Nigeria now 39th most corrupt nation, says TI

The global corruption watchdog, Transparency International, has ranked Nigeria as the 39th most corrupt nation in the world.

According to the Corruption Perception Index 2014 released on Wednesday, Nigeria scored 27 out of a maximum 100 marks to clinch the 136th position out of the 175 countries surveyed for the report.

Nigeria appeared to have improved by eight points against its 2013 rating of 144th of 175 countries last year.

It will be recalled that the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index ranked Nigeria 35th most corrupt nation in the world in 2012.

A statement issued by the Transparency International noted that more than two thirds of the 175 countries in the 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index scored below 50, on a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be very clean).

Denmark is the least corrupt nation in the world, ranking first out of the 175 countries surveyed while North Korea and Somalia are the most corrupt nations of the world.

The Transparency International said while top performer, Denmark, had strong rule of law, support for civil society and clear rules governing the behaviour of those in public positions, it also set an example by announcing plans to create a public register, such as beneficial ownership information for all companies incorporated in Denmark.

This measure, according to the corruption watchdog, will make it harder for the corrupt to hide behind companies registered in another person’s name.

Botswana comes top as the least corrupt nation in Africa, ranking 31st least corrupt globally while South Africa is ranked 67th.

Transparency International Chairman, José Ugaz, in a statement on the TI website, said countries at the bottom needed to adopt radical anti-corruption measures in favour of their people.

“The 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index shows that economic growth is undermined and efforts to stop corruption fade when leaders and high level officials abuse power to appropriate public funds for personal gain,” Ugaz said.

According to Ugaz, countries at the top of the index should make sure they do not export corrupt practices to underdeveloped countries.

“The biggest falls were in Turkey (-5), Angola, China, Malawi and Rwanda (all -4). The biggest improvers were Côte d´Ivoire, Egypt, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (+5) and Afghanistan, Jordan, Mali and Swaziland (+4),” the statement said.

The anti-corruption group said it was currently running a campaign to unmask the corrupt, urging the European Union, the United States and G20 countries to follow Denmark’s lead and create public registers that would make clear “who really controls, or is the beneficial owner, of every company.”

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13-year-old flees home with suspected lover

The police in Lagos are battling to find a 13-year-old girl, Chikwuo Ezennia, who reportedly fled her house with a yet-to-be-identified man, suspected to be her lover.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Ezennia, who is in Basic 4, had come to Lagos from Nneni village in the Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State to spend her holiday with her relatives.

Our correspondent gathered that the girl, however, fled her relatives’ apartment on Ishola Bello Close, Iyalla Street, Alausa, Lagos, in the afternoon of Thursday, November 20, when the family had gone out.

It was gathered that when the girl’s aunt, Mrs. Ambrose Okolo, and her husband returned from work at about 6pm, Ezennia was nowhere to be found.

Our correspondent gathered that during the initial search for her, some neighbours told the Okolos that they saw the teenager walking away with a man in the afternoon.

Ezennia was said to have told the neighbours that her aunt maltreated her and had travelled away for a week. Hence, she would be staying with a friend during that period.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the family reported the matter at the Alausa Police Division the following day. It was gathered that the police invited some persons, who allegedly saw the girl, for interrogation.

Our correspondent gathered that Ezennia, who speaks only Igbo fluently, was supposed to return to her village by the end of December. It was further learnt that Ezennia had a record of fleeing home to stay with men when she was in the village in Anambra.

When PUNCH Metro visited the apartment on Tuesday, Okolo, who is a self-employed chartered accountant, said the family was anxious to know the supposed lover, who had been shielding the girl, adding that all efforts to locate her had proved unsuccessful.

She said, “Ezennia is just 13, but she looks big enough to be called a man’s wife. If you see her, you will think she is a lady. She just came from the village to spend some time with us and she is supposed to go back this December. But since that Thursday, we have yet to find her.

“The reason I suspect she may be with a lover is because of some recent developments. Just a week before that incident, I travelled to Benue for a programme, and she was alone with my children in the house. There is a phone that my children use which contains only my number and my husband’s.

“But when she fled home and we started the search, I picked up the phone and to my surprise, I saw a string of strange numbers.

“The children said Ezennia used the phone when I travelled.

“I wondered who she might have been calling since she is new in Lagos.”

PUNCH Metro learnt that calls and text messages sent to the numbers by the family since the day of the incident had not been replied to.

Efforts by our correspondent to obtain Ezennia’s photograph were unsuccessful as the teenager had yet to take any since she arrived in Lagos.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the incident.

He said Ezennia was still on the police’s list of missing persons.

“If seen, the public should contact Alausa Police Station,” he added.

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Oops! Rihanna Accidentally Reveals That Kanye West Is Going on Tour in 2015

Kanye West, we're gonna let you finish, but Rihanna already spilled the beans.

While promoting her charity earlier today, the Barbados beauty also accidentally broke the news that Yeezy is planning to go on a North American tour next year. Oops!

RiRi tweeted, "Help Clara Lionel Foundation make a difference! Bid on exclusive items in the #DiamondBall auction: http://smarturl.it/CLFa  #GivingTuesday," and among the lavish items up for bid is a "Kanye West Tour Experience." Hmmm...click.

With a starting bid of $15,000 (a vast discount from its estimated value of "priceless"), the lucky winner will get the following:

"Be Kanye West's special front row VIP guest for his upcoming North American 2015 tour. Experience a rare opportunity meet & greet with the icon.

This once-in-a-lifetime moment includes:

 Two (2) VIP tickets in city of your choice to a Kanye West concert date on his upcoming 2015 tour.

 A Private Meet & Greet with Kanye West before the show.

 A limited pair of Yeezy's in your size.

 Autographed tour memorabilia.

 Exclusive tour merchandise in winner's size."

Did you get that?! His "upcoming North American 2015 tour"! Thanks for the heads up, girl! E! News has reached out to Kanye's camp.

Other items included in the auction are various diamond jewelry pieces, a Rihanna tour experience, meet and greet with Sir Paul McCartney, artwork and a Hard Rock Hotel getaway (to name a few). But if you're interested, be prepared to drop some serious dough. The lowest starting bid from the entire auction is $500 (for a Moncler Gamme Rouge Coat).

The CLF foundation was founded by the star in 2012 and is in honor of Rihanna's grandparents, Clara and Lionel Brathwaite, and according to its mission statement, strives "to improve the quality of life for communities globally in the areas of health, education, arts, and culture."

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Suicide bomber targets Iranian ambassador’s house in Yemen

A suicide attacker drove a car laden with explosives at the Iranian ambassador’s residence in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, security officials said, killing as many as three people.

Ambassador Hasan Nam Wadi was not harmed when the attack took place in the diplomatic district of Hada, officials said.

The Wednesday morning blast also heavily damaged several buildings in the area.

Interior ministry said that one of the embassy guards and two transpassers, a woman and a child, were killed in the attack, adding that four were injured, one in critical condition.

Shia Muslim Houthi rebels close to Iran took control of Sanaa in September and fanned out across the country, clashing with Sunni tribesmen and also with Yemen’s local branch of al-Qaeda.

Hakim al-Masmari, the editor-in-chief for the Yemen Post newspaper, told Al Jazeera that no one has claimed responsibility yet for the incident.

“It is probable that it was al-Qaeda behind the attack as the group often targets Yemeni state targets as well as Houthi rebels and Shias,” he said.

“This is first of many expected attacks that al-Qaeda has been threatening against Houthi and Shia targets as Houthi offensive against al-Qaeda back tribesmen continue,” he added

“This shows how tense the situation in Yemenis. Iran is seen as the one of the main backers of Houthis in Yemen.”

The US and Yemen’s Sunni Gulf neighbours suspect Iran is meddling in the impoverished state and there are fears of sectarian warfare spreading to other countries of the region. Iran denies interfering in Yemeni affairs.

Iranian diplomats have been targeted in Yemen in the past. One Iranian diplomat is still being held hostage by suspected fighters and another was killed this year when he resisted a kidnapping attempt.

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Head of Egypt’s Al-Azhar condemns IS ‘barbarity’

The head of Al-Azhar, one of the most prestigious centres of Sunni Islam learning, on Wednesday condemned “barbaric crimes” committed by the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

Militants are acting “under the guise of this holy religion and have given themselves the name ‘Islamic State’ in an attempt to export their false Islam,” Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb told the opening session of a two-day international conference in Cairo on fighting extremism.

“I wonder and ask why this blind division exists that has tainted Arab blood,” Sheikh Tayeb said, adding that religious, political and economic factors were behind the emergence of groups such as IS.

But “some feel that our suffering is also a plot by Israel so it remains the most powerful country in the region, and that possibility can not be excluded”, he said.

Sheikh Tayeb called on the US-led coalition that is fighting IS “to confront those countries who support terrorism financially and militarily”.

“But we should not ignore our own responsibility for the emergence of extremism that has led to the formation of organisations such as Al-Qaeda and other armed groups.”

The United States launched its first air strikes against IS in Iraq in August, and in late September extended the campaign to IS targets in Syria, joined by aircraft from several Arab allies.

On Wednesday, the Pentagon said that Iranian warplanes had also carried out air strikes against IS in Iraq, although the foreign ministry in Tehran refused to confirm or deny the information.

The Cairo conference, organised by Al-Azhar, has delegates from several countries including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Morocco taking part.

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