Research: Bioengineered protein may stop cancer metastasis

A team of Stanford researchers has
developed a protein therapy that disrupts
the process that causes cancer cells to
break away from original tumor sites, travel
through the blood stream and start
aggressive new growths elsewhere in the
body.
This process, known as metastasis, can
cause cancer to spread with deadly effect.
"The majority of patients who succumb to
cancer fall prey to metastatic forms of the
disease," said Jennifer Cochran, an
associate professor of bioengineering who
describes a new therapeutic approach in
Nature Chemical Biology.
Today doctors try to slow or stop metastasis
with chemotherapy, but these treatments
are unfortunately not very effective and
have severe side effects.
The Stanford team seeks to stop metastasis,
without side effects, by preventing two
proteins -- Axl and Gas6 -- from interacting
to initiate the spread of cancer.
Axl proteins stand like bristles on the
surface of cancer cells, poised to receive
biochemical signals from Gas6 proteins.
When two Gas6 proteins link with two Axls,
the signals that are generated enable cancer
cells to leave the original tumor site,
migrate to other parts of the body and
form new cancer nodules.
To stop this process Cochran used protein
engineering to create a harmless version of
Axl that acts like a decoy. This decoy Axl
latches on to Gas6 proteins in the blood
stream and prevents them from linking with
and activating the Axls present on cancer
cells.
In collaboration with Professor Amato
Giaccia, who heads the Radiation Biology
Program in Stanford's Cancer Center, the
researchers gave intravenous treatments of
this bioengineered decoy protein to mice
with aggressive breast and ovarian cancers.
Mice in the breast cancer treatment group
had 78 percent fewer metastatic nodules
than untreated mice. Mice with ovarian
cancer had a 90 percent reduction in
metastatic nodules when treated with the
engineered decoy protein.
"This is a very promising therapy that
appears to be effective and non-toxic in
pre-clinical experiments," Giaccia said. "It
could open up a new approach to cancer
treatment."
Giaccia and Cochran are scientific advisors
to Ruga Corp., a biotech startup in Palo
Alto that has licensed this technology from
Stanford. Further preclinical and animal
tests must be done before determining
whether this therapy is safe and effective in
humans.
Greg Lemke, of the Molecular Neurobiology
Laboratory at the Salk Institute, called this
"a prime example of what bioengineering
can do" to open up new therapeutic
approaches to treat metastatic cancer.
"One of the remarkable things about this
work is the binding affinity of the decoy
protein," said Lemke, a noted authority on
Axl and Gas6 who was not part of the
Stanford experiments.
"The decoy attaches to Gas6 up to a
hundredfold more effectively than the
natural Axl," Lemke said. "It really sops up
Gas6 and takes it out of action."

Source:
Stanford School of Engineering

Varsity student caught with bombs on campus

There was anxiety at the University of
Uyo (UNIUYO) campus in Akwa Ibom
State yesterday when a part one student
(names withheld) was caught with two
hand grenades tucked in his bag by
operatives of Peace on Campus
Initiatives (PCI), an anti-cultism NGO
operating on campuses of higher
institutions.
Two improvised explosive devices (IEDs),
widely speculated as hand grenades,
were found in a bag that belonged to the
suspect by some students, who alerted
the PCI.
National Coordinator of PCI, Mr. Oliver
Cromwell, said yesterday that his men in
the UNIUYO chapter got information
about the suspect keeping the IEDs, and
trailed him to his males’ hostel.
Cromwell said his men on discovering
the bombs that were well-packaged in a
bag in the hostel’s room, apprehended
the suspect and invited the anti-bomb
squad of the state police command, Ikot
Akpan Abia, Uyo, to the scene for
verification. The squad detonated the
two devices and searched the hostel
rooms for more.
The suspect who was said to have
confessed during interrogation, to
keeping the explosives, dismissed that he
bought or made them with intent to
wreaking havoc on campus. According to
him, he found the devices within the
school premises, saying he was trying to
hand them over to the university’s
security.
“It all started on Friday when I was
coming back from church. Just close to
where the construction was going on, I
saw two white things on the ground.
When I picked them, I saw the
instruction ‘hand grenade.”
He however, did not explain why he did
not alert the school security.
The command’s spokesman, Mr. Etim
Dickson, a Deputy Superintendent of
Police, who confirmed the incident,
however, explained that the explosives
were local devices, which could have
been invented by any of the science
students in the university.
Promising that the police would
investigate, Dickson urged students and
parents not to entertain any fear about
possible breakdown of law and order in
the university community. “The incident
had been properly taken care of. We are
on top of the situation as we urge all
students and employees of the institution
to go about their normal businesses. We
shall get to the root of the mater,” he
said.
The university’s spokesman, Mr Godfrey
Essien, confirmed the incident, but
stressed that he would not speak further
on it since the matter had been taken
over by the police.

Skeletons found 'holding hands' after 700 years

A couple of skeletons which have
been "holding hands" for 700 years
have been uncovered at the lost
chapel of St Morrell in Leicestershire,
central England.
Two skeletons were found holding
hands, buried at a lost chapel in
Leicester
11 skeletons have been found so
far, but are yet to be analyzed
Early findings suggest one died by
being struck on the head with a
pole axe
Leicester was also the site where
the remains of King Richard III
were found.
Even death couldn't part
two skeletons excavated from a lost
chapel in an English county, found
with their fingers entwined.
A team of archaeologists from the
University of Leicester Archaeological
Services (ULAS) are working with
volunteers on a four-year excavation
project at the site, which overlooks
the small village of Hallaton.
Vicki Score, ULAS project manager,
says the skeletons were placed
together in this position, as there
was enough room in the grave to
have them buried apart.

The remains of King Richard III

Cracking the genetic code of Richard III Aside from the bonded couple, 11
skeletons have been found so far,
which are yet to be analyzed, but
some discoveries have been made
already.
Score says one was of an older man
aged 46 or over who appeared to
have been struck on the head with a
sharp weapon such as a pole axe.
Another, she says, was in his mid-
twenties, with teeth showing severe
childhood trauma during the first
nine years of his life.
"He was buried in a very unusual
position in a pit with his legs splayed
widely apart, arms flexed at the
elbows and hands tucked beneath his
chin.
"We have no idea why he was buried
like this -- it could possibly be due to
a medical condition."
Both skeletons also had lesions on
their skulls which suggest they had
head lice.
The team are hoping to find out
more about how the gravesite was
chosen.
Score says: "We have seen similar
skeletons before from Leicester
where a couple has been buried
together in a single grave. The main
question we find ourselves asking is
why were they buried up there?"
It is thought the chapel may have
served as a pilgrimage, or the main
church possibly refused to bury the
bodies because they were criminals,
foreigners or diseased.
She adds that Roman archaeology
beneath the chapel imply that
something important already existed
there, which made it a special place.
Other findings include the walls and
tiled floors of the site, fragments of
stone masonry, wall plaster, tiles and
lead from the windows. Silver
pennies dating between the 12th and
16th centuries give clues as to when
the chapel was in use.
In 2000, the Hallaton Treasure was
discovered, consisting of Iron Age
coins, parts of Roman helmets and
debris from feasting.
The county was also where the
remains of 15th-century monarch
Richard III were uncovered beneath a
parking lot in 2012, raising questions
about how the controversial ruler
lived and died.

School resumption: GEJ pleads with NUT, says Govt isn't foolish

Speaking with journalists yesterday September
16th in Abuja, President Jonathan appealed
to members of the Nigerian Union of
Teachers, NUT to return to the classrooms
on Sept. 22 as there is no known case of
Ebola in the country at the moment. Below
is what he said...
"We have been able to manage Ebola and
the whole world is happy with us and we
must tell the whole world that we have
managed Ebola and no Nigerian should be
segregated because of Ebola. In fact Osun
State was to have their festival and the
news came to me to cancel it I said no,
Ebola is no longer a threat in Nigeria and
we must tell the world that we have been
able to contained Ebola."
Yes, Ebola is in the West Coast, it could
happen in Ghana, it could happen in
Senegal or any of the West African countries
or beyond but they have not closed down
their institutions. If we still have Ebola
definitely we will not open any of our
institutions but we don’t have Ebola. I dare
ask is NUT saying that until the world is
able to end Ebola is Guinea, Liberia and
Sierra Leone before Nigeria should open our
institutions? It is not right. Government is
not a fool, it is not any labour body that
asked us to take that decision, we took it
because we felt that we must protect our
citizens.
This is one government that discusses with
anybody that has issues to discuss. Even
NUT has no reason to threaten industrial
action because of Ebola, the governors took
that decision. I called all the governors of
the states to come with their
commissioners of health. On the day of that
meeting I did not even allow them to speak
because they will play politics. I asked all
the commissioners including the Secretary
of Health in Abuja, to brief us on the steps
they have taken and they listened to their
colleagues because it was also a peer
review process. If you are hiding certain
things by the time you hear your colleagues
you will go back and get things done.
We are sure that even if one mad Sawyer
comes again, nobody will contract Ebola. We
have managed Ebola very well, the world is
happy we must tell the world that no
Nigerian should be suspected of Ebola and
that is the position of government. I will
plead with NUT and other unions that this
does not require industrial action. They
should commend government, they should
work with us, they are Nigerians, all
Nigerians must work together to make sure
that we contain Ebola. Why do we want to
create problems where it is not necessary,
it is uncalled for.” He said

Boko Haram installs emirs in Gwoza, Dambua

•Senate to Jonathan: Declare total
war on sect now.
Boko Haram has installed emirs in
Gwoza and Dambua, Borno State, the
two towns that fell to the Islamist sect
two weeks ago, Senator Ali Dume told his
colleagues as Senate resumed from its
two-month recess yesterday.This is even
as the Upper Chamber urged President
Goodluck Jonathan to declare total war
on the insurgents, advising him to
mobilise all resources and efforts to that
effect.
Senator Ndume, who represents
southern Borno, told lawmakers that
Boko Haram has literally sacked two
emirs and installed their own on
Monday.
His words: “I represent southern Borno
and Gwoza. The challenges we are facing
are more serious than what we have
faced before. We, the people of southern
Borno, particularly Gwoza, parts of
Adamawa and Yobe know that it’s
presently occupied!
“I read here on the Senate Order Paper
about a threat. It’s no longer a threat;
somebody is occupying that place and
he’s declared it a caliphate!
“Yesterday, a new emir was installed by
Boko Haram in Dambua. The original
emir is taking refuge in Abuja. Boko
Haram installed a new emir in Gwoza…
Recently, we conceded the extension of
state of emergency and it was because it
could get out of hand. Can it get out of
hand more than what is happening
now?”, he asked.
Chairman of the Senate Committeeon
Investment, Nenadi Usman, pleaded with
the chamber to “look at the issue
holistically because there are internally
displaced persons in my constituency
too.
The resolution for the declaration of total
war came through a motion moved by
Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN)
and 107 senators tagged: “Threat to
national sovereignty and territorial
integrity of Nigeria by insurgents.” The
Senate resolved that the Boko Haram
challenge had risen beyond mere
insurgency to a full-scale war against the
Nigerian state. The lawmakers declared
that only a declaration of total war by
the President will offer a sustainable
solution to the menace of the sect.
Ruling on the motion, Senate President
David Mark, insisted that Nigeria must
move beyond bandying words with Boko
Haram and declare total war now.
“When Boko Haram moved from
kidnapping, killing of people and
destruction of property to occupation of
parts of Nigerian territory, it has
declared a total war on Nigeria. There is
no difference between what Boko Haram
is doing against Nigeria and what an
enemy country waging war in Nigeria
would have done.
“The issue is beyond that of mere
internal security. It is about how we
execute the war. If Boko Haram has
captured most of the parts of the country
we represent and has created a
caliphate, it means that some of the
senators from those areas can no longer
be in this chamber. This is why we must
pay urgent attention to the matter,” he
said.
Mark also noted out that the threat
posed by Boko Haram war will affect the
2015 general elections. He, however,
insisted that the issue at stake is far
beyond that of election. He said: “There
is no question of election, it is not even
on the table now. We are in a state of
war. All of us cannot carry guns to fight
but we all have roles to play in bringing
the situation to an end”.
The entire Senate leadership, chairmen
of committees that have roles to play on
national security, defence and
intelligence as well as all senators from
the three affected states of Adamawa,
Borno and Yobe are now scheduled to
meet with Mr. President and deliver the
resolutions of the Senate.
Deputy Senate President Ike
Ekweremadu seconded the motion with a
warning that there may not be elections
in Nigeria in 2015 if Boko Haram
insurgency persists. “We must make no
mistake about this; if we don’t secure
the North East, there may not be
elections in 2015. If anyone thinks
because he is from Lagos, Enugu and it
doesn’t concern him, that person is
mistaken…Democracy isn’t working in
Yobe, Adamawa and Borno states. We
must take a firm stand now.”
Meanwhile, the Upper Chamber also
resolved that the $1billion external loan
requested by the President shortly
before it embarked on long recess be
granted with accelerated approval.

Ebola outbreak: Barack Obama ‘to pledge US troops to fight virus’

US President Barack Obama is to
announce plans on Tuesday to send
3,000 troops to Liberia to help fight the
Ebola virus, US officials say.
It is understood the US military will
oversee building new treatment centres
and help train medical staff.
There has been criticism of the slow
international response to the Ebola
epidemic in West Africa.
Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea are the
worst-hit countries. The outbreak has
killed more than 2,400 people.
More than half of those killed by the
virus have been in Liberia. The World
Health Organization (WHO) warned
recently that the country could see
thousands of more cases.
United Nations officials will discuss the
international response to the outbreak at
a meeting in Geneva.
US officials said the aim of the country’s
anti-Ebola initiative is to:
Train up to 500 healthcare workers a
week
Construct 17 heathcare facilities, each
with about 100 beds
Establish a joint command based in
Monrovia, Liberia, to co-ordinate
between US and international relief
efforts
Distribute home healthcare kits to
thousands of households
Conduct a home and community-
based campaign to train local people
in how to handle patients
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
has appealed directly to Mr Obama for
help in tackling the outbreak.
Several disease experts have welcomed
the US plan, though some also question
its focus on Liberia.
“We should see all of West Africa now as
one big outbreak,” says Michael
Osterholm, director of the Center for
Infectious Disease Research and Policy at
the University of Minnesota, quoted in
The New York Times.
“It’s very clear we have to deal with all
the areas with Ebola.”
On Monday, Ghanaian President John
Dramani Mahama said greater and faster
outside help was needed.
Ebola spreads between humans by direct
contact with infected blood, bodily fluids
or organs, or indirectly through contact
with contaminated environments.
( BBC )

NUT ask teachers to ignore September 22nd resumption date

Minister of Health has said there's no single
confirmed case of Ebola in Nigeria currently
and it's safe for primary and secondary
schools to resume but the Nigeria Union of
Teachers, NUT, is not convinced. Today
September 16th, NUT directed its members
to ignore the Sept. 22nd resumption date of
schools in Nigeria.
Speaking today to journalists in Abuja, the
NUT National President, Comrade Micheal
Olukoya, said teachers should only resume
if the government provides them with
necessary preventive & protective gadgets
on Ebola virus. Continue...
NUT president Olukoya said;
"Where the federal government insists on
the 22nd September, 2014, date in spite of
the wise counsel, the union will rather
direct teachers to resume schools whenever
they are sufficiently trained and their
schools have been provided with the
necessary preventive and protective
gadgets. For the avoidance of doubt, the
teachers have this day, resolved to resume
classes in obedience to the federal
government directive, in states where
teachers have been trained to handle any
outbreak and all the required preventive
and protective gadgets such as hand gloves,
sanitizers, infra-red thermometers, running
water and soaps have been provided as
directed by federal government of Nigeria.
In states where the training has not been
done and necessary safeguarding gadgets
not provided, teachers shall continue to
remain at home until their state
governments respond positively or the
union directs them to the contrary”.

Goodluck Jonathan rejects controversial slogan

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan
has asked his supporters to stop using
an adapted version of the #
BringBackOurGirls hashtag to campaign
for his re-election.
In one sense you can understand what
the president’s supporters were thinking.
The #BringBackOurGirls hashtag, calling
for 200 school girls abducted by Boko
Haram militants in April, became one of
the world’s biggest ever social media
campaigns. So why not borrow the
slogan for the president’s re-election
campaign?
The hashtag #BringBackGoodluck2015
seems to have first been used on Twitter
by a group campaigning on behalf of the
president. On 30th August, they tweeted:
“There is no vacancy in Aso rock [the
president's palace]we want Goodluck
Jonathan again #NigeriansDemand #
BringBackJonathan2015.”
It was never an officially endorsed
slogan, despite appearing on signs and
banners around the capital city of Abuja,
but now the president has reacted to try
and quash it. A press release issued by
the president’s office this morning says
the campaign is “offensive and
repugnant”, and that signs and banners
carrying the slogan should be removed
immediately.
The slogan was widely criticised because
it seemed to dramatically misread the
public mood in the country. The
abducted school girls are still held
captive, despite repeated promises by
the government – and President
Jonathan himself – to secure their
release. So far, the government has not
taken military steps to rescue the girls,
arguing that if force is used, they may
end up being killed by the militants.
A major backlash against the hashtag
soon emerged, as people took to Twitter
to label it as insensitive. It has appeared
more than 2,800 times in the last 24
hours, and the vast majority been used
to criticise the slogan.
“That hashtag is not only inappropriate
but it is insultingly silly. And it is bereft of
any political tact,” said one . Another said
the slogan’s inventor “has the combined
IQ of 500 frogs. Why not coin another
hashtag?”. “I didn’t realize Boko Haram
had kidnapped the President!” said a
third .
Japheth Omojuwa, a columnist at
Nigerian newspaper Punch, told BBC
Trending that he felt the decision to use
the slogan was “absurd”.
“They are using variation of our hashtag
#BringBackOurGirls to campaign for the
president,” he said. “These are people
that failed to secure the release of these
girls over 150 days since their kidnap.”
Terrorist attacks carried out by Boko
Haram are still rife in the country.
Research by Amnesty International
suggests at least 2,000 people have been
killed as a result of the conflict this year.

House of Reps want Sept 22 schools' resumption date changed

The House of Representatives want the
September 22nd school resumption date
for private and public primary/secondary
changed.
According to Punch, the Reps explained
yesterday that it had directed its Committee
on Education to take “another look” at the
date in view of the fact that the outbreak of
the Ebola Virus Disease in the country had
yet to be fully contained.
The Deputy Chairman, House Committee on
Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Victor Ogene,
who conveyed the position of the House in
Abuja, said there was still apprehension
among parents and guardians over the
Federal Government’s decision to change
the earlier resumption date of October 13
to September 22. Continue...
Ogene said the leadership of the House was
concerned over the fresh protests by the
public, especially parents and guardians.
He noted that considering the fact that
some persons were still under surveillance,
the House felt it had the responsibility to
ensure the safety of children.
The lawmaker said the committee would
come up with recommendations on the
appropriate and safe date to re-open the
schools.
He added that on September 8, a group,
Africa Health, Human and Social
Development Information Service, had
advised against the re-opening of the
schools.
The group had warned that re-opening
schools now could put the lives of over 80
million school children and teachers at risk.
Source: Punch

Chris Oyakhilome speaks on divorce; says media is writing stupid things

Y'all need to listen to this. He said he was
not accused of the things (the media) said,
and neither did he 'commit' those 'stupid'
things (the media) said. And he asked
people to pray for his wife because she
made a mistake. For those who can't view
the video, continue to read what he said...
"I understand that some media houses
particularly in Nigeria and maybe in South
Africa have been writing some real stupid
things. Frivolous charges...that's crazy.
You have to understand something about a
Man of God. A man of God is not just
someone who worships God or who
preaches God. A man of God is directed by
God, set on course by God. If you study the
scriptures you will not find one Man of God
going against God, sinning against God. The
only thing you can find is a Man of God,
maybe in two different things 1. Moses for
example, when he struck the rock twice,
provoked by the anger of the people, not
because he wanted to do something against
the Lord.
No Man of God does something against the
Lord. A Man of God is set on course, there
is a type of life that he's been given,
alright?
Then you have a young man, a young
prophet, he wasn't named, he was deceived
by another Man of God, and so he went in
the direction God says don't go. That's only
the kind of thing you would find about a
Man of God when he misses the message of
God or he acts beyond what God said.
But a Man of God setting himself in
defiance to the word of God and living like
they are writing those stupid things about
me that I did this, that I did that, you don't
know what a Man of God is. I don't go in
that direction. That seems crazy.
I wasn't accused of those things you said,
nor did I commit those stupid thing that
you said and I don't need to go to that
level and such discussions. Jesus Christ was
accused by many, with lots of frivolous
charges. There would always be those who
would like for it to be true, but you know,
in spite of the accusations against Jesus, it
didn't change who he was!
There are preachers and there are Men of
God. I'm not a preacher, I'm a Man of God.
Understand the difference. And I go in the
way I'm asked to go, it may cause some
troubles with individuals, but that's not
because I've done something wrong.
And when it comes to Rev. Anita, what I'd
say to you is pray for her, don't act like
'why is she....' . If you're married to a Man
of God it does not you make automatically
mature. You can make mistakes, but you
know, people expect the wife of a Minister
to definitely be at the level of the Minister,
and so they may be looked upon and the
expectations maybe like that, but it's a
positional thing. If a Man of God is married,
it does not automatically mean the wife of
the Man of God is therefore a Woman of
God! That's not how it is in the Bible. That's
why you don't really find wives of Men of
God mentioned in the bible. How many of
them? Who was Peter's wife? Did you ever
know her name? Who was John's wife? Did
you ever read the name? What about all the
other apostles? How many are registered in
the bible? You never find their names, why?
Ask God when you find Him!
So, they are little things, don't try to make
something big out of them. We're
journeying, doing the things that God's
called us to do. Christians should not have
a divorce. It shouldn't be. But that doesn't
mean a Christian may not take the step.
They may do it, but that doesn't make it
right. And we shouldn't take one another to
court, but when it happens, not because we
want to go there, someone is taking us
there. That's a problem. Be wise and stay
focused in the Word of God, and don't let
those who want to feast on things like this
including Christians. The Christians who like
things like this, they want to make
something big about it. And say yes we said
it. You said what? You should only say
those things that are from God, and
become honorable in your speech. And
judge nothing before the time. Be wise,
Glory to God.
So we are going greater and greater and
greater by the power of the living Christ.
So, we are not walking in sin and living in
sin and hoping we can mix sin and
righteousness together, No! We are the
manifestations of His righteousness, we
walk in that light only, and that's the way
it's going to be! Glory to God

'All schools to resume September 22nd' - FG

The Federal government has directed all
primary and secondary schools to resume
on Monday September 22nd. The
resumption date for schools had earlier
been postponed to October 13th as a
precautionary measure to contain the
spread of the Ebola virus in Nigeria.

Meet Dreadnoughtus, perhaps the biggest creature to ever walk the planet

Paleontologists estimate the
Dreadnoughtus schrani specimen
unveiled Thursday was about 85 feet
long and weighed about 65 tons.

He was a big boy. A very,
very big boy.
In fact, the Dreadnoughtus schrani
dinosaur unveiled Thursday was one
of the biggest -- if not THE biggest --
land animal ever to grace the Earth.
Experts estimate that back in his day
-- which was the Upper Cretaceous
period, approximately 77 million
years ago -- that this creature whose
fossilized remains were unearthed
recently in Argentina's southwestern
Patagonia measured out at 85 feet
long and weighed about 65 tons.
No wonder, then, paleontologists
picked a first name that breaks down
to "fear nothing." (The second name
honors benefactor and tech
entrepreneur Adam Schran.) You
wouldn't be scared, either, if you
towered over every creature in sight,
could smash most anything with your
whip-like tail and could smoosh
anything with your colossal feet.

Big Brother Africa postponed due to fire incident at BBA house in SA

Big Brother Africa Hotshots which was
supposed to begin this Sunday 7th
September has been postponed indefinitely
after a fire incident at the BBA House in
Johannesburg, South Africa (pictured above)
. Below is a press release from M-Net.
"M-Net and Endemol SA advise that due to
a devastating fire at the Big Brother house
on 2 September 2014, Big Brother Hotshots
will not launch this Sunday (7 September)
as scheduled. The cause of the fire at this
stage is unknown and investigations will
commence as soon as it is safe to do so."
Continue...
At this stage M-Net and Endemol are
urgently looking for an alternative Big
Brother house in which to film the
production, however as this production has
highly technical infrastructure, camera and
edit requirements an alternative is not
immediately available. Every effort will be
made to find a solution as quickly as
possible to ensure that Africa’s biggest
reality show will continue.

Nigerian mum gives birth to white baby in odds that baffled midwives

32 year old Nigerian Catherine Howarth was
convinced she had been given the wrong
child when midwives presented her with her
new baby shortly after she gave birth at a
Milton Keynes Hospital on June 1st. She was
stunned because the little boy named Jonah
was completely white. And even though
baby Jonah has a white father, doctors say
the chances of him being completely white
too were an incredible one in a million.
And it wasn’t only baby Jonah’s parents who
were stunned, so were the midwives.
“The midwife looked at me and looked back
down at Jonah and then at me again and
couldn’t believe it. The doctors confirmed it
was extremely rare."Catherine.
Her husband Richard Howarth, 34, was
equally astonished.
“When I first set eyes on my baby boy
Jonah, it was a feeling of pure delight and
relief that he was healthy and strong. His
complexion was very pale due to the
umbilical cord being wrapped around his
neck when he was being delivered.
“After a few hours his colour came to his
cheeks. Catherine and I noticed his
complexion was very similar to mine and
were surprised it was as light. The midwives
and doctors told us he’ll most likely remain
this colour.”
Doctors have said Jonah is not an albino.
“We have been told that I must have been
carrying a recessive gene. My parents were
from Nigeria and, for as far back as anyone
can remember, my family have all been
black. But at some point there must have
been a white gene in my family that has
remained dormant for years and years –
until now. The doctors said they had
researched the chances of this happening
and discovered that it was very, very rare.
They had only found two similar cases, both
in America, that had been reported in
recent times.” Catherine said
Catherine and Richard say they plan to have
more children but have been told the
chances of them also being born white are
highly unlikely.

ISIS video shows beheading of another American journalist Steven Sotloff

The ISIS terror group has
published a video titled "A second
message to America," showing the
beheading of American journalist
Steven Sotloff.
The video also threatens the life of
British captive David Haines.
Sotloff speaks to the camera before
he is killed, saying he is "paying the
price" for U.S. intervention.
Considering he was a captive, it's
possible that his words were scripted
for him.
The masked ISIS figure in the video
speaks to U.S. President Barack
Obama, telling him, "Just as your
missiles continue to strike our
people, our knife will continue to
strike the necks of your people."

Source: CNN

Give Me Back My 30 Million Naira - Emenike Asks Governor Chime

Super Eagles striker, Emmanuel
Emenike, has asked Enugu state
government to give him back his 30
million Naira (about $ 180,000) he
invested in the state to build a
sports academy after army men
stopped workers from working on
it.
An angry Emenike told
AfricanFootball that he acquired the
land after the World cup had
concluded through the help of a
special assistant to the Enugu State
Governor Frank Ndubuisi Ugwunweze
(a.k.a Ezeumuaga), who forwarded all
documents concerning to the land in
Emenike’s name.

Emenike wants his N30m back!
Emenike revealed that he bought the
lands as he visits there regularly
during his free time, so he found out
about a free plots of land in the state
and contacted Governor Sullivan
Chime’s aide who further assisted in
making the purchase.
Emenike, in his own words, said: “I
worked hard to make my money, I
know what I pass through on the
pitch before I earn my living and it
will be unfair if what am hearing
about my land in Enugu State was
true.
“I visit Enugu whenever I come to
Nigeria, my friends stay there as
well as some of my family
members. And I am the kind of
person who allows for advise. Even
before now, I had a dream to own
an academy not only in Nigeria but
I believe in the saying that
“charity begins at home”.
“About three, four months ago, I
acquired 13 plots of land in Enugu
State through the special assistant
to Governor Sullivan Chime. And
during the time of conversation of
the land papers he never told me
there was any problem on the
land. He gave me all the necessary
documents in my name after
payment.
He went on to reveal that when he
asked work to begin in the state, the
Chime led government ordered
soldiers to stop the labourers.
He added: “I then directed for work
to commence immediately, but the
state government has directed
soldiers to stop anybody from
working there.”I don’t want to
believe that this is fraud. I am
ready to fight it all.
“I am not a politician and I see no
reason why my money will be held
by the government house.”
“I have called some top
government officials in Enugu, but
all of them are not trying to be
sincere.
They could not help because the
order came from the Governor.
“Nobody is trying to be sincere
and as a matter of fact, I want my
money back. I am very depressed
that there is no confidence in
investing in my country. I just
don’t understand the pranks.

“Right from time, I don’t like going
through government for anything. I
prefer to do it with my money and
I see no reason why my property
will be held back by government. ”
Emenike also demanded that the
Governor gives him back his money,
if the project won’t be allowed to
continue, as he won’t like to see his
hard earned cash dissapear into thin
air.
“People go to government to get
free land, but I will not do that
because there is no sincerity in
most of the things we do. And I
will not be here and somebody
takes my money, it will never
happen,” he disclosed.
“I just want to believe that His
Excellency Governor Chime was not
aware of the purchase of the land,
in that case, I will like to have my
money back.”
Emenike plays for Turkish club
Fenerbahce, and he is Nigeria’s main
and mostly lone striker.
The bulky Imo state born athlete has
started this season off well, having
scored a fantastic goal for
Fenerbahce, he is scheduled to
represent Nigeria in the September
6th AFCON Cup qualifiers.

Slice of Princess Diana's Wedding Cake Auctioned

A 33-year-old slice of
cake from Prince Charles and Princess
Diana's 1981 wedding has sold at auction
for $1,375.
The cake, still in its original white and
silver presentation box, was sold online
Thursday by Nate D. Sanders Auctions of
Los Angeles.
With the box was a card stating, "With
best wishes from Their Royal Highnesses,
the Prince & Princess of Wales."
Auction house spokesman Sam Heller
says the buyer is a private collector.
Although the cake came wrapped in its
original wax paper, Heller says it
wouldn't be a good idea to try to eat it.
He adds, however, that there is a small
but dedicated group of royal cake
collectors.
Some, Heller says, have purchased cakes
dating to the days of Britain's Queen
Victoria, who married in 1840.

Funerals, ghost towns and haunted health workers: Life in the Ebola zone

At the
gravesite in a northern Liberia village,
there are no religious or traditional
burial rites. No ceremony, no
mourning, no family members, and
no final goodbyes.
Nothing but a group of men dressed
in space-suit-like outfits, cautiously
throwing the dead body into the
grave, they pause only to toss in
anything else they are wearing that
came into contact with the deceased.
These men are part of the country's
Ebola response team, specifically
tasked with burying anyone
suspected to have died of the Ebola
virus.
The virus is spread through contact
with the blood and body fluids of
people infected with Ebola, and it is
still transferable even from a dead
body.
To help combat the spread of the
disease, the Liberian government has
directed that its citizens should not
bury anyone who dies of, or is
suspected of having been infected
with, Ebola.

Weird: Meet the Brazilian man born with his head upside-down

A man born with physical disabilities so
severe his head is Upside-down has defied
the odds to become an inspirational public
speaker.
Claudio Vieira de Oliveira, 37, was born
with his neck folded back on itself, as well
as badly deformed legs and almost no use
of his arms and hands. Doctors told his
mother to stop feeding him as a newborn
as they believed he had no chance of
survival. But Claudio from Monte Santo,
Brazil, has overcome his extreme
disadvantages to graduate as an accountant
and become a public speaker. Continue...

"Since I was a child I've always liked to keep myself busy and work - I don't like to depend totally on other people. I do a bit of accounting, research for clients and consulting. I have learned to turn on the TV, pick up my cell phone, turn on the radio, use the internet, my computer - I do it all by myself." he said.

Claudio types with a pen held in his mouth, operates phones and a computer mouse with his lips and has specially made shoes that allow him to move around town. His determined independence saw him succeeding at school and qualifying as an accountant from the State University of Feira de Santana. When Claudio was born, doctors told his mother Maria Jose he would not be able to survive. Maria Jose said: "People started saying 'the baby is going to die' because he could barely breathe when he was born. Some people would say: 'Don't feed him, he is already dying'. But there's only happiness now. Claudio is just like any other person - that's how he was raised in this house. We never tried to fix him and always wanted him to do the normal things everyone else does. That's why he is so confident. He is not ashamed of walking around in the street - he sings and he dances." At eight years old, Claudio, who had previously been carried everywhere, began to walk on his knees. His family had to change the floor of the house so he could walk around without injuring himself. Claudio's bed, plugs and lights had to be made lower so that he could do things for himself without asking for help. He cannot use a wheelchair because of his unusual shape, making it hard for him to be independent outside the home - but he begged his mother to be allowed to go to school and learn with the other children. Doctors have recently diagnosed him with a rare condition called congenital arthrogryposis.

They believe he has multiple joint contractions in his legs and arms which mean they cannot extend properly. Claudio said: "Throughout my life I was able to adapt my body to the world. Right now, I don't see myself as being different. I am a normal person. I don't see things upside-down. This is one of the things I always talk about in my interventions as a public speaker. "Nowadays it's much easier to deal with the public, I'm not afraid of it anymore and I can say that I am a professional, international public speaker and that I receive invitations from all over the world." Culled from UK Mirror

Former president Obasanjo's niece Kikelomo Anubi pregnant @64

A niece of former President Olusegun
Obasanjo, Mrs Kikelomo Anubi (pictured
above) who is 64 years old, is currently
expecting her first child after being married
for 28years.
Mrs Anubi, whose Ghanaian husband just
returned home after leaving her for 6 years,
spoke to City People magazine about being
an expectant mother at such an old age
"I am pregnant and permit me to tell you
that by next year when I have my baby I
will be 65. I have been married for 28
years. It may amaze you that I got pregnant
in a natural way. I didn't do IVF. I have
done IVF before at a popular hospital on
the island and it failed. In fact, an uncle of
mine who is a top shot paid for it. I almost
lost my life but God intervened". she said.
Asked how she is related to the former
President, Mrs Anubi said;
"He is my Uncle and somebody I respect so
much. My mum is his elder sister and if you
look at my face, you will see the
resemblance. I am also from Owu" she said