TOP 10 CARS OF 2012 SO FAR

WE EXPECT NOTHING BUT PURE INGENUITY AND PURE BEAUTY IN CARS FOR 2012. BELOW IS A LIST OF 10 CAREFULLY SELECTED CARS FOR 2012. AGREE, DISAGREE OR JUST INDIFFERENT... LEMME KNOW WITH YOUR COMMENTS

No.10 Donkervoort GTO 

A new track day superstar? Well… we won’t be able to confirm this until we actually get a spin in Donkervoort’s insane new GTO. But we’re hedging our bets it’ll be epic nonetheless, as it's poised to be one of the best things come from Holland since specialty coffee shops, red lights and, err, clogs -- but only on leggy Dutch blondes of course.

Donkervoort GTO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boasting massive aggressive looks and Koenigsegg-style up-swing doors, the GTO will back it up by housing Audi’s bulletproof 2.5-liter TSFI powerplant, 400 bhp and weigh just 700 kilos. A fine recipe then for top tire-shredding track action.

Donkervoort’s biggest, baddest bruiser yet will hit the asphalt this summer with a sticker price ranging from £85,000 to £125,000.

No.9 Renault Twizy

Renault is making huge changes in 2012. Shedding traditional models left right and center, the French firm is committed to truly going electric. By far the most exciting of their emission-free releases this year will be the oddball Twizy.

                            
The seriously futuristic, all-electric, semi-alfresco two-seater that blurs the lines between cars and scooters leaps from improbable concept to reality in March, costing as little at £6,950.

Unfortunately, you’ll have to hire the battery at £40 a month and half-scissor doors represent a £500 option. But with a range of 60 miles, quick charging and a 50 mph top speed, nipping out for a pint of milk will never be the same again.

No.8 Lotus Evora GTE

Originally a China-only limited edition of just 25 examples, Lotus’ Evora GTE generated a frenzy that has now seen the sportiest of all Evoras get the global release it deserved for 2012.

                        
Lighter, wider and wilder than a regular Evora, the GTE takes inspiration from the Evora GT race car and gains an aggressive body kit with an industrial-strength permanent carbon-fiber wing bolted on the back. More good news is that it’s not all for show, too. The Evora’s 3.5-liter supercharged V6 has also been pimped for perkier performance with a delicious-sounding 438 bhp now on tap.

Just don’t expect change from £100,000 when it makes the showrooms later this year.

No.7 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

2012 sees Ford grab Chevrolet by the stones and squeeze -- hard.Rising to the challenge of Chevy’s crazy Camaro ZL1, Ford unleashed its most unruly beast yet. The GT500 is the most powerful ‘Stang ever. Looking more unholy than any of Hollywood’s interpretations of high-security prison inmates, Mustang muscle has simply never been this shredded -- or this desirable.

                                         
The hooves don’t lie either -- a staggering 650 bhp versus the Camaro ZL1’s 580 bhp. And that’s despite the Ford V8’s slightly smaller, 5.8-liter powerplant.

But the best news is it’s yours for just £38K -- shocking in just about every way.

No.6 Jaguar C-X16

Since dangling this particularly attractive carrot before us back in 2011, Jaguar has always referred to the C-X16 as a "concept," but the reality is that in late 2012, when the £50K "production" C-X16 lands, it will be just as sexy and just as fast as the concept promised.

                                        
Essentially, we’re looking at a 3.0-liter supercharged V6 unit -- with an F1-derived KERS booster button mounted on the steering wheel, no less -- that’ll propel this damnably desirable two-seater from 0-62 mph in 4.4 seconds and on to glorious 186 mph top end.
Jag’s stylish new compact superstar threatens to make Porsche’s 911 Carrera (also due in 2012) look like an also-ran.

No.5 Pagani Huayra

Hasn’t this already been released? You may well think so. And if it was German, it would have been. But it’s Italian, and it hasn’t been. Persistent tweakery at Pagani -- doubtless in the pursuit of applaudable perfection -- has delayed the Zonda’s replacement a lengthy and frustrating two years.
                                         
But 2012 is where the fettling and fellating stop. The Huayra, the “God Of Wind” (to give it it’s translation), will finally be released. The dream will become a reality for some very few, very loaded extroverts with a taste for the truly exotic.

As an aide memoire, here are the God’s stats: 0-62 mph in sub-3 seconds, 730 bhp, around 230 mph, a bi-turbo V12, and only 1, 350 kg. So, if the über-Versace nightmare/wet dream of an interior doesn’t make you pass out, the sheer pace of the thing will.

No.4 Bugatti Galibier

Again, like the Pagani Huayra, you’d be forgiven in thinking the four-door Veyron, dubbed the Galibier, had broken free of it’s conceptual shackles ages ago. But, again, you’d be wrong.

                                                       
2012 is the year the 16-cylindered, 1,000+ bhp, fastest four-door work of automotive art will finally find permanent homes in millionaires' sterile garages/galleries.
Proof the world’s economy isn’t quite as decimated as we’re led to believe? Who knows -- but its arrival is no doubt proof that there are still plenty of deep pockets out there.

No.3 Aston Martin's V12 Zagato

Arguably more beautiful than the £1.3 million One-77, Aston Martin’s £330K "bargain" will certainly make the summer of 2012 one to remember.

                               
The glorious result of Aston Martin’s latest collaboration with Italian design collective Zagato is based on the Aston’s iconic V12 Vantage, packing the same British-built, 6.0-liter, 12-cylindered unit under the much vented hood and hence proven to be capable of a stirring 510 bhp, 570 Nm and trouser-tightening pleasure.

No.2 Alfa Romeo 4C

By late 2012 Alfa Romeo will be rolling out its most tangibly tantalizing two-seater ever to rapturous and widespread demand. The stunning Alfa Romeo 4C promises to reignite the passion behind the sexy Italian brand and bring back a genuine sports-car feel at a price that’s surprisingly well within reach.

                 
Expected to start from just £35K, this rear-wheel-driven, lightweight coupe will take the Giulietta Cloverleaf’s 230 bhp turbocharged heart, twin-clutch semi-auto box and carbon tub adapted from the mental KTM X-Bow and promise a 0-62 mph sprint in no more than five seconds, while romping on to a useful top end of 155 mph.

We suggest getting your order in early -- a sell-out is guaranteed

No.1 McLaren "F1 Heir Apparent"

Just before end-of-play in 2012, we’ll get our first glimpse of McLaren’s natural successor to the legendary F1 hypercar. And yet it’s just this merest of promises that makes this our No. 1 the most anticipated car of the year without doubt.

The Formula 1 team’s road car division, McLaren Automotive, got deadly serious in 2011 with its Ferrari 458 rival, the incredible MP4-12C. But next up for the obsessively driven English firm is something much bigger, badder and faster -- and, as yet, still nameless, although we fully expect it to eventually get its own Star Wars droid-inspired nomenclature as the last Macca did.
                            
Tipped to potentially rival the likes of the Bugatti Veyron, this McLaren's estimated price points have ranged from £400K to £1 million -- but it’s looking increasingly likely to be the latter.

We expect 800+ bhp, 0-62 mp in the low 2s, a new era in weight-saving genius, and unbridled perfectionism throughout -- the kind that only McLaren can deliver.

......... coined from askmen.com

May D Floats Record Label

Remember May D, the sacked artiste from P-Square's Square Records? Well he has finally set up his own record label 'Confam Entertainment'. The 'Sound Track' singer was speculated few days ago to be on the verge of joining Chocolate City music label.  MI's tweet some days ago also helped in fueling this rumor.
We gathered that May D is the only artiste still under his label. It is unclear if he has signed any music producer on Confam Entertainment.

Meanwhile, the talented May D has thanked his fans for being there for him during his sack saga from Jude Okoye-led Square Records.

Mr. May D, C.E.O Confam Entertainment

                     

In a message posted online some hours ago, May D stated, "I want to seize this opportunity to thank my fans, well-wishers and my teeming supporters for standing by me at this period.

"Your words of encouragement have continued to inspire me. I urge you to continue to pray for me. I love you all."

May D was and is the only 'outside' act ever signed by Square Records apart from Peter and Paul Okoye who many people see as co-owners of the music label with their elder brother, Jude. May D has more than one hot song gaining massive airplay at the moment, with 'Ile Ijo' still stealing the hearts of many.

Rick Ross Video-- Hold me back pits M.I up against Ruggedman.

In August 2012, US rapper, Rick Ross was in Nigeria for a show. While in Nigeria, Rick Ross shot a music video for his controversial 'Hold Me Back' song. The Nigerian version of music video has, after its release, been criticized for the bad portrayal of Nigeria as a slum country.
Quite a number of Nigerian celebrities and musicians have aired their views on the video.

MI posted on his website in response to the video after it was released  "does it make you angry? Does it rile you to see your country portrayed as poor and suffering and full of struggle?
"It burns you, does it not? To have some foreigner- who knows nothing of your history and pain, of the stories that flow within your blood- to have this foreigner come in and tell your story?
"Is it not the height of disrespect and insensitivity? Does it not chafe against the thick skin you have grown to cover your other wounds? Does it not make you angry?

M.I. Not happy with the Rick Ross Video

                        
"We should wax sanctimonious about national pride being slighted. We should vent our displeasure online. We should occupy something. Because God forbid the truth ever be told about what things really are.
"God forbid a stranger remind us about those things we choose to ignore everyday. God forbid we ever face the truth about ourselves. God forbid we do not go on the internet and rail about how our country is being cast in bad light.
"God forbid we do not talk about how there is a small minority which lives better than portrayed. God forbid we do not ignore truth one more time. God forbid we don’t." 

Just recently, one of the pioneers of Hip Hop in Nigeria, Ruggedman, had his own say on same issue, but this time, he sits on a different side of the fence. 

Ruggedman, not disturbed by the video

I will start by saying that some people in the international community already have a bad image about Nigeria. This is due to the dubious actions of some bad Nigerians they have encountered, both government officials and normal Nigerians. So I don’t see how one music video shot in the Nigerian slums (which we know we have) will tarnish the image of Nigeria.

When Nigerians go abroad,we snap pictures and make videos all over train stations, car parks, airports. We “choose” where we want to do this. This is the same way Rick Ross decided to shoot his Naija version of his song “Hold Me Back” in Naija ghetto areas. If you check his other version shot in America u will see that it was also in the hood; not as grimmy as ours but still the hood and I don’t hear any American saying he is portraying the slums and poverty in America to the international community.

Rick Ross did not sneak into Nigeria. He came in legally. If he showed anything in the video that some Nigerians find offensive, my question is “why was he allowed to shoot it in the 1st place?”

Rick Ross, his video for the song, 'Hold me Back' shot in Nigeria, still generating controversy

     Someone on the internet said, after this video, no one will like to visit Nigeria. I just laughed. Is this video as bad as the Ogoni 9 killing? Is this video as bad as people being killed in the Northern crisis? But it hasn’t stopped foreigners coming to this country. During the Dana Air crash, local stations were going about their normal business but international news was already covering it. If we cared so much about our image to the international community what are we doing to clean it up?
                           
It’s Nigerians in foreign countries that should check how they act. Once outside Nigeria, you become a Nigerian ambassador and should act like one. If you steal, you are a thief and you paint a bad picture of your country. We really need to get our priorities right. We need to find a way to make our leaders stop embezzling the Nation’s money right under our noses, calling us fools and bullying us.

Now take the situation of the masses in Nigeria e.g no light, education, shelter, good roads, medical care, security and put it beside the Rick Ross video then tell me which is more important to worry about. God bless and save Nigeria, God bless us all in Jesus name. I am a proud Abia man, I am proudly Nigerian and I am Ruggedman.

Where would you stick your finger in this pie that's starting to get messy? Is the video an insult to Nigeria and Nigerians, or is it just a statement on what the lyrics of the song portray? I think we are yet to see or hear the last on this subject.

'Evil spirit' murder: Life for family who killed pregnant Naila Mumtaz

A man and three members of his family have been jailed for life for murdering his pregnant wife after claiming she was possessed by an 'evil spirit'.

Naila Mumtaz, 21, originally from Pakistan, died at her home in Handsworth Wood, Birmingham, in July 2009 while six months pregnant.

Her husband TMohammed Tauseef Mumtaz, 25, had to be carried out of the dock in the city's crown court today by his father Zia ul-Haq after being jailed for a minimum of 13 years.

Ul-Haq and his wife Salma Aslam, both 51, were jailed for a minimum of 15 years, while Mumtaz's brother-in-law Hammad Hassan, 24, received a minimum-term of 13 years.

They were all found guilty of murder after a 12-week trial in July.

Jailed: (From left to right) Mohammed Tauseef Mumtaz, Zia Ul-Haq, Salma Aslam and Hammad Hassan (Picture: PA)

Mumtaz was found to have smothered his wife and then told police she had tried to strangle herself after becoming 'possessed' by a 'jinn' spirit.

Wendy Bounds from West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service's complex casework unit, said Naila was a 'kind-hearted and beautiful young woman'.

'This was not an easy case to bring before the court as it involved evidence from both the UK and Pakistan, and ensuring that the jury understood that although there were complex cultural beliefs which underpinned the defence case, there was evidence that the defendants had all given untruthful accounts as to what had taken place and their roles in the death of Naila,' she said.

Naila Mumtaz was killed in July 2009 (Picture: PA)

                 

'Sadly, Naila died before the help that is available from the police and the prosecution team was accessed.'

Ms Bounds added: 'This case demonstrates that it is possible to achieve justice for girls in Naila's situation who are far away from their family, unable to speak English and with no one to turn to for help.'

Crocodile escapes from hold cage on Australian flight

The worker discovered the reptile, which was not fully grown, after it escaped from its cage during the flight from Brisbane to Melbourne.

However, the crocodile was quickly returned to its in-flight accommodation without causing any damage, aside from a raised heart rate for the baggage handler.

A crocodile escaped from its cage mid-air on a domestic Australian flight (AFP/Greg Wood)

A spokesperson for Qantas disclosed that 'the animal was quickly and safely secured when the aircraft arrived in Melbourne'.

Qantas said in a statement that the cargo company responsible, Australian air Express, is looking into how it managed to break free from its cage.

'The investigation is focusing on whether it had been loaded appropriately on delivery to Australian air Express,' the company said.

This isn't the first time a dangerous animal has caused aviation-based problems.

Australian air Express

         

In India recently, Air Force pilots called for a squadron of snake charmers after two MiG-21 fighter jets were grounded by the reptiles.

An official report explained one instance where mechanics had to dismantle a jet after the pilot fled upon spotting a snake in the cockpit.

Pilots have rejected one plan which would have seen each air base given a hotline to local snake charmers, saying 'it is not enough'.

Another Black Sunday in Bauchi

This morning, 23rd September 2012, an explosive is reported to have gone off at a church in Bauchi.
The bomb exploded at St. John's Catholic Cathedral directly across the Bauchi Township stadium killing several christian worshippers early this morning.
The explosion is reported to have occurred a few minutes after 9:00 AM Nigerian time during Sunday church service on Murtala Mohammed way in the Bayan Gari area of the township.

The Bomb blast in Bauchi this morning

Office of the National security adviser has confirmed 47 people dead, 3 people injured,and the death toll is likely to go up.
Nigerian troops have cordoned off the area preventing journalists from reporting the attacks.
Another sad chapter to this tale of menace in the country.