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Title: Angels and Demons

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 04:13:39 GMT

Friday, November 28, 2008

Publisher and Date of Publication: Corgi Books; 2001 Paperback; 620 pages

Kohler, the invalid director of CERN, has just stumbled on the corpse of Vetra, a scientist who has discovered antimatter. He sends for the dead scientist’s daughter as well as Langdon, a Harvard professor who specializes on religious symbology. He wants the Harvard professor to unravel the symbol that is branded on the corpse of the murdered scientist.

Langdon identifies the symbol as the illuminati, a secret brotherhood presumed extinct for nearly four hundred years. It has suddenly resurfaced to continue its vendetta against the Catholic Church.

About this time, the College of Cardinals meets in Rome to elect a new pope. Hidden somewhere in the Vatican City is a bomb that can annihilate the entire city. While the conclave goes on, the four cardinals earmarked for the top job disappear without a trace.

Then Vittoria, together with Langdon, sets about trying to track down the secret refuge of the ancient illuminati, the only hope of averting the imminent catastrophe. One by one, the four cardinals are killed with distinctive symbols of the illuminati branded on their corpses.

When Carlo Ventresca, the camerlengo to the late Pope, gets news of the impending calamity, he decides to act immediately. He removes the cardinals to a safer place, while he engages the head of the Swiss Guard in the Vatican City on how to deal with the problem.

As the entire world awaits the election of the new pope, Carlo finds out the late Pope has a son. He is beside himself with anger at being betrayed by the late Pope whom he considers to be infallible. But he is to realize later that he is the very son of the late Pope fathered through artificial insemination.

Eventually, Carlo, Langdon and Vittoria find the bomb and remove it to dispose it in the open sea.

In this novel, Dan Brown relates the story of the rivalry between science and religion. We get the impression in this story that both science and religion are different ways of arriving at the truth.

It is full of suspensive drama will keep you on the edge of your seat.

It is available at TIMBOOKTOO.Tel 4494345

Author: Dan Brown

Source: Picture: The Book

SOMALIA: First doctors graduate in 18 years

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:54:13 GMT

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

NAIROBI Tuesday, November 25, 2008 (IRIN) - Somalia's first medical doctors in 18 years officially graduated in Mogadishu on 20 November. Twelve men and eight women completed their studies at the Benadir University Medical College (BUMC) and are now working at various hospitals in Mogadishu, Mohamed Mahamud Bidey, dean of the college, told IRIN on 25 November. This is the first time since 1990 that doctors have graduated from a Somali institution such as the BUMC. Bidey said: "There is an...

Source: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=81656

PAKISTAN: Swat Valley violence shatters education hopes

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:50:15 GMT

Saturday, November 22, 2008

SWAT Tuesday, October 21, 2008 (IRIN) - "My dreams of becoming a doctor have been all but shattered," said Sara Khan, aged 18, at Swat Public School. Her college had been open twice a week - providing there was no curfew or bombing. But now things have got worse: "The school administration says the situation in Swat is so dangerous that they cannot take the risk of calling in the students. So they have closed it indefinitely," said Sara. Sara's younger sister has not been going to her Sangota...

Source: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=81023

Former Gambia College Lecturer Accused of Sexual Harassment

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:27:12 GMT

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Mr Abdoulie Baldeh former GambiaCollege lecturer has been accused of sexual harassment by Ms Brydon a VSO volunteer lecturer of science at the GambiaCollege, according to the college Principal Dr Alieu Badara Senghorr.

Continuing his testimony before Magistrate Lamin George of the Banjul Magistrates’ Court as the trial of two former GambiaCollege lecturers Lamin BT Sanyang and Abdoulie Baldeh continued, Mr Senghorr told the court that he is still the principal of the GambiaCollege. He said he knew the 2ndaccused Mr Baldeh who was a lecturer at the GambiaCollege and that he taught science. He revealed that the first complaint he received about the accused Mr Baldeh was from the then acting head of School of Education at the Gambia College Mr Sawlo Jah.

According to principal Senghorr, Mr Jah brought a letter to him from Ms Brydon a VSO volunteer lecturer in the Science Department School of Education of the GambiaCollege. In the letter Ms Brydon claimed that she was resigning from the GambiaCollege because of continued sexual harassment by the accused Abdoulie Baldeh. “ I instructed Mr Jah to carry out an investigation about the allegation,” he added.

Further testifying, Principal Senghorr informed the court that the report of Mr Jah’s investigation together with the complaint of Ms Brydon and the reaction of the accused Mr Baldeh were all forwarded to the College Council for deliberation and action. He said the College Council after discussing the issue instructed the College administration to write to Mr Baldeh and warn him of his behaviour and conduct. He adduced that he wrote to Mr Baldeh several times with the instruction of the College Council with regard to his behaviour and conduct. He said up to 11thMarch 2008, the College sub-committee on discipline was still in existent, adding that in his capacity as the College Principal he wrote to the sub-committee concerning the two accused persons. He stated further that the sub-committee on discipline met and discussed all the complaints brought by the College administration against the accused persons. He said the sub-committee on discipline reported to the Council on their finding and based on their recommendation the College administration decided to terminate the services of the accused persons.

It could be recalled that the two accused persons Lamin BT Sanyang and Abdoulie Baldeh both former Gambia College Lecturer are standing trial on a charge of giving false information to a public officer.

Author: Modou Sanyang

Results of American Elections Cannot be Known Now

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:05:55 GMT

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

The ongoing casting of popular votes does not mark the end of the Presidential race. More process have yet to fall out.

The electoral process in America has yesterday reached another level as voters now queue to exercise their constitutional right and discharge their civic duty. By the end of the process a new President will have emerged to take up where outgoing President George W. Bush has left off.

It is to be noted that under the U.S. Constitution winning the votes of the people (the popular vote) does not automatically give a ticket to the White House.

According to the U.S. Constitution, the President of the United States is chosen by electors who constitute the Electoral colleges and not, as would he expected, by popular vote. Following the on-going casting of popular votes, therefore, the process of electing a President goes to the next stage, the meeting of the Electoral College, which comprises a number of electors appointed by each state.

The electors shall then meet in their respective states at such time and on such day as congress decides, in order to vote by ballot for two persons one of whom at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same state as themselves. The Electoral College shall then make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each. They shall sign and certify the list and transmit it sealed to the seat of government (currently WashingtonD.C.) directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted.

The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President if such number be majority of the whole number of electors appointed. Where no presidential candidate receives electoral majority a further procedure is adopted including immediate ballot by the House of Representatives from the two or three highest on the list.

Another point to note is that any candidate who has more votes in any state wins all the electoral votes in that State (Winner takes all). This explains why candidates mostly concentrate campaign time and resources in states with comparatively larger electoral votes states like California, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Texas or the doubtful border line states which of course varies from one election to another; and less concentration in States like Delaware, Virgin Islands, Connecticut. The number of electoral votes per State is determined by the number of congressional districts and Senators a State has.

What then is the importance of the popular vote if it cannot on its own take a candidate to the White House? One explanation is that it is found that electoral votes usually follow a similar trend as the popular vote. Furthermore, the popular vote gives a sure indication of a President’s popular following, and helps identify who is a majority or a minority President. A minority President is one receiving less than 50% of all the popular votes For real examples; in 1960 Democrat John F Kennedy ended the race as a minority president because 34,221,531 represented less than 50% of overall votes that year. But he won by electoral vote of 303 against his next rival Richard M. Nixon who polled 219. In 1948 Harry S. Truman, another Democrat, got 24,105,695 popular voters while his three rivals scored a total of 24,294,294 between them. His electoral vote of 303 against 189 of his nearest rival made him President although a minority President on the basis of his lower popular votes. One striking result was in the election of 1916 when Rutherford Hayes, a Republican, got only 4,036,298 of the popular votes against Democrat Samuel J. Tilden who captured 4,300,590 of the votes. But he got a single electoral vote over his Democratic rival 185 to 184 and won the election though as a minority President. Basic figures are taken from ‘Historical Statistics of the United States’

So the present electoral process goes on and the final outcome wont be known for another few weeks depending on the date set by Congress for meeting of the Electoral college. The terms of the current President and vice-president shall, according to Constitution end at noon on 20thJanuary, and the four-year terms of their successors shall then begin. Who will it be; Obama or Maccain?

“Democracy substitutes election by the incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few.”

George Bernard Shaw

Focus on Capital College, UK

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:15:40 GMT

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Mr. Taiwo Salami, the Managing Director of Capital College in the United Kingdom (UK) has called on Gambian students to exploit the opportunity available in order to obtain foreign university education.

Mr. Salami made this call yesterday in an interview with The Point.

Mr. Salami who is in The Gambia to begin admission process for the year 2009, said that CapitalCollege is here in The Gambia to enhance and make it possible for Gambian students that have the interest of enrolling into United Kingdom universities.

He said with CapitalCollege, students do not need to pay tuition fees in full. He said that there are short cuts that they can apply. He maintained that this short cut is legal and noted that through it students can obtain the degrees within one year.

However Mr. Salami posited that he is only interested in genuine students who want to receive university education in United Kingdom.

Mr. Salami revealed that the duration of courses that his institution offers is very short, but of standard, considering the quality of teaching, the experienced lecturers and the research facilities there.

According to him, CapitalCollege is based in London and specifically equipped for professional training infields of; ACCA, Corporate Administration, Business Management, Travel, Tourism and Hospitality, Administration Management, Marketing, IT and Corporate Development programmes.

He said that they would be holding seminars at the Paradise Suites Hotel on Saturday 18th October 2008 by 11am. He indicated that applicants should bring along their relevant certificates to get instant admission.

Author: Pa Modou Bojang

Source: Picture: Taiwo Salami (Managing Director of Capital College in UK)

NTA and the Schools

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 05:53:56 GMT

Friday, September 26, 2008

The National Training Authority (NTA) has been wielding the big stick for sometime now. The first two victims of itsquality assessment exercise are BanutuCollege in Lamin and Stratford College of Management in Churchillstown. Three more schools have just suffered similar fate. They are: Humanity First in Latrikunda; YWCA St Martha’s Skills Training in Fajikunda; and Cinchips Computer and Secretariat Institute in Churchillstown.

The reason the NTA gave for closing down both Banutu College and Stratford College of Management was that “current facilities and number of trainers were assessed to be seriously inadequate to either operate as a provider or capable of conducting the number and levels of courses to be on offer”.

To be sure, the National Training Authority established by an Act of Parliament in 2002, has regulatory supervisory and monitoring functions over all public and private skills training institutions/providers operating in The Gambia. These functions, among others, include the receipt and review of applications for registration and accreditation as a provider or to be license as a trainer for specific courses and levels.

It is good that that we have such an institution to monitor the quality of education that our children receive at the tertiary level. Most of these vocational training centres help to supply the much middle-level cadre manpower that this country badly needs. The proliferation of these schools shows that there a great need for manpower development in the country. Before now, only the Management Development Institute (MDI) met this felt need in society.

The point that the NTA is making is that quality is just as important as quantity. They are trying to ensure that schools that are not up to scratch are not allowed to prey on gullible students, employees and employers of labour that send their staff there to acquire more skills that would make them more efficient at the workplace.

But then again, the NTA has to be careful on how it goes about this assessment drive so that it is not seen to beon a witch-hunt of selected schools. Are they saying that the other schools are better equipped than the ones that have been closed down? Or are they saying that the other ones have better trained staff than the ones that have been closed down?

The NTA should about the exercise in such way that national interest is seen to override vested interest. Otherwise, the whole exercise would turn out to be counterproductive in the long run. One way of avoiding such a grim prospect is to adopt a rigorous registration process that will guarantee that only schools that are good enough are given the green light to operate in the country.

Gambian basketballer shines in Us

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 03:21:06 GMT

Friday, September 26, 2008

Tijan Jobe is a junior college transfer from The Gambia who is presently making a name for himself at the Indiana University men’s basketball team in United States.

Jobe, a 7-foot, 255-pound center, had brief sting with Olney Central College in Illinois before signing a national letter of intent to attend Indiana University and play basketball for the team beginning this season - a development that excited the Indiana officials.

"We are excited to be able to sign a player with the defensive ability and rebounding presence that Tijan has," said his new manager Tom Crean.

"We feel he has a lot of room for growth in the sense of improving on both the defensive and offensive end and we love the fact that he plays extremely hard. His height and wingspan (7-5 1/2) is something that our team was in great need of."

Originally from Banjul, Jobe averaged 4.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and a block for Olney Central College last season. He attended Butler County Community College as a freshman and attended Laurinburg (N.C.) Prep School.

He went to the United States four years ago through the African Hoop Opportunities Providing an Education Foundation (A-HOPE), which is run by Bloomington resident Mark Adams. The foundation is designed to provide talented basketball players from a host of African countries the opportunity to go to the United States to use their skills as a means to get a U.S. education.

The Gambian, who chose Indiana over scores of other teams, is ready to prove that he belongs.

“Of course, I have a long wingspan,” Jobe said. “I’ll make use of that.”
Offensively, Jobe said his coaches have been working with him to help develop a mid-range jump shot. Although Jobe admits he prefers to have his back to the basket on offense, he said the coaching staff has been working with him on facing up on to open lanes for the guards. Jobe said his big role on offense will be to set screens for the many guards on the team and create open space for them to make plays.

Quizzed about the way the team is coming together, the big man said he has noticed changes in every player on the team since they’ve started playing together.

“Everybody’s getting better everyday,” Jobe said.

He said said since he has come to the United States, he hasn’t been able to go back to The Gambia, and although he said he loves Bloomington and has a brother and sister who work in Washington, he still misses his home.

“I miss all my friends back home,” Jobe said. “I miss my family.”
Jobe said he hopes to be able to visit his family next year, but until then, he will be counted on by Crean, a man impressed with Jobe’s work ethic.

Author: by Nanama Keita

Council Recommends Gambia College Pair Dismissal - Principal Senghorr

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 05:38:26 GMT

Friday, September 19, 2008

Mr Alieu Badara Senghorr, the Principal of Gambia College, yesterday informed the Banjul Magistrates’ Court that the Gambia College Council had terminated the services of the accused persons Lamin BT Sanyang and Abdlie Baldeh following a recommendation from the College sub-committee on discipline.

Continuing his testimony before Magistrate Lamin George, Mr Senghorr said that after receiving a series of complaints against the accused persons and after doing his investigation and taking action within his limit he forwarded the matter to the chairman College Council to deliberate on it and take action.

He said he was instructed to write to the Chairperson College Council sub-committee on discipline to convene a meeting of the disciplinary committee to investigate the complaints and make recommendation to the council.

He added that a meeting was convened where he was asked to submit all the correspondence between the students, College administration and accused persons and also a copy of the college conditions of services.

According to him, the college conditions of service contain the rules and regulation of condition of service of staff. It also included disciplinary provision, he said.

He said another meeting was convened in which the accused persons were invited and the head of the School of Education, but the accused persons failed to turn up at the meeting.

Further testifying, Mr Senghorr said the committee continued with their meeting. Guided by the condition of service of the College and the provision of the accused persons’ appointment letters, it was found that the accused persons had been disrespectful and disobedient to the College authority.

He said the College sub-committee finally made recommendation to the College Council to terminate the services of the accused persons. He adduced that the College Council met and endorsed the recommendation of the sub-committee on displine to terminate the services of the accused persons. He said the committee instructed the College administration to write to the accused persons to that effect.

The case was then adjourned until 30th September 2008.

Author: By Modou Sanyang

Orientation at Gambia College

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 04:19:07 GMT

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The Gambia College School of Education, on Tuesday, held an orientation programme for students who are to undergo the Primary Teachers Certificate and Higher Teachers Certificate programmes respectively.

The orientation was meant to expose the students to the activities, rules and regulations of the college or the status-quo.

Speaking at the ceremony, the head, school of education, Madam Isatou Ndow, urged the new intakes to work hard so as to be certified. She said that the college has for decades been training teachers but virtually half of them quit the teaching field in search of greener pastures.

She called on the students to be committed to their courses so as to develop the teaching field.

Madam Ndow revealed that some students come to the college only to be certified, noting that this trend, if it continues, would deprive posterity of quality education. She revealed that the college cannot provide lodging for any student as at now, as the dormitories are still under renovation.

For his part, Demba Ceesay, the registrar of The Gambia College, called on the new intakes to work together with the students’ union so as to better orientate themselves with other salient issues governing the college. He informed those without credit in English language to resit so as to be certified. He urged them to work hard academically so as to help develop the teaching industry.

Musa H Camara, president of the students’ union, congratulated the new intakes on their successful admittance and called on them to work hand in hand with the union. According to him, every student who is admitted to the college is automatically a member of the student union and should partake in all its activities.

He then assured them of the provision of transportation for those travelling far away from the college.

Graced by lecturers, the head of school and the students’ union, the orientation was punctuated by a question and answer session.

Author: by Amadou Sonko-Bah