Deadly Cache: Forgotten Vials Of Ricin And Small Pox Discovered At US Govt Lab

The discovery included vials of ricin in addition to pathogens that cause botulism, the plague and a rare tropical infection. (Alex Brandon/Associated Press)

Multiple agencies report that infectious, deadly diseases and toxins like plague, botulism and ricin have been uncovered at government laboratories in the United States. The discovery also revealed some of the vials had been stored for over 60 years.

Sun’s Vice Chairman & Veteran Journalist, Dimgba Igwe, Dies

Pastor Dimgba Igwe (Photo source: TheCable)

TheCable reports veteran Journalist and celebrated columnist, Pastor Dimgba Igwe, was killed on Saturday morning by a hit-and-run motorist while jogging near his residence in Okota, Lagos.

2014 US Open Women’s Singles Final - Good Friends Become Fierce Foes

Serena Williams vs Caroline Wozniacki

Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki will put their friendship aside on Sunday to do battle for the US Open title, Press Association reports.

The pair had been eyeing a final against one another since they were placed in opposite halves of the draw.

HRM Elizabeth II To Make History As She Overtakes Queen Victoria’s 63 Years 7 Months Reign

Queen Victoria (L) and Queen Elizabeth II (L)

The Press Association reports that Queen Elizabeth II will enter the history books when she overtakes Victoria during September 9 2015. This takes into account 63 years plus 16 leap days, additional months and days and the timing of George VI's death.

120 Million Girls, 10% Worldwide Sexually Abused – UNICEF Report

Demonstrators from All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) hold placards and shout slogans during a protest against the recent killings of two teenage girls, in New Delhi May 31, 2014.(Reuters / Adnan Abidi)

One in ten girls under the age of 20, or about 120 million across the globe, have been sexually abused, according to the latest conservative figures by UNICEF.

The same report found that six in ten kids aged 2-14 are regularly subject to physical punishment.

Cholera Outbreak Overshadowed By Ebola, 80 People Killed In Ghana

Independence Arch, Ghana

The Ebola epidemic is overshadowing the Cholera outbreak rampant in parts of West Africa including Nigeria and Cameroon.

The Director General of the Ghana Health Services (GHS) Dr Appiah Denkyira has announced on Wednesday that the cholera outbreak that hit the country in June has killed 80 people with 10,000 cases recorded since the outbreak of the disease.

Renegade Lesotho General Seizes Weapons – Report

Lieutenant General Tlali Kamoli (Photo source: Flikr/Africa Centre for Strategic Studies)

A renegade general believed to have been the mastermind of last week’s attempted coup attempt in Lesotho has reportedly seized army weapons in preparation for a possible stand-off, according to media reports monitored here Saturday. Quoting a top military commander, AFP said Tlali Kamoli, who has refused to step down as the commander of the Lesotho Defence Forces, reportedly seized the weapons from state armouries.

Stealth Wind Turbines To Become Operational In France In 2015

Installation of Alstom's Haliade offshore wind turbine at the Belwind facility in Belgium (Image from www.edf-energies-nouvelles.com)

A French company has begun producing stealth wind turbines that mask low-altitude airborne objects and therefore do not interfere with radars. Some elements of the renewable power generators have been borrowed from modern fighter jets.

France’s EDF Energies Nouvelles, a ‘green energy’ branch of the state-controlled EDF Group, has announced the production of the towers, which minimize interference with civil and military radars operating nearby, Reuters reports.

EBOLA OUTBREAK: Sierra Leone To Impose 4-Day, Countrywide Anti-Ebola "Lockdown"

Sierra Leone will impose a four-day, countrywide "lockdown" starting Sept. 18, an escalation of efforts to halt the spread of Ebola across the West African country, a senior official in the president's office said on Friday, AP reports.

PHOTO: President Jonathan Investiture Today As Grand Commander Of Nigerian Students

President Jonathan with NANS leaders after his investiture today as Grand Commander of Nigerian Students. (Photo source: Dr Reuben Abati on Twitter)

FG Announces Sept 22nd Fresh Date For Schools Resumption!

Minister of Education, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau

The Federal Government has directed all public, private primary and secondary schools to reopen on Monday, September 22, 2014.

Minister of Education, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, who said this on Friday in Abuja while briefing newsmen after an emergency meeting with state Commissioners of Education, stated that preliminary measures put in place to curb spread of the Ebola Virus Disease is still intact.

Thai PM Declares Opponents Harming His Health With ‘Black Magic’ - Report

Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha (Reuters/Chaiwat Subprasom)

Thailand’s new Prime Minister, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, has accused anti-coup opposition groups of resorting to the use of black magic against him – complaining of a sore throat and bodily pain, according to local media.

Soccer World Cup Review Into Qatar, Russia Handed To FIFA

FIFA Headquarters, Zurich

FIFA’s ethics group will consider recommendations for action against officials and changes to the bidding process for future soccer World Cups after an investigation into the controversial awarding of tournaments to Russia and Qatar, Bloomberg News reports.

12 National & International Highlights To Know For Friday, September 5, 2014

GRAPHITTI NEWS collates national and international highlights from late-breaking news and the stories that will be talked about Friday:

President Jonathan, James Duddridge, UK Minister for Africa, Overseas Territories & Caribbean, & UK HC Poccock on Wednesday, September 3, 2014. pic.twitter.com/2yEHyGTgp9

1. OIL THEFT: IOCS KEEP MUM AS STAKEHOLDERS TRADE BLAME

Shell and Chevron, two leading international oil companies (IOCs) active in Nigeria have maintained stoic silence over the declaration on Wednesday by the chief of naval staff, Vice-Admiral Usman Jibrin that oil companies are culpable in oil theft, a LEADERSHIP survey of stakeholder reactions has revealed.

Games-Standoff Over India's Asian Games Delegation Rumbles On

The all-male Indian Paralympic team at the opening ceremony. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

India's sports authority has recommended slashing the country's proposed Asian Games delegation by a third and sending only medal hopefuls to South Korea's Incheon later this month, Reuters is reporting.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has sent a list of 944 athletes and officials for government approval to travel to the Sept. 19-Oct. 4 Games.

Welcome To The World Of Professional Line Sitters – Meet People Including Husband & Wife Who Queue To Make A Living

Joseph and Moon Ray, from Austin, Texas arrived in New York to wait for iPhone6 for their sponsor

There are indeed different kinds of entrepreneurs.

A new service is helping New Yorkers who are too busy or lazy to get their hands on trendy new products by hiring out people to wait in line for them.

Among the lot, this couple takes the cake: they get paid by companies to wait in line to buy new products for their sponsors while advertising for them as the same time! Very clever indeed! Welcome to the world of Jason and Moon Ray from Austin, Texas.

US Woman In Oregon Ignited Massive Fire For ‘Bored’ Firefighters, Heads To Prison

Reuters / Max Whittaker

A US woman in Oregon was convicted of igniting an enormous wildfire simply to give firefighters something to put out will now spend more than one year in jail, AP reports.

UK PM To NATO Leaders - Halt Ransom Payments To Terrorists

Prime Minister David Cameron has said Britain must 'use everything we have in our armoury' to squeeze the Islamic State terror group out of existence

The Press Association reports that UK PM David Cameron will tonight warn fellow NATO leaders that they must halt ransom payments to terrorist kidnappers.

Nkwinti: Land A Serious National Issue

Gugile Nkwinti. (Beeld)

Private land ownership is a serious problem in South Africa, Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti said on Thursday, according to News24 citing SAPA reports.

"This privately-owned land is a serious problem," he told delegates at the start of a three-day national land tenure summit in Boksburg, on the East Rand.

Pharmacist Arrested In Tainted Steroid Case

Injectable steroids made by the New England Compounding Centre implicated in a fungal meningitis outbreak that were being shipped to the CDC from Minneapolis. Photo: AP

A pharmacist who oversaw the sterile clean rooms at a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy responsible for a deadly meningitis outbreak was arrested Thursday as he was about to board a flight for Hong Kong, federal officials said.

The Elkhart Truth & AP report that Glenn Adam Chin, a former supervisory pharmacist at the New England Compounding Center, didn't properly sterilize or test equipment and concealed the unsafe practices, federal investigators said.

Indonesian Palm Oil Companies Rushing To Catch Oleochemicals Train

Palmoil/palm kernel (Source: inhabitat.com; credit: Shutterstock)

Indonesian palm oil companies, among the world's biggest, are rushing to bump up capacity to produce higher-value chemicals made from the vegetable oil by as much as a third, hoping to escape the paper-thin margins in their refining business, AP reports.

Malaysian rivals Sime Darby Bhd, IOI Corp and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd are already active in the US$20 billion market for basic oleochemicals. Now their Indonesian counterparts such as Golden Agri-Resources Ltd are catching on.

Cameron Won’t Resign If Scotland Votes For Independence

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron.(Reuters / Luke MacGregor)

The British Prime Minister said it would “break my heart” if Scotland was to vote “Yes” in this month’s referendum, but said his job would not be under threat.

Internet Slowdown Protest: Top Web Companies To Join Strike For Net Neutrality

Reuters / Fabrizio Bensch

Leading web companies like Mozilla, Foursquare and reddit will take part in the Internet Slowdown protest next week to urge US authorities to change their view on a proposal that allows the creation of “fast lanes” on the internet for some companies, according to RT.

EUREKA! Researchers Conduct First Direct Brain-To-Brain Communication Over The Internet

Image from plosone.org

Scientists arranged the first brain-to-brain communication online, enabling participants to converse with simple words from a distance of some 5,000 miles apart. It’s being hailed as the neuroscientific equivalent of instant messaging, according to RT monitored reports.

Rights Group Says Staff Go Missing In Qatar

A computer-generated image of a planned stadium for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

A Norwegian human rights group says two of its British employees have gone missing in Qatar while researching migrant worker issues in the Gulf nation that is due to host the 2022 World Cup, AP reports.

Japan's First Lady Says Husband Helps With Chores, Speaks Out On Sales Tax, Nuclear Power

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife, Akie

Japanese First Lady Akie Abe says that she has such a busy schedule that sometimes it's up to the prime minister to do the dishes or take out the garbage.

Gone from CNN: The Brit Who Took On America On Gun Culture - And They Finally Showed Him The Didn't Appreciate His Point!

Piers Morgan (AFP Photo / Ramin Talaie)

News anchor Piers Morgan’s tenure with CNN officially ended on Tuesday this week, and according to a tweet sent by the British journalist, an exchange with radio host Alex Jones was among the highlights of his career there.

O-N-G-O-I-N-G - Moscow Airport Evacuated After Bomb Threat - Reports

Vnukovo Airport's Terminal A.(RIA Novosti / Vladimir Pesnya)

Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport is being evacuated after a bomb threat was reported anonymously by phone twice, according to police sources.

"There was a call. An evacuation is taking place," RIA Novosti said, relaying the police message. The source says teams with canine units are currently on the scene.