Driving in Baghdad, He Got a Phone Call that Changed his Life

How on Earth Did an Iraqi Manage to Win an American lottery online? 

Jackpot Winner Fears for his Life, Pleads for his Name Not to Be Revealed 

One man’s amazing road to wealth… In the spring of 2015 M. opened an online lottery account from his home in Iraq – three months on he’d won a lottery jackpot of $6.4 million in the US! 


"Are you sure? Are you sure?!" -- M., a 37-year-old father from Baghdad in Iraq, kept repeating the question when he got the phone call with the news he had won the $6.4 million jackpot in the Oregon Megabucks on 24 August.

M. had only started playing lotteries in the US and Europe through theLotter three months before he won. "It was a shock. At first, I thought it was a joke. I was driving in my car, I was going to the bank… so I get a call from theLotter, from a great person called Christine, and she told me the great news, so I was in shock! I suspected I’d won something, but had no idea it was the jackpot."

After careful preparation in the autumn, M. flew to Oregon to claim his millions in December. He requested that theLotter and the Oregon lottery keep his name confidential because of safety concerns. "The situation in Iraq is not good. It's very dangerous. If my name were revealed, it would be a big problem."

Oregon Lottery director Jack Roberts agreed to the unusual request. "The personal safety risk that he and his family might face seems stronger than the public interest of knowing who the person is," Roberts told local media. "I don't want to read that somebody has been kidnapped or killed because we announce them as a Megabucks winner."

So how did he do it? How did M. participate in a US lottery from Iraq?

M. played US lotteries online through theLotter, a worldwide messenger service that was established in 2002. Through theLotter people can request somebody to physically purchase lottery tickets on their behalf, even when they are outside of the country or state where the lottery takes place. theLotter doesn’t operate lotteries, but its local reps in more than 20 countries across the world purchase official paper tickets and make a scanned copy available to online players' secure personal accounts. theLotter enables people to play the US Powerball and EuroMillions lottery online and a host of other draws from anywhere in the world.

I. Nelson Rose, the eminent professor of law at the Whittier Law School in California, said in the New York Times article about the Iraqi lottery winner that theLotter’s method of providing official lottery tickets to online participants is “100 percent legal”. The Oregon Lottery officials confirmed it: their exact words were that “the system is ingenious”. The method is allowed, because theLotter’s clients do not actually play online… They merely request that the service’s reps physically go out to buy official paper tickets on their behalf.

M.’s future, and the future of his children, looks bright. Whilst he had a hard time believing it was real when he first signed up in the spring, after his win he said that “theLotter was trustworthy and the real deal as everyone on staff was so helpful in getting the prize claimed”.

Asked if he was going to continue to buy lottery tickets: "I'm going to continue to play every day!"

Court sentences billionaire tycoon Babak Zanjani to death for corruption

                                                                                                                                                HEMAT KHAHI/EPA

Babak Zanjani, center, is seen holding documents as he arrives in a Tehran, Iran court in November.

An Iranian court has sentenced a well-known tycoon to death for corruption linked to oil sales during the rule of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the judiciary spokesman said Sunday.

Babak Zanjani and two of his associates were sentenced to death for “money laundering,” among other charges, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi said in brief remarks broadcast on state TV. He did not identify the two associates. Previous state media reports have said the three were charged with forgery and fraud.

“The court has recognized the three defendants as ‘corruptors on earth’ and sentenced them to death,” said Ejehi. “Corruptors on earth” is an Islamic term referring to crimes that are punishable by death because they have a major impact on society. The verdict, which came after a nearly five-month trial, can be appealed.

A news website run by the judiciary identified the two associates as British-Iranian businessman Mahdi Shams, who was detained in 2015, and the other as Hamid Fallah Heravi, a retired businessman.

Zanjani was arrested in 2013 during a crackdown on alleged corruption during Ahmadinejad’s rule. Iran’s Oil Ministry says Zanjani owes more than 2 billion euros ($2.25 billion) for oil sales he made on behalf of Ahmadinejad’s government.

Zanjani is one of Iran’s wealthiest businessmen, with a fortune worth an estimated $14 billion. He was arrested shortly after the election of President Hassan Rouhani, who ordered a crackdown on alleged corruption during the eight-year rule of his hard-line predecessor.

Iran has in the past executed other wealthy individuals found guilty of similar charges. In 2014, Iran executed billionaire businessman Mahafarid Amir Khosravi over corruption charges.

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, ames Ocholi Dies In Auto Crash

See Photos from the Car Crash that Killed Minister of State for Labour, James Ocholi

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Mr James Ocholi, is dead.

He died in a road accident along the Kaduna-Abuja highway on Sunday afternoon.

The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr Chris Ngige, has described the death of Mr Ocholi, as a great loss to Nigeria, his family and the Nigerian Bar Association.

According to the Minister, the accident occurred on their way from a thanksgiving service.

Mrs Ocholi is reported to be receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital.

Mr James Ocholi was a Senior Advocate of Nigeria from Kogi State.

He was appointed Minister by President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2015.

Tottenham and Arsenal fans clash outside White Hart Lane

Police on horseback were forced to unsheathe their batons in an effort to keep control outside the ground

Baton wielding police were forced to act as Arsenal fans were being led towards White Hart Lane this afternoon in advance of today's crunch Premier Leage match.

At least one supporter, left, was injured on his way into White Hart Lane this afternoon before today's game

At least one fan suffered a cut head outside Tottenham's ground despite a heavy police presence.

Mounted police intervened as fans tried to make their way into the ground for today's lunchtime kickoff.

Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow was one of the only Arsenal fans to wear red and white colours due to the hostile environment outside White Hart Lane on the day of the North London Derby

Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow was one of the few Arsenal fans today wearing any colours on their way into the ground. 

Traditionally, Arsenal fans are escorted into White Hart Lane by the Metropolitan Police to reduce the chance of any incidents.

Several supporters fell to the ground during clashes outside the stadium before today's crunch match 

The Metropolitan Police said: 'Two men were arrested in connection with public order offences ahead of the Arsenal/Tottenham Hotspur football match taking place at White Hart Lane today. 

'The two individuals were detained separately, in unconnected incidents, around 12:30hrs at the junction of High Road and Park Lane. 

'They have been taken to north London police station where they currently remain. An appropriate policing plan is in place for the event.'

Last time Arsenal met Tottenham at White Hart Lane, the away fans were accused of ripping off hoardings at the ground, which is due to be demolished in the near future. 

Tottenham fans in response destroyed some toilets at The Emirates.

Oshiomhole warns Dino, describing him as a “childish” lawmaker who “cannot maintain a matrimonial home.”

Adams Oshiomhole, berated the senator Dino Melaye, over his comment on the governor’s choice of wife.

Melaye had on Wednesday, while contributing on the floor of the Senate, called on Nigerians to patronise made-in-Nigeria products.

He reportedly made a reference to Oshiomhole’s marriage to his Cape Verdean wife, Iara, while urging Nigerians to focus on “made-in-Nigeria women”.

He had said, “We will also move in order to encourage made-in-Nigeria products and begin to talk about made-in-Nigeria women, The PUNCH reported.

“Apologies to my uncle, the Governor of Edo State, we must, as a people, stop paying dowries in dollars and pounds. It is time for my colleagues here to become born-again.”

But Oshiomhole accused Melaye of lunching an unprovoked assault and delving into a matter as confidential as his marriage to his heartthrob, even as a member of the All Progressives Congress.

He also berated the senator for regarding women as “pieces of items for sale,” a statement which he said was not only disparaging but disappointing, in the report.

The governor, in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Peter Okhiria, said, “As a ‘nephew’ of the governor and members of the same party, we expected Senator Melaye to tender an unreserved public apology to the Comrade Governor, to no avail.

“It is an open secret that Senator Melaye cannot maintain a decent matrimonial home, hence he could descend to this pedestrian level of using the hallowed chambers to ‘categorise’ women as if they were pieces of items for purchase. Any responsible individual that is truly worth to be called a senator, a position that convokes respect, decorum and decent public conduct, should know the limits of his verbal diarrhoea.”

He said that the liberty to speak freely should not be abused, saying, “The liberty of free speech guaranteed in the hallowed chambers does not impose lunacy on anyone to disparage other Nigerians, let alone pry into their matrimony in a very derisive manner.”