobile maps lead

Google Inc bought Israeli mapping startup Waze on Tuesday for just over $1 billion, a source familiar with the matter said, acquiring an online real-time mapping service to safeguard its lead in one of the most crucial aspects of smartphone usage.

Google said in a Tuesday blog post it had closed the long-anticipated deal. It now planned on using Waze's service to enhance its own Maps product, but did not say how much it paid.

Maps and navigation services have become vital for technology companies as consumers adopt smartphones and other mobile devices. Waze uses satellite

signals from members' smartphones to generate maps and traffic data, which it then shares with other users, offering real-time traffic info.

Man in court for stealing phones worth ₦12 million

A Lagos court on Tuesday arraigned a 29-year old man accused of stealing phones worth ₦N12 million.

The Ikeja Magistrate’s Court heard how Tunde Olajuwon, a salesman, along with other accomplices, stole the phones from his employer’s gadget store, located in the Computer Village in Ikeja.

According to the court reports, Olajuwon was said to have committed the heist on April 16.

Police prosecutor, Inspector Benson Emuerhi, pushed to have the suspected thief kept in police custody. The judge, however, Ms. Osunsanmi, granted the suspect bail in the sum of ₦500,000 with two surties in like sum. She adjourned the case until July 17, 2013.

World's Oldest Person Dies in Japan at 116

The world's oldest person, and the oldest man in recorded history, has died in western Japan at the age of 116.

Japanese officials say Jiroemon Kimura died Wednesday of natural causes in a hospital near Kyoto where he had been receiving treatment for pneumonia.

Guinness World Records says Kimura, who was born in 1897, is the world's only man to have lived to 116 years of age. It recognized him as the world's oldest living person in December, after a U.S. woman died at the age of 115.

Kimura, who worked at a post office and later was a farmer, is survived by seven children, 14 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, and 15 great-great-grandchildren.

Media reports say he attributed his longetivity to getting outside in the sunlight and eating meals until he was only 80 percent full.

With Kimura's death, 115-year-old Misao Okawa, a Japanese woman from Osaka, is now the world's oldest person.

NEW VIDEO: D'banj - Don't Tell Me Nonsense

Rude Shock! Ugandan Denzel’s Landlady Hikes His Rent after Seeing Him on Big Brother

The 30-year-old Ugandan rep in the Big Brother-The Chase and also the very first Ugandan to be evicted from the reality TV show was in for a rude awakening when his landlord, a lady told him that rent for his apartment had been increased by Ugx200,000 - approximately $80.

“After just two weeks out of my house. I come back and inform her I will be moving back in and she wanted to increase my house rent by a stunning 200k!”

Denzel demanded to know why all of a sudden rent had increased!

The lady told him in his face: “Oh, I know you have money, I saw you on TV in South Africa”

This is when Denzel woke up and realised that he was not in the house anymore where the only thing to do was to relax in the Jacuzzi, sleep, drink, dance and massage.

It’s not clear if Denzel’s eviction to her meant that the Ugandan housemate had won but at least she is sure it was Denzel she saw on TV who must be loaded by virtue of the way he was playing the game.

His close pals advised him to just apply the avatar or better still do the massage moves that he pulled on Kenya’s Huddah Monroe while still in the Big Brother House.

Following that advice, Denzel just laughed it off. “Haha, thanks guys. Always good to be back home. Fuh real! Once you get used to the dust…you can’t live without it! haha”

NEW VIDEO: 2face – Rainbow

2face wants you to have a feel of what went down at his traditional and white wedding ceremony in the video for his hit single ‘Rainbow’.

The video is a photomontage of the two events.

Check it out.

PHOTOS: Iyanya Make the Ladies Go Gaga at the Kukere Concert London

The much talked about Kukere concert held in London this past weekend; expectedly the ladies go wild again for the kukere crooner.

Iyanya’s charm, which is taking off his shirt while on stage, has always worked and from the photos, it is clear the dude succeeded again.

Meanwhile, the show was hosted by Tonto Dikeh, who also put up a performance.

MORE PICS ON THE FLIP

PHOTONEWS: Peter Okoye of Psquare Has Gone Corporate

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Nigerian Billionaire: Our children are more important than £37m divorce

A multi-millionaire oil trader accused of forcing his wife to live on £150-a-week in a bitterly contested divorce battle today said today he is only thinking of his children.

Michael Prest spoke out with the Supreme Court due to return a potential landmark judgment on the legal wrangle with his ex-wife Yasmin Prest.

He claimed he was “disappointed” rather than angered by his wife’s actions and his biggest concern has always been the impact of the coverage of the case on the couple’s four children.

He adds that he could never be angry with his wife as she has given him the biggest treasure in his life - his four children.

“The part that upsets me is what my children read in the newspapers about their father,” said Mr Prest, who was born in Nigeria but brought up in the UK and educated at leading independent school Downside.

EVIL: Man baths lover with acid

An Ikpoba-Okha Area Customary Court sitting at Idogbo, Benin City has remanded a  22-year-old man, Cyril Okosun, in prison for allegedly bathing his girlfriend with acid.

The accused was alleged to have on April 19, 2013 at Dumez Road in the state metropolis poured acid on the face and body of the girl after she decided to quit their relationship.

When the case came up for mention, yesterday, counsel to the accused, Fidelis Oriafo, pleaded for his bail which was opposed by Police  prosecutor, Inspector Victor Ehiorobo, on the ground that the victim, Blessing Ikhumuhi, was still in a critical condition at the UBTH.

President of the court, Princess Esther Eweka, adjourned the case to July 23, 2013 for hearing.

Ghanaian actress Brenda Osei Bonsu joins cast of Nigerian TV series Tarima

Ghanaian actress Brenda Osei Bonsu is the latest addition to the cast of Nigerian TV series, TARIMA (Tangled Web).

Tarima is described as one of the award winning series currently showing on Dstv Channel 251 on Sunday 2:30pm and on Nigerian Television (NTA).

Alongside Brenda in the series is famous and award winning Ghanaian actor Prince David Osei.

Before starring in the series, Brenda went off the scenes following her sojourn to the UK. On her return she went to Nigeria to shoot Tarima sometime February, this year.

TARIMA (Tangled Web) is directed by Peter Armand Boyo.

Ghanaian Soccer Star, John Antwi Denies 'midnight Facebook surf'

Ismaili and Ghana youngster John Antwi insists that he does not spend most of his night time surfing the Facebook.

The 20-year-old, who is expected to be with Ghana at the U-20 World Cup this month, has been accused to staying online for a long time after midnight.

“I am looking forward to the World Cup in Turkey and I am hoping to win something with Ismaili so that I can play for the Ghana first team,” Antwi told FilGoal.com.

“Why would a player with these ambitions waste his time and stay on Facebook all night. This would affect my performance.

“I always sleep early. I just leave my account online all night.”

Man walks 40km through forest with pregnant wife on shoulder

In an effort to save his pregnant wife and their child, a man walked through forest for about 40km in heavy rains carrying the ailing woman on his shoulders to get her to a hospital, but failed to save the baby.

The tribal youth, Ayyappan, carrying his seven-month pregnant wife, Sudha set off for the hospital from the Konni forests on Tuesday last by about 6am in heavy rains.

Ayappan walked to Kokkathod, said to be about 40km from the place he was staying in the forest, and then managed to get a jeep to take his wife to Pathnamthitta district hospital by 6pm from where she was referred to Kottayam medical college hospital as she had convulsions.

"The woman's life had been saved since she was carried all the way, but the baby could not be saved. Labour was induced for the delivery of the dead foetus," Dr Kunjamma Roy, head of the

Rapper 2Shotz Denies Dating Beverly Osu

2Shotz has issued a disclaimer refuting reports that Nigeria BBA8 representative, Beverly Osu was formerly engaged to him.

Here is his tweet.

Chanchangi Airline’s workers protest unpaid salaries

About 53 staff members of Chanchangi Airlines have dragged the airline to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) over their unpaid salary arrears of about 36 months.

The workers who alleged that the unpaid salaries have accrued since 2010, when the carrier advised them to embark on compulsory leave, yesterday took the matter to the regulatory authority after staging peaceful protests at the airline’s counter at MMA2 Terminal and then to the headquarters of the authority.

The workers said they were asked to stay off work since 2010, when the airline started having operational challenges.

The Director of Human Resources, Mr. Austin Amadi Ifeanyi, and Director of Consumer Protection, Alhaji Adamu Abdulahi, who received the aggrieved workers on behalf of the authority, assured them that the NCAA would look into their grievances and ensure that the airline did the right by paying them the arrears of their salaries.

JAMB clears doubt on 2013 UTME results

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) yesterday reacted to the 192 complaints received from candidates, who sat for the 2013 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The Registrar, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, at a meeting in Abuja with some of the candidates, who filed the complaints, said it was imperative to clear the doubt of the public about the UTME.

Ojerinde said there was an open complaint from the media, which amounted to a threat to the integrity of the organisation.

He said of the 192 candidates, who filed their complaints, 132 requested that their examination scripts be remarked, while 63 requested to see their examination scripts.

Said he: “We are sure of what they scored, we are sure of the situation and we are sure of the true position of things, even with those who claimed that we did not release their results.

“But in the final analysis, you can see that they did not shade their subjects correctly. How can we release a result that is not known to us?

“That was why we told the candidates to come on June 10 to see their papers and here we are, together with the complainants.