Ill Bliss opens on Chidinma's exit from Capital Hill Records

That Igbo Boy’ rapper, Tobechukwu Melvin Ejiofor aka Ill Bliss has finally spoken on ‘Kedike’ singer, Chidinma’s exit from Capital Hill Records/The Goretti Company, which he co-owns with video director, Clarence Peters. According to him, there is nothing unusual about Chidinma ditching her former record label.

In his words, ‘It’s normal human nature. People need to disagree in life. Sometimes, vision and directions differ, and people choose new directions. It’s part of the business; nothing lasts forever really. Even marriages break up. When artistes get more ambitious and they want to move on, you can only bless them and let them go.’

When we sought to know if Chidinma was loyal to the label during her stay, Ill Bliss answered, ‘She was absolutely loyal. What’s important is that Capital Hill continues to make history.’

On what he has been up to recently, he said, ‘I released a new single about a month ago called ‘Nku’ which features Flavour and Storm Rex. I’m also working on my fourth album titled ‘Illygati.’ I’ve worked with people like Harrysong, Phyno, among others.

Illygati is a nickname that people call me on the street; it’s coined from Ill Bliss. My albums are titled in unique ways, and I decided to still follow the trend.’

Belgian police arrested a man carrying a suitcase full of explosives

Belgian police arrested a man carrying a suitcase full of explosives after shooting him in the leg during an operation in Brussels, according to RTBF. Two other arrests were also made on Friday.
Mayor Bernard Clerfayt said the suspect was linked to the Tuesday attacks in Brussels, according to RTBF. 

Witnesses told local media that police shot the man in the leg at a tram stop in the Brussels neighborhood of Schaerbeek after he failed to respond to orders. The man had a girl of about eight with him, according to one witness. 

"I heard two explosions, they were shooting. I opened the window and saw a man lying near the tram stop. The police ordered him to show his hands, remove his jacket. They said that if he did not comply, they would use their weapons," a witness who lives nearby told La Libre newspaper.

A heavy police presence was reported at the scene. The operation was conducted near Meiser Square and involved special units, RTBF said, adding that a tram which was passing in the area was evacuated.

Two other arrests were also made in Brussels on Friday, according to Reuters. 

A person familiar with the investigation said that one of the people arrested was believed to be a suspected accomplice caught on security camera footage with the metro station bomber. 

"We have strong indications that this is the suspect who was hunted for the last couple of days. The identification is still ongoing," the source said, as quoted by Reuters. 

De Standaard newspaper stated that police had also arrested the man wearing a hat who is seen standing next to Khalid El Bakraoui in security footage prior to the airport attacks.

Meanwhile, Der Spiegel reported that German police had arrested two people, one of whom had received phone messages with the name of the metro station bomber and the word "fin," which means "end" in French, three minutes before the Tuesday metro blast. The German Interior Ministry declined to comment. 

On Tuesday, the Belgian capital was rocked by twin blasts at the city’s Zaventem Airport and an explosion at the Maalbeek Metro station, just meters away from key EU buildings, less than an hour later. The attacks killed 31 people and injured 270 more.

The Belgian prosecutor named brothers Ibrahim and Khalid El Bakraoui as the suicide bombers behind the Metro and airport attacks. 

Another suspect, Najim Laachraoui, is still at large.
At least seven people were detained during overnight raids in Belgium, the federal prosecutor's office said on Friday, as cited by RTBF.

According to the prosecutor, six people were arrested during searches in the Schaerbeek and Jette areas of Brussels, as well as in the center of the Belgian capital. The seventh suspect was arrested in the Forest borough of Brussels early on Friday.

On Thursday French police arrested a suspected militant linked to a terrorist cell that was planning a new attack on French soil, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said. Following the arrest, the police conducted a night raid targeting an apartment building in Argenteuil, a northwest Paris suburb, Cazeneuve added.

[RT]

History of the use of Bunny, Eggs and Candies as Easter Symbols

As against the use of the cross and Jesus hung on it to symbolize the Easter Celebrations, 3 objects has been traditionally used for over a decade now; They are, the Egg, the Bunny and the Candies.
How this changed is still unknown to many, the Evangelists and traditional Christians claims the replacement is anti - Christ. Here is a brief history on how it all got started! 

EASTER BUNNY
The Bible makes no mention of a long-eared, short-tailed creature who delivers decorated eggs to well-behaved children on Easter Sunday; nevertheless, the Easter bunny has become a prominent symbol of Christianity’s most important holiday. The exact origins of this mythical mammal are unclear, but rabbits, known to be prolific procreators, are an ancient symbol of fertility and new life. According to some sources, the Easter bunny first arrived in America in the 1700s with German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania and transported their tradition of an egg-laying hare called “Osterhase” or “Oschter Haws.” Their children made nests in which this creature could lay its colored eggs. Eventually, the custom spread across the U.S. and the fabled rabbit’s Easter morning deliveries expanded to include chocolate and other types of candy and gifts, while decorated baskets replaced nests. Additionally, children often left out carrots for the bunny in case he got hungry from all his hopping.

EASTER EGGS

Easter is a religious holiday, but some of its customs, such as Easter eggs, are likely linked to pagan traditions. The egg, an ancient symbol of new life, has been associated with pagan festivals celebrating spring. From a Christian perspective, Easter eggs are said to represent Jesus’ emergence from the tomb and resurrection. Decorating eggs for Easter is a tradition that dates back to at least the 13th century, according to some sources. One explanation for this custom is that eggs were formerly a forbidden food during the Lenten season, so people would paint and decorate them to mark the end of the period of penance and fasting, then eat them on Easter as a celebration.

Easter egg hunts and egg rolling are two popular egg-related traditions. In the U.S., the White House Easter Egg Roll, a race in which children push decorated, hard-boiled eggs across the White House lawn, is an annual event held the Monday after Easter. The first official White House egg roll occurred in 1878, when Rutherford B. Hayes was president. The event has no religious significance, although some people have considered egg rolling symbolic of the stone blocking Jesus’ tomb being rolled away, leading to his resurrection.

The largest Easter egg ever made was over 25 feet high and weighed over 8,000 pounds. It was built out of choclate and marshmallow and supported by an internal steel frame.

EASTER CANDY

Easter is the second best-selling candy holiday in America, after Halloween. Among the most popular sweet treats associated with this day are chocolate eggs, which date back to early 19th century Europe. Eggs have long been associated with Easter as a symbol of new life and Jesus’ resurrection. Another egg-shaped candy, the jelly bean, became associated with Easter in the 1930s (although the jelly bean’s origins reportedly date all the way back to a Biblical-era concoction called a Turkish Delight). According to the National Confectioners Association, over 16 billion jelly beans are made in the U.S. each year for Easter, enough to fill a giant egg measuring 89 feet high and 60 feet wide. For the past decade, the top-selling non-chocolate Easter candy has been the marshmallow Peep, a sugary, pastel-colored confection. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based candy manufacturer Just Born (founded by Russian immigrant Sam Born in 1923) began selling Peeps in the 1950s. The original Peeps were handmade, marshmallow-flavored yellow chicks, but other shapes and flavors were later introduced, including chocolate mousse bunnies.