HP releases another cheap Android tablet

 

HP has quietly announced a new tablet. Meet the HP 8. It’s a rather mundane tablet with a ho-hum screen and above par specs. It’s nothing special. But it’s cheap and cheap sells.

The HP 8 employs a 7.85-inch screen with a 1,024 x 768 resolution, which as Engadget points out, is a few pixels less than what’s found in competitor’s tablets. Inside, there is a quad-core chip, 1GB of RAM, and a rather small 3,800mAh battery.

HP is sticking to the smaller tablet size. The company launched the lackluster HP Slate 7 last year. It was garbage. But it was also cheap and likely allowed HP to get into the tablet game on the cheap. The HP 8 is more of the same in an updated package. HP likely doesn’t expect this to increase the company’s tablet marketshare, but rather test the waters while remaining active in this important market.

The HP 8 costs $170. At that price, it competes with the original (and dated) Amazon Kindle Fire and budget Samsung devices. It’s a smart move by HP.

It might be an uninspired tablet I’m digging the Hewlett-Packard branding under the screen, though. Classy and fresh.

Boko Haram cell: Court denies Kogi varsity lecturer bail

An Abuja Federal High Court on Friday turned down a bail application filed by a university lecturer, Dr Nazeef Yunus, of the Department of Islamic Studies, Kogi State University, who is facing trial for allegedly being a member of the Boko Haram sect.

The court equally refused bail to a businessman Alhaji Salami Abdullahi, and Umar Musa, who are being tried alongside the university don.

The three suspects were alleged to be the leaders of a Boko Haram cell in Kogi State.

The Abuja FHC, presided over by Justice Gabriel Kolawole, refused their bail applications in a ruling on Friday.

Justice Kolawole cited the murderous activities of the Boko Haram sect in the North East as the reason for the court’s refusal to admit the accused persons to bail.

He particularly condemned the recent massacre of scores of innocent students of the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi in Yobe State by members of the Boko Haram.

Drawing attention to the incidents, Justice Kolawole said the court would fall short of its responsibility to dispense justice if it pretends that all is well in the country.

Although he admitted that the court retained its discretion to grant bail, he noted that the court was guided in exercising such discretion by the nature of the charge, the severity of punishment and the character of evidence, as well as the criminal record of the accused persons.

The judge also noted that the court considered the likelihood of a repetition of the offence before refusing the bail application.

According to him, even if the court opted to grant bail to the accused persons, the bail conditions would have been very stiff, considering the ongoing mindless campaign of terror launched by the Boko Haram sect in the past four weeks.

“I am a bit constrained that granting the accused persons bail will be very strict, but to do this, will lead to the court imposing outlandish bail conditions,” he said.

Justice Kolawole was of the view that granting bail and then imposing stringent conditions that the accused persons could not meet up with, was like giving a gift with the right and collecting it with the left hand.

He said, “It is the severity of the crime that matters, and one is hesitant to grant bail.

“This may not be a period for the court to embark on fanciful and sterile judicial analysis so that the court cannot send out wrong signals.”

Justice Kolawole added that the duty of the court in view of the current situation in the country was to assist the state to address the security challenges, adding that issues of national security could not be regarded as extraneous issues.

Abdullahi, the 2nd accused person, had asked the court to grant him bail to enable him to treat an ailment, but Justice Kolawole ruled that the said health challenge could be handled by a clinic in the prison as long as he had regular access to medical attention.

After refusing the bail applications, Justice Kolawole ordered and granted accelerated hearing of the terrorism case.

"I don't have accounts or property abroad"- Pres. Jonathan declares

President Jonathan made this remark during the swearing-in of the 11 new ministers on Wednesday March 5th. He wouldn't lie about something like this, would he? So that's good to hear. But anyone doubts this?

Hot fashion, right here, right now!

Do you love fashion? Then you’ll love MRP! They’re a hot fashion retailer with unbelievable value for guys, ladies and kids! MRP currently has stores in Abuja, Ibadan, Ikeja and Surulere. Click here to find your closest store.

Can't get to one of those stores? Don’t worry! Their online store is set to open end of March. You’ll be able to shop their hot fashion from your computer or mobile twenty-four hours a day. To begin with, they'll deliver anywhere in Lagos but stay tuned for future delivery areas! Continue...

Wanna win big? Enter MRP’s cool competition where you can win hot fashion for a year. That’s a serious wardrobe update worth 2200 NGN, every month for twelve months! Click here to enter now.

 

The lucky winner can use their voucher in any MRP store, or online from the end of march!

Don’t delay – the competition closes on 31 March 2014.

Watch this space for more info on this hot fashion store

Rita Dominic stuns in photo shoot for Genevieve magazine

Rita Dominic was the cover girl for Genevieve Magazine February issue and the mag just released pics from the photo shoot shot by TY Bello. See more photos after the cut...

Oscar Pistorius 'Cheated On Ex With Reeva'

An ex-girlfriend of Oscar Pistorius broke down in court today as she described how the athlete cheated on her with Reeva Steenkamp.

Court proceedings were halted after Samantha Taylor described her relationship with the defendant on day five of the trial.

Miss Taylor described occasions when Pistorius screamed at her “out of anger”.

She said that he nearly always kept a gun on him and once became very angry when police stopped a car he was travelling in.

Pistorius, who was allegedly passenger in the car, fired his gun out of the sunroof about 15 minutes after the vehicle was pulled over by police.

She said that after being stopped by the police, Pistorius was “very angry” but later joked about wanting to “shoot a robot” – a traffic light.

Miss Taylor said that after shooting the bullet through the sunroof, Pistorius laughed. The athlete wanted to “irritate the police”.

She said that she normally spent four nights a week at Pistorius’s home. He often used his mobile phone late at night and sometimes his iPad, Miss Taylor said.

Ms Taylor gave her evidence after radiologist Johan Stipp was questioned by defence lawyer Barry Roux at the trial in Pretoria.

Pistorius arrived at the court building shortly after 7am and is expected to hear more harrowing testimony from prosecution witnesses in the case.

Yesterday Mr Stipp described how Pistorius knelt at Reeva Steenkamp’s side and struggled in vain to help her breathe by holding two fingers in her clenched mouth.

Mr Stipp said he went to Pistorius’ home after hearing shots fired on the night Ms Steenkamp was killed and found “a lady lying on her back”.

“I also noticed a man kneeling on her side, on the left side. I remember the first thing he said when I got there was ‘I shot her, I thought she was an intruder. I shot her,’” Mr Stipp told the court.

He said he did not recognise Pistorius, and described how he tried in vain to resuscitate Ms Steenkamp.

“She had no pulse in her neck, she had no peripheral pulse, she had no breathing movements that she made,” he said.

“She was clenching down on Oscar’s fingers as he was trying to open her airway.

“I tried to do a jaw lift manoeuvre, to try to open the airway, but it was very difficult with the clenching down.

“All during that time, there wasn’t any signs of life that I could see.

“I opened her right eyelid. The pupil was fixed dilated, and the cornea was milky – in other words, it was already drying out.

“So to me it was obvious she was mortally wounded.

“I looked at the rest of her body and I noted she had a wound in her right thigh, also a wound in the right upper arm.

“During that time … Oscar was crying all the time. He prayed to God to ‘please let her live, she must not die’.

“He said at one stage while he was praying ‘he will dedicate his life and her life to God if she would just only live and not die that night’.”

He added that Pistorius looked “sincere”: “He was crying, there were tears on his face. He was actively trying to assist her.”

Sky’s Alex Crawford, who was in court, said Pistorius was openly sobbing as the evidence was given.

Earlier, Pistorius’ defence team said it would have been “impossible” for neighbours to hear screams on the night Ms Steenkamp died.

Lawyer Barry Roux said neighbour Charl Peter Johnson’s claim that he heard gunshots followed by a woman screaming was incorrect.

UN calls for more troops in CAR

The head of the United Nations has asked the Security Council to bolster foreign forces in the Central African Republic by another 10,000 soldiers to protect civilians caught in ongoing violence between Christian and Muslim fighters.

Ban Ki-moon said he wanted the extra soldiers in CAR on top of the foreign troops already there, as the UNSC on Thursday held talks on the situation in the country.

Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor James Bays, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, said Ban’s report suggested the troops should be given the right to use force if necessary.

Herve Ladsous, the UN head of peacekeeping, also made it clear that this force would be in addition to the 6,000-plus soldiers from the African Union and the 2,000 French troops already there.

There also seemed to be a dispute between UK and US and France. The French have said that they are keeping their troops in CAR as a “rapid-reaction force”.

“The UK and US believe that perhaps the UN is entering into a long commitment in CAR without the mandate clearly defined – they would prefer more of a policing mission and not a very large military force,” Bays said.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera’s Tania Page, reporting from Bangui, said the capital city had calmed down, although there were killings daily.

“Beyond the capital, things are more insecure … particularly the north, near the border with Chad, it is a no-go zone,” she said.

Page said humanitarian operations in the area were scarce.