Stolen Picasso worth $1M 'found' buried in Romania may be elaborate hoaxe

Picasso’s 1971 "Tête d’Arlequijarlequin’s Head") which was stolen from Rotterdam's Kunsthal museum in 2012 (Getty)

A Pablo Picasso artwork that was stolen six years ago in a museum heist that was reportedly found buried in the ground in Romania appears to be nothing more than an elaborate hoax by a Belgian theater company.Two Dutch citizens had brought what they thought was Picasso’s 1971 "Tête d’Arlequin" ("Harlequin’s Head") painting to the Netherlands embassy in Romania, claiming that they found it buried, prompting authorities to try to authenticate the painting.

The painting was among the stolen artwork from Rotterdam’s Kunsthal museum in 2012 following a heist by a Romanian criminal gang in 2013.

But the piece of art appears to be a forgery by a Belgian theatre company that intentionally tricked a Dutch novelist, who wrote a book about the heist, into thinking he found the stolen artwork, BBC reported.

PICASSO MASTERPIECE REVEALS LOST PAINTING, HIDDEN DETAILS

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Jonathan accuses Obama of interfering with 2015 election in new book

Former president.Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has again accused ex-United States president Barack Obama of interfering in the 2015 election.

Dr. Jonathan made the fresh accusation in his new book 'The Transition Hours’ which was launched on Tuesday, November 20.

According to the report, in excerpts of the book, Jonathan claimed Obama sent his secretary of state John Kerry, and made a video broadcast to Nigerians in ways designed to influence the outcome of the election against him.

An action, Jonathan described as “humiliating”.

He wrote: “I can recall that President Obama sent his Secretary of State to Nigeria, a sovereign nation, to protest the rescheduling of the election. John Kerry arrived in Nigeria on Sunday January 25, 2015 and said ‘it’s imperative that these elections happen on time as scheduled’.

“How can the US Secretary of State know what is more important for Nigeria than Nigeria’s own government? How could they have expected us to conduct elections when Boko Haram controlled part of the North East and were killing and maiming Nigerians? Not even the assurance of the sanctity of the May 29, 2015 handover date could calm them down. In Nigeria, the constitution is very clear. No President can extend his tenure by one day.

He continued: “On March 23, 2015, President Obama himself took the unusual step of releasing a video message directly to Nigerians all but telling them how to vote. In that video, Obama urged Nigerians to open the ‘next chapter’ by their votes. Those who understood subliminal language deciphered that he was prodding the electorate to vote for the opposition to form a new government. The message was so condescending, it was as if Nigerians did not know what to do and needed an Obama to direct them.

“In his message, he said ‘all Nigerians must be able to cast their votes without intimidation or fear,’ yet his government was vehemently and publicly against the postponement of the elections to enable our military defeat Boko Haram and prevent them from intimidating voters. This was the height of hypocrisy!”

Earlier that former president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan arrived the venue of his book presentation to a loud ovation from those gathered at the entrance of the venue.

He arrived at exactly 11.45 am in company with his wife, Patience.

Security operatives had a hectic time keeping the crowd away from the former president as he went inside the hall to greet his guests.

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NECO extends registration of 2018 SSCE

The National Examinations Council (NECO) has announced an extension for the registration of the on-going 2018 November/December NECO Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE).

The Acting Registrar of NECO, Mr Abubakar Gana, disclosed this in a statement, on Tuesday in Abuja.

Gana said applicants wishing to sit for the examination could still register as `walk-in* (late registration) candidates.’

The Registrar said the extension became necessary because some of the candidates could not register at the expiration of registration deadline of November 17.

He advised all the candidates who failed to meet the registration deadline to take advantage of the window provided by the management.

The NECO boss urged candidates registering after the closing date to adhere to the guidelines of the registration process.

He, however, warned that such candidates must complete the registration within twenty-four hours to the scheduled time of examination for the subject(s) that they intended to sit for.

Gana also advised those who wish to register as walk-in candidates to contact the nearest NECO State Office for full details on the registration procedure.

It would be recalled that NECO had on November 14 announced a change in its examination date from November 15 to November 19.

NECO said the changes were necessary to ensure that no candidate missed the examination and for the council to ensure a successful conduct of its examinations.

Meanwhile, Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) had said that 35 inmates of the Jos prison will participate in the 2018 Nov/Dec Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) of the National Examination Council (NECO).

DSP Luka Ayedoo, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Plateau Command of NPS made this known in a statement in Jos on Sunday, October 21.

Ayedoo said that the inmates who comprised of 32 males and three females were adequately prepared to take social science and commercial subjects in the examination.

According to him, the examination fees of the inmates were paid by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), as part of activities marking its 47th anniversary.

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