World's richest person by the country

China closes live poultry markets amid deadly flu outbreak

© AP Photo In this Oct. 9, 2016 photo, a butcher carries slaughtered chickens in a poultry market in Fuyang in central China's Anhui province. Chinese state media reported Friday, Feb. 17, 2017 that the National Health and Family Planning Commission…


BEIJING (AP) — China is ordering the closure of live poultry markets in its south-central regions as it grapples with the worst outbreak of bird flu in years that has killed at least 87 people.
State media reported Friday that the National Health and Family Planning Commission ordered closures anywhere with cases of the H7N9 strain.
Most reported cases have been found in the densely populated Yangtze and Pearl river deltas from Shanghai to Hong Kong. Those areas generally experience mild, wet winters that are ideal for the virus transmission. In all, more than 250 cases have been reported from 16 provinces and regions, including as far away as the southwestern province of Yunnan.
The death toll since the start of the year has been unmatched since at least 2013.
In addition to the market closures, the commission is training health workers in the screening, early diagnosis and treatment of the disease, while urging people to avoid contact with live birds.
H7N9 is considered to be less virulent than the H5N1 strain that the World Health Organization has linked to hundreds of deaths worldwide over the last decade. H7N9 is not believed to be transmitted between humans, but rather by infected poultry.
China has gained extensive experience in dealing with such crises since being hit by the 2003 SARS outbreak that was believed to have originated among animals in southern China. A preference among Chinese for live-bought, freshly-slaughtered poultry complicates the government's efforts to eradicate such diseases.
The official Xinhua News Agency said the market closures this time have "greatly reduced the number of new infections in many regions," citing Ni Daxin, deputy director of the emergency response center at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
___
This story corrects virus strain.

sources:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/china-closes-live-poultry-markets-amid-deadly-flu-outbreak/ar-AAn2he1?li=AA4Zpp&ocid=spartanntp

Snapchat is about to make a 26-year-old one of the richest people on Earth

Here’s how much money CEO Evan Spiegel will make when Snap goes public.

Next month, Snapchat parent company Snap will begin selling shares on the public market in one of the most highly anticipated I.P.O.s for a tech company since Twitter went public in 2013. With Uber and Airbnb still raising funds and bolstering their bottom lines as they mull public offerings of their own, Snap is expected to serve as a bellwether for the otherwise slow-moving tech-IPO pipeline and a critical test of the public appetite for other unprofitable Silicon Valley unicorns.
When Snap does go public, the company said in documents filed with the SEC on Thursday, it will price its I.P.O. at $14 to $16 per share, with a total of 200 million Class A shares. At that price, the offering could value Snap at $22 billion—an eye-popping valuation given its recent losses, but still on the low end of its private-market valuation.
CEO Evan Spiegel, 26, and co-founder Bobby Murphy, 28, stand to make about $5 billion off of their shares in the company when it does finally go public, beginning with the $256 million in stock that they each plan to sell when Snap debuts, according to the documents. Both Murphy and Spiegel are the biggest shareholders in the company, and together they will control about 89 percent of voting rights in Snap once it’s a public entity. (Their third co-founder, Reggie Brown, was paid $157.5 million in a settlement with his estranged co-founders after he filed a 2013 lawsuit over being forced out of the company.)
For Snap’s I.P.O., Spiegel took a page out of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s playbook, consolidating the executive power at the helm of his company ahead of its offering, and offering shares without any voting power, allowing Spiegel and Murphy to retain control even after selling huge amounts of stock. The two co-founders currently plan to sell 16 million Class A shares—which don’t have voting rights—when the company goes public, with the expectation that will sell more over time.
Snap’s co-founders aren’t the only ones who will make money by shedding some of their shares during Snap’s public offering. Shareholders like Snap chairman Michael Lynton, formerly of Sony, will sell up to 54,907 Class A shares, and make as much as $878,512 during Snap’s IPO Benchmark partner Mitch Lasky will make up to $171 million. Snap’s earliest investor, Lightspeed Venture Partners, could make as much as $74 million. Once Snap goes public, Spiegel will also receive 3 percent of its stock as an award.
It remains to be seen how the public market will react to Snap, and whether it will emerge as a highly valuable, diversified social-media company like Facebook, or one that does well on I.P.O. day but flops afterward. Some potential investors have already “reacted with fury” over Snap’s decision to sell shares with no voting power.

© By J. Emilio Flores/Corbis/Getty Images.

sources:
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/snapchat-is-about-to-make-a-26-year-old-one-of-the-richest-people-on-earth/ar-AAn3ueg?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp

Donald Trump considers using national guard

Donald Trump considers using national guard to round up immigrants, memo suggests

The Trump administration considered a proposal to mobilize as many as 100,000 national guard troops to round up unauthorized immigrants, including millions living nowhere near the Mexico border, according to a draft memo obtained by the Associated Press.

The 11-page document calls for the unprecedented militarization of immigration enforcement as far north as Portland, Oregon, and as far east as New Orleans, Louisiana. Four states that border on Mexico are included in the proposal – California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas – but it also encompasses seven states contiguous to those four: Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Governors in the 11 states would have a choice regarding whether to have their guard troops participate, according to the memo, written by the US homeland security secretary, John Kelly, a retired four-star marine general.

The White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, told press on board the Marine One helicopter, on which Trump was flying to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland en route to South Carolina: “That is 100% not true. It is false. It is irresponsible to be saying this.”

Using the present tense, he added: “There is no effort at all to round up, to utilize the national guard to round up illegal immigrants.”

The Department for Homeland Security echoed this language. “The Department is not considering mobilizing the national guard,” said DHS acting press secretary Gillian Christensen in an email to the Guardian.

But Spicer would not categorically state that such a round-up was never a subject of discussion at some level in the Trump administration. “I don’t know what could potentially be out there, but I know that there is no effort to do what is potentially suggested,” he said.

picer added: “It is not a White House document.” The AP has made clear that the document was written by Kelly and so would originate from the Department of Homeland Security, not the White House.

While national guard personnel have been used to assist with immigration-related missions on the US-Mexico border before, they have never been used as broadly or as far north.

The memo is addressed to the then acting heads of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) and US Customs and Border Protection. It would serve as guidance to implement the wide-ranging executive order on immigration and border security that Donald Trump signed on 25 January. Such memos are routinely issued to supplement executive orders.

Also dated 25 January, the draft memo says participating troops would be authorized “to perform the functions of an immigration officer in relation to the investigation, apprehension and detention of aliens in the United States”. It describes how the troops would be activated under a revived state-federal partnership program, and states that personnel would be authorized to conduct searches and identify and arrest any unauthorized immigrants.

Requests to the White House and the Department of Homeland Security for comment and a status report on the proposal were not answered.

The draft document has circulated among DHS staff over the last two weeks. As recently as Friday, staffers in several offices reported discussions were under way.

If implemented, the impact could be significant. Nearly half of the 11.1 million people residing in the US without authorization live in the 11 states, according to Pew Research Center estimates based on 2014 census data.

Use of national guard troops would greatly increase the number of immigrants targeted in one of Trump’s executive orders last month, which expanded the definition of who could be considered a criminal and therefore a potential target for deportation. That order also allows immigration agents to prioritize removing anyone who has “committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense”.

Under current rules, even if the proposal is implemented, there would not be immediate mass deportations. Those with existing deportation orders could be sent back to their countries of origin without additional court proceedings. But deportation orders generally would be needed for most other unauthorized immigrants.

The troops would not be nationalized, remaining under state control.

Spokespeople for the governors of Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon and New Mexico said they were unaware of the proposal, and either declined to comment or said it was premature to discuss whether they would participate. The other three states did not immediately respond to the AP.

The proposal would extend the federal-local partnership program that Barack Obama’s administration began scaling back in 2012 to address complaints that it promoted racial profiling.

The 287(g) program, which Trump included in his immigration executive order, gives local police, sheriff’s deputies and state troopers the authority to assist in the detection of immigrants who are in the US illegally as a regular part of their law enforcement duties on the streets and in jails.

he draft memo also mentions other items included in Trump’s executive order, including the hiring of an additional 5,000 border agents, which needs financing from Congress, and his campaign promise to build a wall between the US and Mexico.

The signed order contained no mention of the possible use of state national guard troops.

According to the draft memo, the militarization effort would be proactive, specifically empowering guard troops to solely carry out immigration enforcement, not as an add-on the way local law enforcement is used in the program.

Allowing guard troops to operate inside non-border states also would go far beyond past deployments.

In addition to responding to natural or manmade disasters or for military protection of the population or critical infrastructure, state guard forces have been used to assist with immigration-related tasks on the US-Mexico border, including the construction of fences.

In the mid-2000s, George W Bush twice deployed guard troops on the border to focus on non-law enforcement duties to help augment the Border Patrol as it bolstered its ranks. And in 2010, the then Arizona governor, Jan Brewer, announced a border security plan that included guard reconnaissance, aerial patrolling and military exercises.

In July 2014, the then Texas governor, Rick Perry, ordered 1,000 national guard troops to the border when the surge of migrant children fleeing violence in Central America overwhelmed US officials responsible for their care. The guard troops’ stated role on the border at the time was to provide extra sets of eyes but not make arrests.

Bush initiated the federal 287(g) program – named for a section of a 1996 immigration law – to allow specially trained local law enforcement officials to participate in immigration enforcement on the streets and check whether people held in local jails were in the country illegally. Ice trained and certified roughly 1,600 officers to carry out those checks from 2006 to 2015.

The memo describes the program as a “highly successful force multiplier” that identified more than 402,000 “removable aliens”.

ut federal watchdogs were critical of how DHS ran the program, saying it was poorly supervised and provided insufficient training to officers, including on civil rights law. Obama phased out all the arrest power agreements in 2013 to instead focus on deporting recent border crossers and immigrants in the country illegally who posed a safety or national security threat.

Trump’s immigration strategy emerges as detentions at the nation’s southern border are down significantly from levels seen in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Last year, the arrest tally was the fifth-lowest since 1972. Deportations of people living in the US illegally also increased under the Obama administration, though Republicans criticized Obama for setting prosecution guidelines that spared some groups from the threat of deportation, including those brought to the US illegally as children.

Chuck Schumer, the leading Democrat in the Senate, called the possibility of the roundups “despicable”.

“That would be one of the most un-American things that would happen in the last century and I just hope that it’s not true,” Schumer told reporters. “The fact that it might even be considered is appalling.”

Immigration advocacy groups reacted with astonishment to the news of the draft memo, warning that it could escalate the wave of fear that has swept through Latino communities since a series of raids that led to the arrests of almost 700 undocumented immigrants.

Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, said that at a minimum tough talk about mobilizing the national guard could act as a scare tactic designed to frightened undocumented families into leaving the country. That idea was raised even as far back as Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential candidate, when he coined the phrase “self deportation”.

“Even the bare fact that the Department of Homeland Security would write such a memo, describing police-state tactics, is outrageous. Will 100,000 troops roam through Latino neighborhoods picking people up, presumably based on their physical appearance?” Sharry said.

ews of the memo comes just a day after a group of Congress members was given an audience with the acting head of Immigration Customs and Enforcement, Thomas Homan. The politicians emerged from the meeting with the clear impression that the Trump administration intended to include almost all of the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the country in its definition of potential targets for deportation.

One of those present, the Democratic representative for San Antonio in Texas Joaquin Castro, said on Twitter that “after attending the ICE meeting it’s hard not to conclude that President Trump has started his mass deportation plan. Only Dreamers with no offenses (including traffic tickets) or perceived gang affiliations seem exempt.”

Castro speculated that the only limit to Ice’s deportation ambitions would be imposed by the size of its budget. The DHS memo proposing the use of national guard troops as immigration officers suggests a possible way around that constraint.

Bill Stock, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, AILA, said the draft memo was in tune with the way the administration was conducting deportation raids. “Agencies have been empowered by President Trump to get their deportation numbers up, and they do not appear to be terribly concerned about collateral damage – if they encounter an undocumented person they are picking them up.”

Stock said that if the memo got closer to implementation, legal questions would be asked about the use of military troops for domestic American matters. The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act imposes strict limitations on the use of federal military personnel in carrying out domestic policy.

In 2006, the Bush administration mobilised the national guard to the southern border with Mexico to help secure the boundary. But the troops were held back in a supporting logistical role and did not actually carry out arrests or deportations of those trying to cross into the US.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Nigeria is ruled by 2 presidents

Nigeria is ruled by 2 presidents - Group gives reason

The Foundation for Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Crusade (FHRACC) has declared that Nigeria actually has two presidents rather than one.

Buhari is out of the country while Osinbajo is acting as Nigeria's president

Buhari is out of Nigeria on vacation in the United Kingdom where he is also undergoing medical examination. The country is currently being run by Professor Yemi Osinbajo in acting capacity.

Daily Post reports that in a statement by its national president, Alaowei Cleric, and its diaspora coordinator, Jerry Otuaro, the organisation said the conversation was a lie even though it has been confirmed by the White House.

READ ALSO: 4 things Trump's phone call to Buhari means for pro-Biafra agitators and other Nigerians

We have been dismayed with consternation over the trending news that President Donald Trump of the United States of America has called President Buhari on phone while the latter is enjoying his esoteric leave in the UK.

“We would not have bothered to respond to such fabricated lie which ultimate end is to deceive gullible Nigerians, our concern is the length they have gone to cook up stories just to buy time.

“While Nigerians are eagerly awaiting to see their President, it is shameful that the presidency is using the controversial vacation of Buhari to the UK as a platform to manufacture lies.

“Of what good will it do to Nigeria if the US government refute this claim like that of Tinubu’s bizarre journey to the UK?

“On the contrary, if the said purported call is true then we have been vindicated. It only proved to us that the voice of Jacob is acting ceremoniously in Nigeria while the hands of Esau is performing the executive functions from the UK,” the group alleged.

The organisation added: “The Nigerian constitution does not provide for parliamentary system of government. Nigeria can only have one President at a time.

“The content of Trump conversation with Buhari as published in the media is a usurpation of the power of the acting president. If actually Buhari is hale hearty, let him come to the country to resume duties.

“He should not be in the UK, while on leave, to receive correspondents on behalf of the government. That should be the functions of the acting president.

“Considering the above convoluted rhetoric, we hereby renew our earlier call that President Buhari should address Nigerians in an audio-visual message.

READ ALSO: Did President Trump speak with the Ghost?

“If however he is sick as being insinuated by some persons then let him declare himself unfit to rule the country, in case his condition calls for that, so that the acting president can become the substantive one. Buhari should know that his aides have held the country ransom with his absence.

“The presidential image makers have turned out to be presidential liars to be publishing headline news of Buhari’s contact with select Nigerians in order that they can evade the question of their principal’s health status in the UK. What a pity? We are calling on Nigerians to be vigilant.

“Cabals are it again. If all is well with our president, we see no reason why his close political associates are paying him visit in the UK with confusing circumstances.”

4 coaches that may replace Arsene

4 coaches that may replace Arsene Wenger at Arsenal

rsenal boss Arsene Wenger is facing the heat once again following his team 5-1 battering at Bayern Munich on Wednesday night, February 15.

The Gunners now face a last 16 exit in the Champions League for a seventh consecutive season, and pressure is piling on the Frenchman to resign at the end of the season, after his contract expires.

Recall that Arsenal chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, last month hinted that Wenger may not sign a new contract come the end of the season.

Arsene Wenger could leave Arsenal at the end of this season after his contract expires

“Arsenal is not Arsene Wenger. They’re not one in the same thing,” Gazidis said.

He added: “He’s been clear and we’ve always been clear, that’s a mutual decision as to how long he’ll continue.

“Both need to be on the same page on that. In a football sense, he has transformed the club.”

NAIJ.com in this piece presents six possible options to replace Wenger, should he leave Arsenal at the end of this season after more than 20 years at the club.

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1. Eddie Howe

Reports in some quarters indicate that Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe has been selected by Gunner board room members as the man to replace Wenger.

The board is impressed with his attacking style of play and are encouraged by the fact that he is young and English.

Eddie Howe may replace Arsene Wenger at Arsenal

Howe has done a fantastic job with Bournemouth, first taking over with the club in League Two and securing three promotions to lead them to the Premier League.

It is an immense achievement, but those promotions are his biggest honours in the game and he has no experience of managing a title-challenging side or one in the Champions League.

2. Patrick Vieira

He is also a potential replacement going by his legendary status at Arsenal.

However, Vieira’s only managerial experience is with New York City FC, which will count against him.

Patrick Vieira may replace Arsene Wenger at Arsenal

The Frenchman made 406 appearances for the Gunners from 1996-2005, scoring 33 goals.

READ ALSO: Arsene Wenger admits his boys will need a miracle to beat Bayern Munich in the second leg

3. Thomas Tuchel

Tuchel ascended to the Borussia Dortmund job after forging a good reputation at Mainz whom he led to their highest ever Bundesliga finish.

The 43-year-old German replaced Jurgen Klopp at the Westfalenstadion.

Thomas Tuchel may replace Arsene Wenger at Arsenal

Although he has no managerial honour to his name, Tuchel secured a second place finish for Dortmund last season and his achievement in a short period could hand him the Arsenal job.

4. Diego Simeone

One of the most sought after managers on the planet after his exploits with Atletico Madrid, winning La Liga in 2014 and twice reaching the Champions League final.

Diego Simeone may replace Arsene Wenger at Arsenal

He has been in charge at Atletico since 2011 and his achievement for the club could trigger interest from the Arsenal board.

Man Utd legend denied US visa

Man Utd legend denied US visa due to Trump's ban

anchester United legend Dwight Yorke has been denied entry into the US under Donald Trump’s strict new laws.

Dwight Yorke

According to former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys, the former striker was denied entry as he “has an Iranian stamp in his passport”.

He wrote this morning: “Well done @realDonaldTrump. Man U ambassador Dwight Yorke denied transit access to Miami cause he has Iranian stamp in passport. #crazy”.

President Trump passed a controversial executive order banning visas for seven Muslim countries, including Iran, which the Trinidad international has purportedly visited.

 Follow

Richard Keys 

✔@richardajkeys

Well done @realDonaldTrump. Man U ambassador Dwight Yorke denied transit access to Miami cause he has Iranian stamp in passport. #crazy

11:13 AM - 17 Feb 2017

 
•  637637 Retweets
 
•  419419 likes

The law temporarily prohibits nearly all citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days – including those who have visited those nations.

Yorke's role as an ambassador at the Red Devils takes him all over the world, particularly playing for United legends XI’s in overseas friendlies.

After joining from Aston Villa in 1998, Yorke enjoyed a prolific four years under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, scoring 65 goals in 147 games in all competitions.

He won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup and the 1998/99 Champions League title before moving on to Blackburn in 2002.

3 reasons we have not started selling forms - JAMB

3 reasons we have not started selling forms - JAMB registrar

Forms for the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) are not on sale yet. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has explained why.

Prof. Ishaq Oloyede

The JAMB registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede himself explained the reason for the delay which is very unlike that of previous years.

He gave the following reasons:

The registrar explained that one reason for the delay was due to issues the board had with sale of scratch cards.

He said that whereas candidates used to buy scratch cards to access the forms online previously, they planned to cancel that since it had been abused thoroughly.

According to Daily Trust, he said: “What we want to do is for students to pay directly to government coffers and we are working out the process of doing so to avoid the type of abuse that it has been subjected to.

“So, we want to sell directly and to make sure that candidates pay into TSA account. We have cases of students saying their scratch cards got burnt, others saying their scratch cards were swallowed by snakes or lost in an accident.

“I believe my predecessor did his best. Shortly before I came, he dismissed 12 staff on issues relating to the sale of scratch cards or e-facility cards as we called it. I need to build on it by cancelling the whole process."

READ ALSO: 8 updates candidates must know about UTME 2017

2. Timetable

The second reason given was the clash of timetables for which JAMB had met other exam bodies.

Prof Oloyede said: “Another reason is that we do not want our students to suffer as a result of clash in timetable. Students have to take NECO, WAEC and NABTEB exams.

"That is why we held meetings with examination bodies and agreed to realign our timetable. There is no time yet for the sale of forms."

3. Fraudsters

The last reason as given by the board, is the proliferation of fraudsters. Prof said: "Fraudsters thought we are going to sell scratch cards and they have started selling fake forms and we are now arresting them. We have to thank the security agencies, particularly the NSCDC.

"Between August last year and now, not less than four people have been convicted by courts and have been sentenced either as students or as fake business men. So that is the kind of signal we want to send.”

Valentine's Day 2017

Valentine's Day 2017: History And Reason Behind It's Celebration

 

 

Every February 14, people across the world exchange candy, flowers and gifts with their loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. It is considered to the best day to express your love and care for your special one or even express your feelings to the one you love. But do they really know the history behind this day? Here is how it started:

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, there were at least three early Christian saints by that name. One was a priest in Rome, another a bishop in Terni, and the third, St. Valentine which almost nothing is known about, except that he met his end in Africa. Astonishingly, all the three Valentines were said to have been martyred on February 14.

Valentine who was a priest, served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine felt this was unfair so he celebrated marriages in secret. When the emperor found out he was thrown in jail and sentenced to death.

It wasn't until more than 200 years later that 14 February was proclaimed St Valentine's Day. By this time Rome had become Christian and the Catholic Church was determined to stamp out any remaining paganism. A pagan fertility ritual was held in February each year and the Pope abolished this festival and proclaimed 14 February Saint Valentine's Day, thus establishing this feast day on the Catholic Calendar of Saints.

 

Valentine's Day History

Pagan festivals, Christian saints, Chaucer's love birds, and the Greeting Card Association of America

 

 

Roman Roots

The history of Valentine's Day is obscure, and further clouded by various fanciful legends. The holiday's roots are in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration commemorated annually on February 15. Pope Gelasius I recast this pagan festival as a Christian feast day circa 496, declaring February 14 to be St. Valentine's Day.

Valentines Galore

Which St. Valentine this early pope intended to honor remains a mystery: according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, there were at least three early Christian saints by that name. One was a priest in Rome, another a bishop in Terni, and of a third St. Valentine almost nothing is known except that he met his end in Africa. Rather astonishingly, all three Valentines were said to have been martyred on Feb. 14.
Most scholars believe that the St. Valentine of the holiday was a priest who attracted the disfavor of Roman emperor Claudius II around 270. At this stage, the factual ends and the mythic begins. According to one legend, Claudius II had prohibited marriage for young men, claiming that bachelors made better soldiers. Valentine continued to secretly perform marriage ceremonies but was eventually apprehended by the Romans and put to death. Another legend has it that Valentine, imprisoned by Claudius, fell in love with the daughter of his jailer. Before he was executed, he allegedly sent her a letter signed "from your Valentine." Probably the most plausible story surrounding St. Valentine is one not focused on Eros (passionate love) but on agape (Christian love): he was martyred for refusing to renounce his religion.
In 1969, the Catholic Church revised its liturgical calendar, removing the feast days of saints whose historical origins were questionable. St. Valentine was one of the casualties.

Chaucer's Love Birds

It was not until the 14th century that this Christian feast day became definitively associated with love. According to UCLA medieval scholar Henry Ansgar Kelly, author of Chaucer and the Cult of Saint Valentine, it was Chaucer who first linked St. Valentine's Day with romance.
In 1381, Chaucer composed a poem in honor of the engagement between England's Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. As was the poetic tradition, Chaucer associated the occasion with a feast day. In "The Parliament of Fowls," the royal engagement, the mating season of birds, and St. Valentine's Day are linked:

For this was on St. Valentine's Day,
When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate.

Tradition of Valentine's Cards

Over the centuries, the holiday evolved, and by the 18th century, gift-giving and exchanging handmade cards on Valentine's Day had become common in England. Hand-made valentine cards made of lace, ribbons, and featuring cupids and hearts eventually spread to the American colonies. The tradition of Valentine's cards did not become widespread in the United States, however, until the 1850s, when Esther A. Howland, a Mount Holyoke graduate and native of Worcester, Mass., began mass-producing them. Today, of course, the holiday has become a booming commercial success. According to the Greeting Card Association, 25% of all cards sent each year are valentines.

 

Expectations high on Buhari's return

Expectations high on Buhari’s return On February 12, 201712:24 amIn NewsComments By Levinus Nwabughiogu First Lady, Aisha, thanks Nigerians for praying for President Expectations were high in Abuja, yesterday, ahead of the return of President Muhammadu Buhari from London, United Kingdom (UK) today. Meanwhile, First Lady Aisha, returned from a trip to Saudi Arabia, yesterday, expressing gratitude to Nigerians for supporting and praying for her husband. Buhari had left Nigeria on January 19 on 10-day medical vacation in London and was expected back in the country on February 6. But at the expiration of the vacation, the President wrote the National Assembly, extending his stay indefinitely.First lady, Aisha Buhari, flanked by (r) Toyin Saraki, wife of Senate President, and others after her arrival from Saudi Arabia, yesterday Speculations had been rife that the President would return this weekend barring any last minute changes. This development quickly prompted expectations on The Presidency and Abuja, the federal capital, yesterday. Sunday Vanguard’s request for confirmation of the President’s possible return, last night, from the Presidency did not yield any fruit as the State House media team seemed not to be in the know of the goings-on. Aisha Buhari, who returned to the country, yesterday, appreciated Nigerians for supporting her husband’s administration. The wife of the President also prayed for peaceful coexistence in Nigeria. She made the prayer shortly after her arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja from Saudi Arabia where she performed the Lesser Hajj. Aisha, who arrived at about 3:15 pm, was received by the wife of the Senate President, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, the wives of the governors of Kebbi and Kogi States, wives of the Service Chiefs as well as a former Deputy Governor of Plateau State, Mrs. Pauline Tallen.PRESIDENT BUHARI IN LONDON: PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI RECEIVES APC CHIEFTAINS, SENATOR BOLA AHMED TINUBU AND CHIEF BISI AKANDE, AT ABUJA HOUSE IN LONDON ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2017 ‘’I thank God for journey mercies. I pray for Nigeria and Nigerian leaders and we should not relent in prayers and good deeds”, she said. She also expressed her gratitude to God for the successful trip even as she also prayed for Nigerians and her leaders. ‘’I want to use this opportunity to thank all Nigerians for the goodwill and support for my husband and Nigeria in general”, she said.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/02/expectations-high-buharis-return/

sources: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/02/expectations-high-buharis-return/

Trump seeks to break DC bubble

© Provided by The Hill Trump seeks to break DC bubble
President Trump is trying to fight the confines of the presidential bubble.
Less than a month after taking office, Trump, a man who loathes boredom and has a penchant for doing things his way, is trying his best to keep things the way they were before he won the presidency.
He tweets what's on his mind. He has refused to give up his unsecured Android phone. And he flies to the warmth of his Florida home Mar-a-Lago on the weekends - just like old times.
Presidents and first families often bristle as they feel the White House walls closing in on them under a constant media spotlight and vast security detail.
Trump, arguably even more than his predecessors, has had difficulty giving up his past life.
Friends note that the billionaire already had a luxurious penthouse in the world famous skyscraper that carries his name. He has a nicer plane than Air Force One. And he even owns his own $7 million chopper.
After Trump was elected, Christopher Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax media and a friend of the president's who speaks to him often, heard through the grapevine that Trump wouldn't return to Mar-a-Lago until Easter.
That didn't turn out to be true - which was no surprise to Ruddy.
"I thought, 'Yeah right,'" Ruddy said in an interview. "He's not going to like Washington... He's not a Washington guy."
Trump left Washington Friday to head to Mar-a-Lago with a new friend - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
It's the second weekend in a row that Trump will spend at his Florida residence.
In the winter, Ruddy said Trump prefers to be in Florida, where it is warm, where he has plenty of friends, and where he can play golf to unwind.
"He's been going [to Mar-a-Lago] for almost 30 years," Ruddy said. "It's just part of his life."
Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner have relocated to Washington, D.C. to be close to the president. His wife Melania has stayed in New York, where the couple's young son is in school.
Sources predict Trump will be reluctant to change his life to fit into the White House perimeters.
"Washington thinks the presidency is going to change him and I'm telling you the presidency is going to be changed by him," one Trump associate, familiar with the president's thinking said. "He doesn't know or care to know how Washington thinks is the proper way to do things."
The associate said while Trump has a fondness for the history of the White House, he ultimately sees it "as a place to work. Not so much a place to live."
"It's the world's nicest prison," the associate said. "It's all-confining."
Twitter is one way for the president to connect to the outside world.
Each day Trump types out 140-character, free-wheeling missives on everything from his immigration ban, to his daughter's severed ties with Nordstrom to the ratings for "Celebrity Apprentice."
The tweets have caused problems for the president.
On Thursday, after Trump tweeted that Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) had misrepresented what Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch had told him in a meeting, it put him at odds with White House staffers who were in the room with him.
"Someone needs to tell him that all these extemporaneous comments are probably not in the best interest of his larger message," one Republican consultant said. "He can't just say whatever is on his mind. It's pushing the limits too much."
Sometimes the tweets are revealing.
Trump's tweets often reflect his penchant for watching cable news. A story will appear on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," and minutes later there will be a Trump tweet.
Jeffrey Lord, a Trump supporter who also served in the Reagan White House, suspects the president won't change much of the way he's doing business because he thinks it's working for him.
In fact, he suspects Trump may begin doing more rallies, a throwback to the campaign and another means of breaking loose of Washington.
"This is his way of staying in touch with the real world and his way of dealing with [the bubble]," Lord said. "This bubble business is a hard thing to deal with when you're president so you make a conscious effort to make it not ruin your life."
Ruddy himself wondered how his friend with no political experience or friends in Washington would adjust to life in the White House.
But last week, while chatting with Melania while the Trumps were in town for the weekend, the first lady told him that Trump "really loves the place."
"He's going to break the bubble," Ruddy says. "He's going to burst it."


sources: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-seeks-to-break-dc-bubble/ar-AAmQG5g?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp