South African teenager on holiday in Mozambique may have found part of a wing from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370

Liam Lotter with a piece of debris he found in southern Mozambique Photo: AP

On December 30, Liam Lotter was strolling on a beach in southern Mozambique, near the resort town of Xai Xai, when he spotted a grey piece of debris washed up on the sand, he recalled.

It had rivet holes along the edge and the number 676EB stamped on it, convincing him he had found a piece of an aircraft. So he dragged the piece back to his family's holiday home.

"It was so waterlogged at that time, it was quite heavy. I struggled to pick it up," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

The curved piece of debris is about 3.3 feet (one metre) long, and about half that length wide, his father Casper Lotter said.

His parents dismissed it as a "piece of rubbish" that was probably debris from a boat, with his uncle making fun of him for dragging it around, but the 18-year-old insisted on bringing it back to South Africa to research the fragment.

"He was adamant he wanted to bring it home because it had a number on it," said Casper Lotter, adding that his son is not an aviation enthusiast but was simply drawn to the piece of debris.

"It just grabbed him for some weird reason," the father said.

Back home in Wartburg in KwaZulu-Natal province, the piece was stored with the family's angling gear and almost forgotten as Lotter focused on his final year in secondary school. His mother even tried to throw it out, he said.

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 jet vanished with 239 people on board while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

It was only when Lotter read about another piece of possible debris from the missing airliner also found in Mozambique, about 186 miles from where he had made his discovery, that he resumed his probe.

"I was very shocked – Mozambique, similar colour, similar area," the teen said of the piece discovered by an American man. "He described it similarly to what I'm looking at right now."

Last week, Lotter's mother Candace contacted Australian aviation authorities and they said the number on the part indicates it may belong to a Boeing 777, according to Casper Lotter. Australian authorities contacted South African counterparts to have the part examined by experts.

The honeycomb structure indicates it is either the leading edge of a wing, or a horizontal stabiliser

"We have arranged for collection of the part, which will be sent to Australia as they are the ones appointed by Malaysia to identify parts found," Kabelo Ledwaba, spokesman South African Civil Aviation Authority, wrote in a text message to the AP.

Last month, Blaine Gibson, a Seattle lawyer and part-time adventurer, found what could be a piece of tail section from the missing Malaysian airlines flight. The piece Gibson found had "NO STEP" written on it.

The 58-year-old's search for the missing jet has taken him to beaches in the Maldives, Mauritius, Cambodia, Burma and the French island of Reunion, he told The Associated Press. Gibson also travelled to Malaysia to attend a commemorative ceremony held on Sunday by the families of passengers on board the airliner.

The South African teenager hopes his find will help the grieving families, and inspire others who may have found fragments of the missing plane to hand them over to authorities.

He said he would be pleased "just for them to know that we're finding evidence, finding out how it happened, where it happened, just to give them some closure".

Violent protests: Be careful Bernie, or my supporters will go to yours!" Trump warned

Trump, whose inflammatory remarks are allegedly fueling the potential for violence, refused to tone down his rhetoric on Sunday.

"Bernie Sanders is lying when he says his disruptors aren't told to go to my events. Be careful Bernie, or my supporters will go to yours!" the billionaire warned.

A large number of protesters -- many of them African Americans and Latinos angered by Trump's anti-immigrant stance -- clashed with Trump's supporters in Chicago on Friday night, forcing the billionaire businessman to cancel a rally there.

The cancellation, which came amid large demonstrations both inside and outside the event at the University of Illinois at Chicago, follows heightened concerns about violence in general at Trump’s rallies across the US.

Trump on Sunday described protesters at his rallies as "bad people that are looking to do harm to our country."

"When these people come into (my rallies), you know, everybody thinks I'm a bad guy," he said.

"If my people went into one of (Sanders's) rallies, they'd say, 'oh, this is a terrible thing.' They would be arrested and all sorts of things would happen to them," he added.

Trump wants the protesters who caused disorder at his rallies to be arrested.

Sanders rejected the idea that his supporters were responsible for the chaos.

He said the Republican candidate is “a pathological liar,” and is trying to distract the public attention because poll numbers show he will not win a general election.

"Trump's words must be taken with a grain of salt because I think as almost every knows, this man cannot stop lying about anything," he said.

"People in America know that we cannot have a president like Trump who insults Mexicans, who insults women, who insults Muslims," he said on CNN.

"People are catching on to Donald Trump. That's why he's getting reckless," Sanders argued.

Trump, who has never held elected office, is leading the race despite the fact that his campaign has been marked by controversial statements, including with disparaging remarks about Mexican immigrants and Muslims.

He has won contests in 15 states -- Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Vermont.

Student in Trouble for Modelling Without Underwear

A Polytechnic College student in Harare, Zimbabwe, who made headlines last week after images were leaked of her flashing her privates at adjudicators during a beauty pageant, appeared in court Monday.

Panashe Zhaware, 21, was charged with public indecency when she appeared before magistrate Blessing Murwisi.

She was remanded to October 21 for trial and released on $100 bail

Zhaware, who is represented by Harare lawyer Musindo Hungwe was not asked to plead when she appeared in court.

Prosecutor Patience Chimusaru told the court that Harare Polytechnic College held a modelling show in July this year.

Zhaware contested the pageant which was for the Miss Harare Polytechnic crown.

According to the prosecutor, nothing was reported amiss when other models went on stage.

However, when Zhaware's turn came, she went on stage without her panties.

The prosecutor said the model held her dress and stretched it wide open exposing her genitals to everyone in the room.

Photos of the model exposing herself were leaked to a Harare tabloid, leading to investigations by the police.

Zhaware was subsequently arrested.

We’ll never cover up corruption - Saraki

According to the statement by his Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Mohammed Isa, said the Senate is ever ready to partner with President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the success of the anti-corruption war.‎

The Senate President reiterated this, when speaking with a team of editors of the London based “The Economist” newspaper at the weekend.

The Senate, he said had already demonstrated such commitment through its interventions on many alleged corrupt transactions such as its swift investigation and adoption of a report on the management of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) that saved the nation about N7billion and the exposure of the inconsistencies in the 2016 budget.

The step, he said was a departure from the past where such reports were either watered-down or not presented for debate and adoption. He cited the report he presented to the last Senate on the over N1trillion fuel subsidy scam that never saw the light of the day.

In furtherance to the commitment, the Senate President said Nigerians would in the next few weeks be availed with the details of the National Assembly budget which will be a departure from the tradition of having one line item budget.

“For the first time we promised Nigerians to give out our budget breakdown. The committee will make its report available by next week. We are resolved to break the tradition of one line item,” he emphasized.

Saraki said though party differences exist between the senators, citing example of the leadership tussle, he, however said, national interest and the desire of each senator to fulfill the promises made to Nigerians have become the guiding principle of the senate in their team work.

On the economy, he said the Senate has embarked on series of legislative interventions to create conducive environment for the private sector, as he said, “it is only when the private sector thrives that the issue of unemployment will be addressed and the nation’s GDP will increase.”

“Few days ago, we received a report on the laws that need to be amended in order of priority importance to ease doing business and overall private sector participation in the stimulation of Nigeria’s economy. We will soon commence the implementation of the recommendations in the report in addition to pushing for the amendment of the Procurement Act to stimulate and protect our local industries,” he assured.

He blamed lack of firmness and consistency in policy implementation by the past administrations as the main obstacle for the growth of the private sector.

“If people have confidence that these policies have come to stay, nothing will stop them from coming to invest in the country,” he stressed.

He allayed the fears that the low prices of oil will have negative impact on the implementation of the 2016 budget, saying that, “what we need to do is to block leakages and show more transparency.”

“If we can block leakages, stop the wastage and institute a culture of transparency in governance, the revenue in-flow will not be substantially affected. Without these, even if oil is sold at more than a $100 per barrel, we will continue to witness a decline in revenue in-flow as we witnessed in the past,” Saraki said.

FG plans to make rice affordable by April

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, made this disclosure while declaring open the 2016 National wheat farmers field day in Alkamawa village in Bunkure Local Government of Kano state.

Ogbeh said that the stability of price of rice would be very viable due to its demand and affordability to the people from April.

He said the boosting of wheat production and other cereals had become necessary to reduce over dependence on importation.

The minister added that over 300, 000 hectares of land in wheat producing states would be dedicated to boost wheat production.

“The government will continue to support farmers to encourage agricultural activity, enhance food security and employment generation in the country,’’ he said.

According to him, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari will diversify the economy with greater emphasis on agriculture.

Ogbeh urged Nigerians to embrace agriculture to enhance their welfare and enable them become self reliant.

In a remark, Chairman of Senate Committee on Agriculture, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, said the senate would make legislation to remove obstacles being faced by wheat farmers in the country.

On his part, Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi state said Kebbi would dedicate 70 per cent of the proposed 300, 000 for wheat production to boost its production.

shooting at Ivory Coast beach resort left at least 12 dead

At least 12 people were killed Sunday after gunmen opened fire at a beach resort in Ivory Coast and took terrified tourists and staff members hostage in a hotel.

The gunfire erupted near the Hotel Etoile du Sud in Grand-Bassam, a popular tourist attraction, according to The Guardian.

Witnesses told AFP that two to four gunmen, heavily armed and wearing balaclavas, yelled "Allahu Akbar" as they opened fire on sunbathers. Several social media users tweeted footage of bloody bodies on the beach and tourists running through the resort for safety.

The attack is believed to be ongoing, with the gunmen reportedly taking people hostage inside the hotel.

Security forces rushed to the scene and evacuated the beach.

It's unclear who is behind the attack. 

France had warned Ivory Coast at the beginning of 2016 that Islamic militants were planning an attack there, likely at a beach, according to Bloomberg. The warning came after extremists killed dozens in hotel attacks in two other West African countries — Mali, in November, and Burkina Faso, in January.

The U.S. Embassy in Abidjan said there is no evidence that American citizens were harmed or targeted in the Sunday slaughter.

Embattled Madonna embarked on another bizarre, boozy tirade at her Melbourne

                                                                                                    NO BYLINE/NO BYLINE

Madonna took a spill while riding a tricycle during her Melbourne show, but she didn’t spill her tequila.

The embattled pop star Madonna embarked on another bizarre, boozy tirade at her Melbourne, Australia concert over the weekend, this time knocking back swigs of tequila as she beckoned to the crowd to take care of her.

The "Like A Virgin" singer struggled to compose herself at the sold-out show and at one point even tried to ride around the stage on a tricycle with a liquor bottle in-hand before she collapsed to the ground.

"Somebody take care of me please," she told the Rod Laver Arena crowd, according to reports. "Who is going to take care of me?"

The 57-year-old singer, who is currently waged in a drawn-out, contentious custody feud with ex-husband Guy Ritchie, also reportedly took sips out of a concertgoer's flask in between songs.

And in another rambling, profanity-laced rant, the Material Girl surveyed the audience and pleaded "someone please f--- me."

Likewise, Madonna admitted to the intrigued audience that she'd "messed up" a couple songs before joking she figured they'd be embedded in her DNA, according to British tabloid The Sun.

Earlier in the week, Madonna dressed as a clown for her first Melbourne performance, where she emotionally opened up about her drawn-out legal battle with Ritchie and dedicated a song to her estranged son Rocco.

Many surmised that Madge was drunk at the show, as she slurred her words and downed a Cosmo on stage as she addressed the audience. But her flacktold TMZ the mid-show vodka cocktail was the only thing Madonna drank that night.

Madonna has regularly spoken about her ongoing custody war at shows since the 15-year-old Rocco ditched her "Rebel Heart" tour in December to move in with his father in London.

A Manhattan Supreme Court justice ruled in December that Rocco had to return to his mother's Manhattan home, but the wayward teen and his director father ignored the court order. The judge has since said Rocco, who prefers to live with his father, can remain in England until his parents come to a custody agreement.

Guy and Rocco Ritchie each attended a High Court hearing on Thursday, but Madonna was unable to attend due to her shows in the Land Down Under.

The highly complicated saga appears to have taken a major toll on the Queen of Pop, and People magazine reported last week that Ritchie is "treading on eggshells" to avoid upsetting her in hopes of finally reaching a settlement.