Welcome to Chidi Egesionu's blog

Taylor Swift's "1989" regained the top spot in the weekly Billboard 200 album chart, giving the pop star the distinction of being the second woman in history to have two albums hit No. 1 for at least 10 weeks, Billboard said on Wednesday. Swift's milestone puts her behind the late Whitney Houston, who had three albums top the charts for at least 10 weeks, Billboard said. Swift's second album, "Fearless," spent 11 weeks at the top. By tallying 101,000 sales units, including 71,000 albums and 302,000 song downloads, "1989" - the best-selling album of 2014 - marks its tenth non-consecutive week at the top in the 14 weeks since its release, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan for the week ended Feb. 1. Swift also became the seventh act overall to have at least two albums top the charts for so long, joining the likes of the Beatles and Elvis Presley. Continue...

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment rose less than expected last week, a sign that the labor market continues to strengthen. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 278,000 for the week ended Jan. 31, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Continue...

The king of Jordan, Abdullah II ibn al-Hussein is a trained pilot and there are now reports that he's planning to personally take part and lead revenge airstrikes on ISIS after the brutal killing of one of their pilots, 27 year old military pilot, Moaz al-Kassasbeh. Continue...

33 year old Jessica Kilde, of Ogema, Minnesota, has been charged with murder after she admitted killing her boyfriend by tying him to a truck and dragging him along a rural road. Jessica pleaded guilty at the Becker County District Court, to second-degree intentional murder for the death of her boyfriend, 41-year-old Richard Baity. According to prosecutors, sheriff's deputies found the body of Baity on the road about 50 yards from his driveway, which is located on E. 370th Street in Maple Grove Township. Police discovered a piece of rope around his neck. The rope around his neck and the piece of rope on Kilde’s van matched. They also found skid marks on the road, leading back to Baity’s home. Kilde told police that she and Baity had a disagreement at home that night, but it was nothing serious. According to police, the two had been drinking alcohol and were smoking methamphetamine in the home earlier in the day. Kilde remains in jail pending her sentencing. Her criminal history

                      A Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday ordered that a Nigerian-based Italian businessman be remanded in police custody for allegedly defrauding Zenith Bank Plc of N717 Million. According to Leadership , the accused, Piero Allan Franchillo, “was arraigned before the court on a five-count charge of advanced fee fraud, forgery and altering of documents by lawyers from the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigerian Police.” Prosecutor, Susan Ezema informed the court that Franchillo and his other accomplices who are currently at large, conspired to obtain N717 million from Zenith Bank, for the construction of a Mall in Effurun, Delta State. She alleged that instead of using the money to work on the project, Franchillo used the money for his own personal use. However, Franchillo has pleaded not guilty to all the counts leveled against him. The court has ordered that he remain in police custody until February 7th, when the hearing and determination of his bail application wi

The Vice Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Yemi Osinbajo, on Wednesday said Nigerians of the Christian faith have the power to influence government policies to ameliorate the suffering of the Nigerian people. He stated this in Lagos while delivering a lecture organised to mark the 73rd birthday of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Enoch Adeboye. The annual lecture series was sponsored by Triumphant Elders Consultative Forum of the Church. In the lecture titled, “Harmonising Virtues to Gain Heaven and Earthly Prosperity,” Mr. Osinbajo said that Christian leaders have a duty to stand for the poor in the country. Mr. Adeboye in his response at the event praised the organisers and the guest speaker for honouring him with the lecture. Continue...

A former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Chukwuma Soludo, has reaffirmed his claim that at least N30 trillion of Nigerian money has either been stolen, diverted or unaccounted for in the last few years under Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as finance minister. premiumtimesng  reports. He however said that does not include the about N8.6 trillion the African Union said is stolen from Nigeria annually. In a statement Wednesday, Mr. Soludo said he stood by statements he made in the last one week exposing the rot in the Nigerian economy, and accusing President Goodluck Jonathan and Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala of ineptitude. Mr. Soludo however said he would no longer release the second and third parts of his promised three-part response to Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala’s reply to his first article on the state of the economy. Mr. Soludo said on Wednesday he will hold fire henceforth, and that his decision followed reports quoting the minister as saying she would no longer join issues with him. Read full

The entertainer was the solo artist for the recently held ‘One Nite Live & Unplugged’ on the LoudNProud platform and her set was amazing. She performed a series of her hits including ‘Loving Your Way’, ‘No Lele’ to current bangers ‘Crazy’ (ft Wizkid), ’Murder’ (ft. Patoranking), ‘Irawo’, ‘Ragga Ragga’ and more. Check on it!

President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe was caught on film falling over in public. The 90-year-old had been speaking to supporters from a podium in Harare and was walking to his car when he appeared to miss a step and fell.According to BBC News , several photographers who captured the fall said they were forced to delete their pictures by security personnel. Continue...

General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has warned pastors to desist from accepting bribes from politicians, or else “the fire of the Almighty” would consume them all. Continue...

The 323 Entertainment record label boss was all over his wife, Tiwa Savage, atUbi Franklin’s birthday party last night. As the hours led to the morning, today is Tiwa Savage’s 35th birthday and her hubby led a fun birthday song for her. After singing he got on his knees and kissed her baby bump. It was a cute moment. Check on it!

Boko Haram militants have reportedly killed at least 70 people in an attack on the Cameroonian town of Fotokol, on the border with Nigeria. The Islamist militants attacked civilians in their homes and in the town's mosque, local officials said, setting many buildings on fire. The attack comes a day after a regional force said it had driven the militants from a Nigerian town near Fotokol. The Boko Haram insurgency has left thousands dead over the last six years. More than a million people have also been displaced by the militants, who now control a large stretch of land in north-eastern Nigeria. Continue...