Two DAYS after the primary of the All
Progressives Congress in Ondo State, some of the governorship aspirants of the
party have been reacting to the outcome of the election.
A former President of the Nigerian Bar
Association, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu, won the primary held on Saturday in Akure,
the state capital, defeating all the 23 other aspirants of the party.
One of the governorship aspirants of the party,
Chief Olusola Oke condemned the emergence of Akeredolu as the party’s
candidate for the governorship poll, faulting the result of the primary.
However, two aspirants, Dr. Segun Abraham and Mr. Victor Olabimtan, hailed the
conduct of the exercise, saying the election was free and fair. They
congratulated Akeredolu and pledged to support his governorship bid.
Speaking through his Director-General of his
campaign, Mr. Bola Fisayo, on Sunday, Oke said the election was not a true
reflection of the delegates that participated in the primary last Saturday.
Oke was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic
Party in the 2012 governorship election. He specifically alleged that some
names of the delegates were removed from the delegates’ list while
non-delegates were allegedly allowed to vote.
He explained that the list of delegates handed
over to the aspirants at a meeting with the Presidency was different from the
list of delegates brought by the Chairman of the Election Committee, who is
also the Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar.
According to him, the delegates’ list was shown
to the aspirants at the eleventh hour and there was no adequate time to
scrutinise the list by most of the aspirants.
He alleged further that about 110 names belonging
to Oke’s camp were removed from both Ondo East and West Local Governments while
their names were replaced with non-executive members of the party.
He said, “There was nothing we could do at that
particular time. I can confirm to you that 80 per cent of those that cast their
votes for Abraham came from Oke’s camp.
“The election did not represent the true position
of the delegates, the accreditation gave room for manipulation and the whole
process was laced with fraud and the result released did not represent
the true reflection of the delegates as non-delegates were allowed to
participate in the election”
But Abraham, while congratulating Akeredolu, in a
statement he issued on Sunday, commended the electoral committee for conducting
a hitch-free election.
He said, “My special regards and admiration for
Alhaji Baderu Abubakar, the Governor of Jigawa State, and his team for their
sterling quality and integrity in conducting the APC governorship primary in
Ondo State.”
Abraham, who pledged to join hands with Akeredolu
to reposition the state, also assured the people of the state that the APC
government would not disappoint them.
Yaya Toure’s agent has criticised Pep
Guardiola for humiliating the midfielder by leaving him out of
Manchester City’s squad for the Champions League group stages.
The 33-year-old Ivory Coast international has failed to make
any of City's match-day squads for their first three Premier League
games of the season with Guardiola saying Toure needs to improve his
work rate without the ball. Joe Hart's loan move to Torino meant City were unable to fill the eight
home-grown spots required by UEFA as part of their 25-man squad, and as a
result they have named only 21 players with Toure missing out.s
Though critical of Guardiola's decision, Toure's agent Dimitri Seluk
says his client remains determined to force his way into the Spaniard's
plans.
"If he wins the Champions League for City this season then I
will travel to England and I will say on television that Pep Guardiola
is the best manager in the world,"said Seluk.
"But if City don't win the Champions League then I hope that Pep has
got the balls to say that he was wrong to humiliate a great player like
Yaya.
"This is Pep's decision and we must respect it. Yaya is a professional and so he will do everything he is asked to do.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Local and Foreign
Debts, Senator Shehu Sani, has warned the Federal Government to put in place
short-term measures to cushion the effect of the current economic crisis on the
Nigerian masses or risk the lives of the people before he completes his
reforms.
Sani, who is representing Kaduna-Central Senatorial
District at the Senate, The lawmaker, who criticised President Muhammadu Buhari
for not having an independent economic team to drive Nigerian economy out of
recession, pointed out that many lives would have been lost before the current
reforms are completed.
He said, “If you happen to be in a position of power,
inasmuch as you want to bring reforms that are painful, you have to understand
the need for you to carry the people along because if you keep on bringing
reforms and continue to unleash hardship on the people, you may as well say
there is a paradise but people need to be alive to reach that paradise.
“If you keep reforming and reforming and the people
are suffering and dying, you may reach the Promised Land alone because by that
time everyone has died. Of what use would that be?”
Sani, who is the Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on
Foreign Affairs, added that the goodwill the All Progressives Congress enjoyed
at the polls, which led to the emergence of Buhari as president, was
waning fast, especially with the increasing number of open letters on the
hardships being suffered by Nigerians.
He said, “Let me tell you how it started, which is general
with all persons who just took power in Nigeria. In 1979 and 1999, when a new
president assumed office, he would have the support of all Nigerians. The first
stage will be, ‘We support you; we stand by you and we are going to back you.’
“The second stage will be, ‘We are advising you.’ The
third stage will be, ‘We are cautioning you.’ At the fourth stage, Nigerians
will say, ‘We are warning you.’ The fifth stage will be, ‘We doubt you.’ The
sixth stage, it will be, ‘You are incompetent.’ The seventh stage will be, ‘You
should go.’”
“When you study these stages, you will see that we
have moved behind 100 per cent support to “advise.” And with letters flying and
criticisms following, it is about “cautioning.” And I think the handwritings
are on the wall for everybody to see.”
The birth of triplets was not a
common occurrence in Nigeria. Experts say this has changed as the
country now witnesses frequent multiple births writes MOTUNRAYO JOEL
In the sleepy village of Ephugbu,
Okpoitumo Community in Abakaliki Local Government Area of Ebonyi State,
Nkechi Nwangele, sat on a long, brown, raffia mat breastfeeding three
babies.
The spectacle was moving as she irregularly exchanged her breasts among the babies as they cried uncontrollably.
While doing this, she struggled to keep at bay a fly that kept buzzing at her feet weakened by the stress of farming.
Nwangele on July 31 was delivered of triplets, all males. She named them Justine, Valentine and Divine.
She earlier had six deliveries but one
of the children died. With the arrival of the triplets, Nwangele now has
eight children altogether.
As our correspondent approached her,
Nwangele, dressed in a brown rapper, caressed the face of one of her
triplets, eliciting smiles of a joyful mother.
“The birth of my triplets came
naturally; I did not use any medicine. Some people think I did. I have
never used any medicine that can make a woman have three babies at
once,” she said to SUNDAY PUNCH.
A member of the community, Daneshananda
Dada, said the news of Nwangele’s delivery of triplets spread round the
community within a few minutes she was delivered of them.
He said, “But people were not too
surprised because since I arrived the community in 2010, we have
recorded five cases of triplets. She is the second woman giving birth to
triplets this year in the area.”
Dada said the birth of triplets was on
the increase in the community. “We also have two or three other women
who are expecting triplets,” he said.
Etoor with her triplets
The Medical Director and Consultant
Gynaecologist/Obstetrician at Dayspring Specialist Hospitals, Dr. Kayode
Adebayo, defined triplets as the birth of three babies in one
pregnancy.
He added that such babies may be identical or non-identical.
Nwangele’s husband is a farmer and his
wife assists him on the farm. They feed from the proceeds from the sale
of the farm produce.
He looked excited about his three sons, saying that God had blessed him beyond measure.
“I did not do any magic; it is God that blessed us with these babies. My heart is full of joy,” he said.
We didn’t use fertility drugs — Mothers
Just like the Nwangeles, the Etoors are
also farmers. The Internet was abuzz not long ago when it was reported
that Mrs. Blessing Etoor, 34, a housewife, gave birth to her triplets at
home.
Etoor defied her doctor’s instruction that she would be delivered of her babies by caesarean section.
An indigene of Eleme in Rivers State,
Etoor now has a total of 10 children (six girls and four boys) with the
addition of two males and one female.
Since the birth of their triplets, Mr. John Etoor, 44, who is a farmer said life has been challenging for his family.
Etoor said, “My wife had to leave her
hairdressing job to take care of our children. I do not make a lot of
money, I am a cassava farmer. God has been strengthening me. I must say,
life has been tough. I spend about N30, 000 monthly to cater for the
babies.
“But I believe this is my cross, I have
to face it. After all, my triplets came naturally; they are God’s will.
The only thing I can say is that my wife comes from a family of twins,
may be that is why we ended up having triplets,” he said.
Etoor’s claim that his wife’s family
history of twins could be responsible for the births was supported by a
gynaecologist, Dr. Kingsley Ekwuazi.
Ekwuazi, who is an
obstetrician/gynaecologist at the Department of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu State, noted
that there was a nexus between family history and triplets.
He said, “Genetics and family history
are some of the identifiable significant risk factors associated with
naturally conceived triplet pregnancy. Triplet pregnancy, once a rare
occurrence, is now a relatively common phenomenon in our hospital.”
Dr. Adebayo also cited a case of a woman who had quadruplets and then triplets – without ovulation drugs.
“I remember a set of triplets I
delivered at Ayinke House, Ikeja, some years ago. The woman had
quadruplets three years before at a small clinic. Unfortunately, the
clinic did not have a standard newborn baby care facility and she lost
all four. From her history, she was never on any ovulation induction
drug. Some women release more than one egg at ovulation naturally,” he
said.
Nofiu with her babies
Two months ago, a barber, Nurudeen
Nofiu’s wife, Sola was delivered of triplets – all boys, at a Lagos
Island Maternity Hospital.
Since then, the family has been in a
state of panic. Nofiu stated that he did not plan to have triplets. “My
wife and I did not plan to have three children at once, I am just a
barber, the money I make on a monthly basis is not enough to care for my
family – I need help. I now have four children to feed,” he stated. The
Nofius had a male child before the birth of the triplets.
Nofiu, who looked distraught, said his
wife never took any drug to induce her ovulation. “Why would we take
drugs? I cannot afford the drugs. The birth of our triplets came
naturally,” he said.
Like Etoor, Nofiu’s wife is from a family of twins.
The magic of three
Aside family history, Dr. Adebayo said
fertility drugs and a woman’s age play a role in the chance of a woman
giving birth to triplets
He said, “Women above 30 years have a
higher tendency and women who had delivered more than three or four
times, also stand a higher chance.
“Another factor is fertility drugs –
ovulation induction drugs. These drugs play a major role in multiple
births. In a country where you can buy any drug, even drugs classified
as ‘poison,’ without a prescription, women abuse ovulation induction
drugs. Some even collect prescriptions from their friends; others go
online for name of drugs, chemist stores and buy the drug. Imagine a
woman ovulating normally; now imagine the result when you place her on
high dose of ovulation induction drugs.”
Other factors, he said include diet and
lifestyle. According to Adebayo, some studies have shown lower chance
with vegetarians having triplets, and higher chance with high protein
dieticians.
Almost on a daily basis, there are media
reports of triplets being born in different parts of Nigeria. Apart
from triplets, there has also been an increase in the number of women
giving birth to quadruplets.
As far back as 1980, a study conducted
by two gynaecologists/obstetricians, Rehan N and Tafida DS, among the
Hausa population in Katsina State, posted on the website of the National
Centre for Biotechnology Information, United States stated that 5750
women delivering between 1974-1978 had 228 sets of twins and 12 sets of
triplets. The researchers said the statistics showed that there was a
twinning rate of 39.7/1000 births, a triplet rate of 2.1/1000 births and
a multiple birth rate of 4.1/1000; about four times the rate in western
countries.
Ololade triplets (Inset: Ololade)
The Chief Medical Director, Medical Art
Centre & Mart, Dr. Oladapo Ashiru, attested to the increase of
triplet births in the country.
Dr. Ashiru hinged the increase on the
availability of more IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation; a manual fertilisation
process) centres. He added that many of the centres transfer more than
two embryos, resulting in high incidence of triplets.
Dr. Adebayo also said recent studies show higher prevalence of triplets in Nigeria.
“Most studies quote 3-4 /1000 birth, but
with the IVF and recent abuse of ovulation induction drugs, the old
prevalence may no longer be correct,” he said.
Similarly, the Secretary-General,
Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria, Department of
Obstetrics and Gynaecology, National Hospital, Abuja, Dr. Chris
Agboghoroma, said there was an increase in the birth of triplets.
Agboghoroma noted, “However, no recent
work has been done that really shows the exact figure. Globally, because
of IVF, there seems to be the birth of multiple births – twins,
triplets. It is a global increase, and Nigeria is included. There is
definitely an increase.
“The increase is not a natural
phenomenon, it is artificial due to the use of ovulation drugs – many
women are now using ovulation drugs on their own. The use of drugs and
IVF is why there is an increase in multiple births.”
Agboghorom’s submission captured the
case of Omowunmi Oyebanji, who gave birth to triplets – all females, on
September 6, 2015 at Atan, Ogun State.
Speaking with SUNDAY PUNCH, her
husband, Mr. Olusola Oyebanji, said he waited for 11 years after the
birth of his first child before his wife gave birth to triplets.
He said, “After we had waited for 11
years, my wife and I decided to go for a medical check. It was
discovered that I had low sperm count. I did not believe their report
though since we already had a baby. It was difficult for me to submit
myself to the treatment they recommended. Not long after, my wife was
diagnosed with fibroid.”
When asked if his wife took ovulation
drugs, he said, “I do not know. She was placed on various drugs. All I
know is that my babies came from God. But I can give you the number of
the doctor that was treating her. You can find out from him what drugs
she was taking.”
Oyebanji added said that he comes from a family of twins.
In a telephone interview with our
correspondent, the Oyebanjis’ family doctor, Dr. Oluwole Oyewunmi, said
Mrs. Oyebanji had ovulation stimulation.
Oyewunmi said, “She was having secondary
infertility for close to 11 years. It was IVF; we did series of
ovulation stimulation. She was placed on some ovulation drugs and we did
all these with the help of God.’’
According to Livescience.com, births involving twins, triplets and quadruplets often have complications, including prematurity and low birth weight.
In those with a condition called
twin-twin transfusion, one foetus siphons blood from the other, and is
born with ruddy skin, while the other is pale and scrawny. Women who
carry multiple babies also have a greater risk of gestational diabetes,
according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
Other risks include preterm labour,
miscarriage, hypertension, anemia and abnormal amniotic fluid levels.
The society added that triplets are more likely to have birth defects.
At the University of Ilorin teaching
hospital , a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Gafar Abiodun
Jimoh said the hospital had witnessed an increase in the birth of
triplets.
“I have experienced the increase within
the last two years. In the last five years, we didn’t too much birth of
triplets, but in the last two years, we have had double of the figure we
recorded earlier.”
He said this increase is partly due to more women wanting to have their babies at once.
“For some women, having triplets is like
paying for one and getting two free. If they won’t be charged for the
two extra embryos transferred, they won’t mind. They don’t like the
stress of having to come back over and over again. Having three saves
them time and money,” he said.
At National Hospital Abuja, a former Chief Medical Director, Dr. Zaccheus Olusegun, also confirmed an increase.
“The apparent increase in the birth of triplets may be due to more women accepting assisted conception,” he said.
Also at St. Ives Specialist Hospital,
Lagos, the CMD, Dr. Tunde Okewale, also attested to the increase. He
said was because more women are embracing assisted conception.
“Things have changed, more women are
becoming enlightened about assisted conception, especially women who are
finding it difficult conceiving naturally. More so, some IVF centres
still transfer more than one embryo. This then increases the woman’s
chance of having triplets,” he said.
At Hope Valley Clinic, Lagos, a medical
doctor who chose to remain anonymous said he had there has been increase
in the birth of triplets.
He said, “One major reason is that more
women want to have their babies at once. Infertility is on the
increase. Some of them don’t want to wait for years before having their
children. “
An increase in the birth of triplets was also recorded at Healing Balm hospital, Lagos.
A consultant obstetrician / gynaecologist, Mr. John Aniedi said it is as a result of IVF.
“More women now embrace IVF as another
way to conceive, especially women who have waited for years. There is
definitely an increase in the birth of triplets.
Battling with self-medication
Dr. Adebayo said more women are finding it difficult to get pregnant because of late marriages, amid other factors.
He said, “Most women these days marry
late for various reasons which include long time schooling and the
economic situation in the country – people want to have good jobs and be
financial stable. A woman’s reproductive potential plays a big role in
her fertility cycle. Many of them got pregnant easily in their early
twenties while in school, and those pregnancies were terminated as
unwanted pregnancies, because they were not ready for childbirth.
“A woman in her twenties is very
fertile, which is the opposite for the one in her late thirties. Also,
some of the early pregnancy terminations may be done by quacks, with a
lot of post abortion long-term complications –inability to get pregnant
again and womb damage. Since abortion is not legalised in Nigeria, the
majority of abortions are done secretly by quacks.”
A pharmacist, Peculiar Onyekere, said
many Nigerian couples cannot afford IVF, which accounts for why they go
for ovulation drugs.
“I do not think most Nigerian couples
can afford IVF, its cost is huge. The major reason for the increase of
triplets is due to over usage of fertility drugs which is far more
affordable than IVF. Also self-prescription is carried out by desperate,
uninformed couples,” he said.
Similarly, Dr. Adebayo said quack chemists also encourage women to indulge in self-prescription.
He stated, “We live in a country where
you do not need doctor’s prescription to buy any drug. The chemist boy
without school certificate, treats patients. I once went to a pharmacy
outlet, a woman walked in and said she wanted to get pregnant, and right
there, the pharmacist sold ovulation induction drugs to her. He told
her to take one tablet twice daily. The woman paid and left.”
Explaining the common types of ovulation
drugs in the country, Onyekere cited clomiphene citrate and fertility
aid organic supplements.
Onyekere said, “Other ones come as
injectable hormones such as injectable gonadotropins. The common side
effects of these fertility drugs (for clomiphene citrate) include mood
swings, headache, breast tenderness, bloating, abdominal discomfort,
nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea.
“One major risk with fertility drugs is
multiple pregnancies such as twins, triplets. The adverse effects of
taking these fertility drugs on self-prescription include visual
impairment, ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome (symptoms of OHSS include
swelling of the hands or legs, abdominal pain, shortness of breath,
weight gain, nausea or vomiting. OHSS can be fatal. Other potential
adverse effects are cervical cancer and undesired multiple births.”
Triple births, multiple pains
Even before the country went into recession, the economy was not favourable to the majority of Nigerians.
Now, many households are finding it
increasingly difficult to survive. The economic pressure is harder on
parents with triple and multiple births.
This scenario is currently playing out with the Yusufs, the Ololades and the Gbarens who are nursing triplets.
Terngu Gbaren is a 20-year-old
commercial motorcycle rider based in Benue State. The family has been
finding it hard to cope since his wife, Aisha, gave birth to triplets.
For the Yusufs, it has been five months
since Mrs. Idowu Yusuf gave birth to triplets – two girls and a boy.
Instead of basking in joy that comes with the birth of children, Yusuf
has been filled with ceaseless tears because of her inability to cater
for the babies.
Dressed in faded attire, she looked exhausted when our correspondent met her in Lagos on Thursday.
Wiping the sweat which formed at her
forehead with the tip of her wrapper, Yusuf said, “Look at me; I’ve not
been myself since I gave birth to the triplets. I cry day and night
because this is not the type of life I planned for my children. My
husband and I are barely managing to feed the children.”
Yusuf is also from a family of twins. As she spoke, she held the hand of one of the babies who was trying to suck.
According to her, her husband, Hakeem is a commercial bus driver and returns home at 11pm every day.
“I had two children before the birth of
the triplets. My husband and I with a house help sent to me by my mother
from the village sleep in a room. But most times, my husband vacates
the bed for the children and I,” Yusuf said.
Yusuf added that she was a petty trader but had to stop trading to concentrate on taking care of the children.
She said, “I made little profit from the
petty trading but I had to stop to cater for the kids. Some people
asked me if I used any drug to have triplets. Where would I get the
money to do that? I gave birth to them naturally.”
The nation’s economy has been hit hard
from the sharp fall in global oil prices since mid-June 2014, with
adverse effects on citizens.
The economy shrank by 0.36 per cent in
the first three months of this year for the first time since 2004, with
the International Monetary Fund saying the country would slide into
recession this year for the first time in more than two decades.
Commenting on the situation, a former
Head, Department of Economics, Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Adebayo
Abayomi, said the current economic situation would create problems for
large families in particular.
“It will be challenging nurturing three
babies at once except if the family is financially stable. The country
is experiencing high inflation rate and this would hit hard on families,
even those without triplets. Having more children means more money.
This will create problems for families. The hardship may affect their
education, nutrition and could lead to malnutrition,” he said.
Similarly, an economist, Mr. Bismark Rewane said families with triplets would need to source for more channels of incomes.
“The more the people you have, the more
the problems you have. The man with triplets has more responsibilities
and so, he will need more resources. The state cannot provide that much
of support, as is applicable in developed countries. Unemployment is at
its highest level, making survival difficult.
“The sad truth for families with
triplets is that the woman would not be able to work; she has no salary.
This means that the investment required to support the children would
be higher,” he said.
For Dayo Ololade who is jobless, it’s been more difficult to feed his family after his wife was delivered of triplets.
Ololade said, “The little money I make
from my menial job on a monthly basis is channelled towards the welfare
of my children, especially my triplets. Most nights, I sleep on an empty
stomach. Whenever I think about the future of my children, I shed
tears. I do not know how I will cater for their education. The economic
situation in the country is enough to kill one.”
He, however, says despite the challenges he is facing, he is grateful for his triplets.
“Times are very hard but my triplets remain a blessing,” he said
Source: PUNCH
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has
described the Peoples Democratic Party as a dying political party which
needs to be taken to an intensive care unit.
He said this on Saturday at his Abeokuta
Presidential Hilltop residence in an interview with journalists, after
emerging from a closed-door meeting with a factional national chairman
of the PDP, Senator Ali-Modu Sheriff.
Obasanjo said Sheriff called him on Friday that he was coming to visit him, and he had to oblige him.
The former president explained that the factional chairman briefed him about the crisis rocking the party.
Obasanjo, who was a former chairman of
the party’s Board of Trustees, said the PDP had lost its soul, and said
he wished Sheriff would not be an undertaker that would bury it.
“The PDP of today, if you can talk of a
party again as PDP, its soul has been taken out of it and those who
allowed that to happen are unperturbed about the fate of the party and
indeed the fate of the country.
“I have said to my brother (Sheriff)
that I wish him well in the dying baby they have put on his laps;
because PDP is in a comatose state and he was not in PDP, he has never
been in PDP until now.
“When I was in PDP, I encouraged him to
join the party, but he did not. The PDP they have given him now is a
dying PDP; a dying baby. It needs to be in intensive care unit,
otherwise, he (Sheriff) will be an undertaker,” Obasanjo stated.
The former president pointed out that
the country needed a strong ruling party and a vibrant opposition party
for democracy to thrive in Nigeria.
He said, “Today, PDP cannot claim to be a
strong party in opposition; I don’t know if the All Progressives
Congress can claim, at the national level, to be a strong party in
government. Now that is part of the misfortune of this country today.”
Addressing journalists, Sheriff said it was important for him to visit Obasanjo whom he described as an elder statesman.
The factional PDP chairman said, “If we
have a problem, we must come to him for solution. He has said he’s not
playing partisan politics anymore. We agree, but he is our father;
father of the Nigerian nation and the grandfather of PDP. Therefore, the
soul that has gone, he has to bring it back to us and through his
advice, we will get through it.”
Mother
Teresa of Calcutta (C) holds a baby on November 15, 1988 in
Johannesburg, during her 8th an final day of her visit in South Africa. /
AFP PHOTO / Walter DHLADHLAPope Francis on Sunday declared revered nun Mother Teresa a saint in a canonisation mass at St Peter’s square.
“For the honour of the Blessed Trinity… we declare and define Blessed
Teresa of Calcutta (Kolkata) to be a Saint and we enroll her among the
Saints, decreeing that she is to be venerated as such by the whole
Church,” the pontiff said in Latin.
The elevation of one of the icons of 20th Century Christianity came a
day before the 19th anniversary of her death in Kolkata, the Indian
city where she spent nearly four decades working with the dying and the
destitute.
A glass-bottomed bridge in China that was heralded as a record-breaker when it opened just 13 days ago has closed.
Officials
said the government was planning urgent maintenance work in the area
and the bridge closed on Friday, with a re-opening time to be announced.
But the US CNN network said a spokesman told them the bridge, spanning a canyon, was "overwhelmed by the volume of visitors".
He said there had been no accidents and the bridge was not cracked or broken.
The 430m-long bridge, which cost $3.4m (£2.6m) to build, connects two mountain cliffs in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province.
It hangs 300m over a canyon said to have inspired the landscapes of the film Avatar.
When it opened, it was said to be the highest and longest glass-bottomed bridge in the world.
Miley Cyrus is about to make a major return to TV as a judge on The Voice, so how is the Hannah Montana alum preparing for her big role? By working on her Zen.
The seasoned yogi took to Instagram to show off her
latest impressive move, and we're seriously in awe of her flexibility.
In the snap, Cyrus rests her chin and chest on the mat, stretching her
arms out long behind her and (somehow) resting her legs on top of her
shoulder blades. The singer shows off her yoga-toned physique in a gray
sports bra and purple patterned leggings, pulling her hair up into a
bun.
The star of the
'gram, though, might just be her Sheltie, Emu. The fluffy pup looks
inquisitively at his owner while she's mid-pose, sticking his nose into
the frame. "Emu is like WTF r u doin?!?!"
In a live Q&A in Rome on Monday, Mark Zuckerberg was asked to name three traits of people who make it to the top. First and foremost, successful entrepreneurs have a specific vision ,the Facebook (FB) co-founder and CEO said. They pinpoint the exact problem that they're trying to solve.
"If you want to build something great, you should focus on what the
change is that you want to make in the world," Zuckerberg said. "I see
too many entrepreneurs who decide that they want to start a company
before they actually know what it is that they want to build. To me,
that seems backwards." Secondly,they surround themselves with other highly successful and motivated people. "No
one does it alone," Zuckerberg said. "When you look at most big things
that get done in the world, they're not done by one person, so you're
going to need to build a team." To build the
strongest team possible, look for people who excel in the areas where
you're weaker or less experienced. "You're going to need people that
have complementary skills," he emphasized. "No matter how talented you
are, there are just going to be things that you don't bring to the
table." Finally, the entrepreneurs who make it big arepersistent. "Nothing ever goes the way you want it to," he said. "People talk about overnight success, and that's not the way it works." The ones who come out on top are the ones who refuse to give up despite the inevitable trials and tribulations they face throughout the process. Zuckerberg
concluded: "The biggest things that have gotten done in the world tend
to be done by people who primarily believe in a mission and are not
trying to build a company; by teams, not by individuals; and by people
who just don't give up."
On
Thursday, the singer took to Instagram to thank everyone who helped her
in her career, ultimately landing her the Michael Jackson Vanguard
Award last Sunday at the MTV Video Music Awards.
“#VMA2016
night was one that I would never forget,” she wrote alongside a clip of
her acceptance speech. “I have the most incredible people in my life!
My family, friends, loved ones, my fans, my team!!! All gifted beautiful
spirits! And I’m so grateful that God has precisely and flawlessly
arranged our paths to meet at each other! It’s because of you that I was
able to reach this moment in my career!”
Drake presented RiRi with the trophy at the awards show, proclaiming his love for her in a very public way.
“She’s someone I’ve been in love with since I was 22 years old,” he said. “She’s one of my best friends in the world.”
The
feeling is mutual. “@champagnepapi your speech was so touching and I
love you for that,” the Barbadian singer continued writing in her
lengthy post
On Thursday, Chrissy Teigen
shared an adorable video of her talented husband playing “O Tannenbaum”
on the piano while she rocked 4-month-old Luna back and forth in her
arms. The model captioned the heartwarming clip of the 10-time Grammy
winner playing the iconic Christmas tune over and over in different keys
“The never-ending song.”
When she was questioned by the
FBI on July 2, Hillary Clinton “did not recall” any conversations she
had about setting up her controversial private email server after
becoming secretary of state.
She “could not recall” anybody raising any concerns with her about it.
Shown a cable that went out under her name, warning
all State Department employees about security threats to their personal
email accounts — and advising them not to use them for official business
— Clinton drew a blank. She replied that all policy cables carried her
name and “she did not recall this specific cable.”
So it went during her three-and-a-half-hour grilling,
according to an official FBI report on Clinton’s interview that was
made public by the bureau on Friday. During the course of her interview,
Clinton was repeatedly unable to respond to many questions about her
use of the private email server and the classified emails she sent on
it. She said she “could not recall,” “did not recall” and “did not
remember” 38 times, according to a Yahoo News tally of her responses
recorded in the 11-page FBI report.
FBI director James Comey has told Congress that the
bureau found no evidence that Clinton lied during the interview. Her
responses for the most part track explanations she has given publicly.
But the language in the FBI report is a reminder of
two crucial chapters in Clinton’s biography: She is a trained litigator
who knows well the risks of testifying to answers about which she might
not be certain. And, equally relevant, she is a veteran witness in
multiple federal investigations, having been subpoenaed before a grand
jury and questioned under oath on multiple occasions on everything from
her Rose Law Firm billing records (which appeared mysteriously in her
living quarters in the White House two years after they had been
subpoenaed) to the firing of employees in the White House travel office
and her long ago Whitewater real estate investment.
Still, some of her responses, especially those in
which she appeared to be parrying her FBI interrogators, may not help
her efforts to impress voters with her mastery of details. Questioned
about State Department involvement in Obama administration drone strikes
— a subject discussed in some of her classified emails on the private
server — Clinton replied at one point that she “could not recall” the
process for nominating a target for a drone strike and “did not recall”
whether there was a State Department policy on whether to confirm
classified information contained in media reports about the strikes.
Hillary Clinton was repeatedly unable to respond to questions about
her use of the private email server. (Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP)
Confronted by the FBI about one of her emails
that was marked “C” for “Confidential,” the lowest level of
classification, Clinton replied she “did not know” what the marking
meant. She “could only speculate” as to its meaning, she said. Her
speculation: The “C” may have been “referencing paragraphs marked in
alphabetical order.”
Another part of the interview could prove
political fodder for her critics, especially for the Trump campaign and
its allies who have sought to raise questions about her health. The FBI
questioned Clinton about what instructions she might have received about
preserving federal records contained on her private email server when
she was preparing to leave the State Department in early 2013. Clinton
told the bureau she received no such instructions. But the FBI report
notes that in December 2012 Clinton “suffered a concussion, and then
around the New Year had a blood clot.” Based on her doctor’s advice, the
report adds, “she could not work at State for a few hours a day and
could not recall every briefing she received.” As a result, Clinton “was
unaware” of the government requirement — embodied in a law known as the
Federal Records Act — to turn over her printed records to the
department when she left office.
Given the more than 30,000 work-related
emails she sent and received during her tenure as secretary, it may not
surprise voters that Clinton was unable to respond to the FBI’s
questions about some of the emails the bureau considered problematic.
Asked about an August 25, 2010, email about a New York Times report
that a top aide to then Afghan President Hamid Karzai was on the CIA’s
payroll, Clinton replied “she did not remember the email specifically.”
When questioned about a June 4, 2011, email
with the subject line “RE: Google email hacking and woeful state of
civilian technology,” a topic of arguable relevance to her private email
server, Clinton stated “she did not recall the compromise of State
employees’ Gmail accounts.” However, Clinton added, she did recall “the
frustration over State’s informational technology systems.”
Yet another of her memory lapses is likely to
fuel suspicions that there was more to her decision to use a private
email server than “convenience,” as she has publicly explained it. It
involved the handling of responses to the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA), which would have potentially covered any email she sent that was
government-related. Because she used a private server, those emails
were never searched in response to FOIA requests. Shown a December 11,
2012, email with the subject line, “FW: Significant FOIA Report,”
Clinton’s reply was that she “did not recall the specific request and
was not aware of receiving any FOIA requests for information related to
her email during her tenure as Secretary of State.” (In fact, a FOIA request seeking information on all her email accounts had been made by a liberal watchdog group in December 2012 and her top aide, Cheryl Mills, was alerted about it.)
But for all that she couldn’t remember,
Clinton did remember and was emphatic on one point, according to the FBI
report. She “never deleted, nor did she instruct anyone to delete, her
email to avoid complying with the Federal Records Act, FOIA, or State or
FBI requests for information.”
In the weeks since Donald Trump
began making an overt appeal to African-Americans, one of the greatest
criticisms he has received is that his appeals are made before largely
white audiences. This weekend, Trump is addressing those concerns
head-on, traveling to Detroit, Michigan, to attend a black church
service and interview with the presiding bishop.
He will attend the Saturday service at Great Faith
International Ministries and will also participate in an interview with
Bishop Wayne Jackson that will air on Jackson’s Impact Network. This is
the first time that Trump has attended a black church during this cycle.
Conversely, his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Tim Kaine, have visited several Sunday services at various black churches.
Pastor Mark Burns, a frequent introducer at Trump
rallies, will be meeting Trump in Detroit. A vociferous supporter of
Trump who has long proclaimed that Trump would be better for
African-Americans than any Democrat, Burns says that Trump will deliver
brief remarks that echo his economic message.
Trump 'Deserves Credit' for African-American Outreach, Campaign Manager Says
Trump Says GOP 'Must Do Better' for African-Americans
Donald Trump Aims to Build On What Little Black Support He Has
"Well I think you’ll be able to see how Mr. Trump
really does care and can relate to the African-American community more
so than has Trump at a majority African-American congregation," Burns
said. “This is just the beginning.”
Trump first began making his heavy-handed appeals to black voters
earlier in August, asking black voters, “What the hell do you have to
lose?” and at times citing misleading statistics about how many
African-Americans live in abject poverty and are unemployed.
Today, Trump began the first of his weekend’s
outreach, traveling to Philadelphia to meet with 14 business and
religious leaders in the black community. He also met with a diverse
group of members of the Republican Leadership Initiative, a program
sponsored by the Republican National Committee.
But with this address, Trump places himself in
unfamiliar territory with a potentially wary crowd. To account for such
uncharted circumstances, the Trump campaign, in concert with
African-American advisers and black Republicans, developed a script for
Trump, with Jackson providing a list of questions for which the
candidate could prepare, as first reported by The New York Times.
Jackson said, during an interview on CNN, that he also submitted a prayer beforehand when Vice President Joe Biden was in town and pushed back against reports that the campaign had edit rights.
"That's not true. That's not true. That is not true.
That -- then it would be tainted. It would be tainted and it would not
be good. No. This has never been discussed with me,” Jackson said.
Plans have also been discussed to have Trump tour an impoverished neighborhood with supporter and former candidate Dr. Ben Carson.
"The reason that Donald Trump is willing to go into
this territory is because he’s not necessarily trying to cultivate votes
like your typical politician does,” Carson told ABC News in a recent
interview. “He recognizes that there is no way we can have a strong
country if we have big pockets of weakness. And he also realizes that in
this election cycle he probably won’t get the majority of their votes.”
A glass-bottomed bridge in China that was heralded as a record-breaker when it opened just 13 days ago has closed.
