NigerianProfessor breaks 187-yr-old record at University of London

Professor Abiodun Alao

A Nigerian academic, Professor Abiodun Alao, will today deliver inaugural lecture at King’s College, University of London, making him the first black African scholar to deliver such lecture since the institution was established in 1829.

Alao, a professor of African Studies, was conferred with professorial title about two years ago   alongside his Nigerian counterpart in the institution’s African Leadership Centre,  Prof. Funmi Olonisakin, making them first black Africans to attain professorial cadre at the institution since its establishment. The appointments have been confirmed in a letter by the institution’s  President and Principal, Prof. Edward Byrne AC, justifying their elevations based on their contributions to African peace and security. According to a statement obtained by Vanguard yesterday, Alao had published  several single-authored books, well-researched journal articles and occasional papers, among others, which findings and recommendations “have largely helped establish peace and boost security in many African countries.” In an institution that produced 12 Nobel Laureates among its professors, the statement said Alao had distinguished himself, citing about 100 widely recognized  100 academic articles and encyclopedia entries he had published, all of which were assessed to accord him professorial title. 

As an academic tradition globally, the statement said the Nigerian academic would today deliver his inaugural lecture, titled, “Africa:  A Voice to be Heard, Not a Problem to be Solved” at the Edward Safra Lecture Theatre at the college’s main campus. The statement said the inaugural lecture, holding at the institution’s Edward Lecture Theatre on the Strand, “will be attended by many people from different parts of the world, including from the United States, Australia, Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria.” Aside his academic contributions, Alao joined the long list of globally renowned academics the institution had produced and whose research works had produced answers to different challenges of humanity and society since its establishment. The statement pointed diverse assignments Alao had undertaken for international institution, which include the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), European Union (EU), World Bank, ECOWAS and for many individual countries in Africa and beyond. It added that Alao was part of the 4-person team that undertook “a comprehensive threat assessment for Rwanda immediately after the 1994 genocide and was on the team of academic experts that advised former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan on the civil war in Sierra Leone. “He also co-authored the Concept Note for the Common Defence and Security Policy for the Africa Union and was the co-author of the first post-Civil War National Security Strategy Framework for Liberia. He was a member of the team that worked on the Development of Donor Countries Effectiveness in Fragile States, the statement said. Ranking among the top 20 universities in the world, King’s College London holds a unique position in global scholarship, which the statement said, was evident in the landmark research works the institution’s professors and alumni had conducted since its establishment several decades ago. Among its landmark research works, the statement cited the research that led to the discovery of the famous genetic testing, DNA undertaken at the College by Prof. Maurice Wilkins, while another retired scholar of the institution, Prof. John Lister, developed Antiseptic Surgery. It cited the researches of Prof. Charles Wheatstone, who “invented the first working telegraphs line and Prof. James Maxwell, who began humanity’s first steps towards a unified theory of physics by bringing magnetism and electricity together in a research that paved way for radio, television, radar and mobile phones. “The College also has among its former Professors, Thomas Hodgkin, who discovered the Hodgkin disease that was named after him and John Danrell who invented the world’s first battery,” the statement added.

Culled from Vanguard

London's naked restaurant has waiting list of 30,000 customers before it even opens

A naked restaurant opening in London now has a waiting list of nearly 30,000 diners before it has even opened - but only a tenth of those will actually have the chance to eat there.

The Bunyadi, which bills itself as London's naked restaurant, is set to open in the capital for three months.

But, despite the doors not being open until June, 28,984 have submitted their email addresses to Bunyadi's waiting list, charmed by the idea of a 'Pangea-like world' of wood-flame grilled meals and a ban on Instagram.

But those hoping to get a spot at one of the wood-hewn seats might be disappointed - because the 42-capacity restaurant will only be able to seat around 3,000 during the pop-up period. 

In the restaurant, diners will be allowed to wear clothes. But it will also have a naked section - where photography is strictly banned - in which gowns will be provided, which people must fold and put on the seats on arrival.

The website says they aim to create a world 'free from phones, electric lights and even clothing', using 'natural, home-grown ingredients' to envelope clients in the atmosphere.

Guests will enjoy meals served on handmade clay crockery and edible cutlery, in a space void of the industrialised-world's modern trappings, their website says.

They will dine under a canopy of candle lights, creatively partitioned with bamboo and wicker, as they recline on wood-hewn furniture.

Guests will be offered a vegan and a non-vegan menu, and those who sit in the naked section will be offered lockers to put their clothes in as they change in to their gowns.  

Seb Lyall, the founder of creators Lollipop, said: 'We believe people should get the chance to enjoy and experience a night out without any impurities: no chemicals, no artificial colours, no electricity, no gas, no phone and even no clothes if they wish to. The idea is to experience true liberation.' 

He added: 'We have worked very hard to design a space where everything patrons interact with is bare and naked.

'The use of natural bamboo partitions and candlelight has enabled to us to make the restaurant discreet, whilst adhering to the ethos behind it.' 

Mr Lyall said the body positivity, the trend for more natural ingredients, and nostalgia surrounding days when people didn't take their phones to the table inspired the idea.

He told MailOnline: 'There are a lot of people who want truly natural ingredients, people who are vegan and are very health-conscious. That is one trend.  

'But also, everyone has their phone at the dinner table these days. People in their late 20s, 30s and 40s will remember a time when that wasn't the case, and I think they crave the chance to go back to that.

'Another reason is the idea of feeling comfortable in your own skin. There was a controversial ad campaign on The Tube last year, when a protein brand asked "are you beach body ready?"

'I think to feel comfortable, you need to experience that atmosphere, on the beach, or naked, and I think people want the opportunity to do that.'  

Lollipop, the inventors of Bunyadi, made headlines last year with the creation of their Owl Cafe in London.

Various breeds were brought to the space, and more than 25,000 people joined the waiting list to take part in the event - based on a trend in Tokyo.

But it angered animal rights campaigners, who launched a petition to stop the pop-up, with one claiming 'It would be hard to think of a more frightening place for owls'.

However, Mr Lyall insisted it was not a strssful experience for the birds, which people realised when they arrived.

He told MailOnline: 'It was very controversial at the time, but when people came and saw what kind of space it was, they could see that there was nothing to worry about.' 

Bunyadi will be open in central London for six months.

Culled from Daily mail

Nigeria records first baby conceived by 'egg freezing protocol'

baby Tiwatope.

Nigeria has recorded the birth of its first baby conceived through the oocyte (egg) freezing protocol.

The feat was recorded by The Bridge Clinic, Lagos, on February 16, with the delivery of a male child, named Tiwatope.

The oocyte was preserved through cryopreservation, which is the cooling of cells and tissues to sub-zero temperatures to stop biological activity and preserve the cells for future use.

Human oocyte cryopreservation (egg freezing) is a process in which a woman’s eggs (oocytes) are extracted, frozen and stored. Later, when she is ready to become pregnant, the eggs can be thawed, fertilised and transferred to the uterus as embryo.

According to the fertility physician with The Bridge Clinic, Dr. Emmanuel Owie, who broke the news, Tiwatope’s birth was significant in many respects, as he puts the  country on the global map in the practice of oocyte cryopreservation, a new offering in the in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) space.

“Before his birth, this new practice seemed to be an exclusive preserve of the developed world of Europe and North America. It is even more significant considering the fact that since the report of the first pregnancy through this protocol in 1986, the practice has resulted in the birth of only about 5,000 babies worldwide,” he stated. 

Dr. Owie said Tiwatope’s mother had her eggs frozen using the vitrification, also known as flash-freezing process – the cutting edge technology in cryobiology, where the eggs or oocytes of a woman are dehydrated and the water content replaced with “anti-freeze” solution (cryoprotectants) before freezing. This will prevent the formation of ice crystals, which could destroy the cell.

Tiwatope’s parents had battled infertility for eight years, but the clinic had the mother’s eggs frozen for two months. Dr. Owie explained: “We fertilised the eggs using a standard technique, known as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) to overcome the egg shell, which normally gets hardened with freezing.

“The fertilised egg was subsequently transferred into her womb, resulting in the pregnancy of Tiwatope. She had her antenatal care in her family hospital and delivered the baby boy through caesarian section (SC).”

The clinic’s coordinator, Corporate Marketing/Communication and Client Relations, Dr. Ekundayo Omogbehin, said the baby and the mother were in good health.

Culled from The Nation

Man who has bionic penis loses virginity to a sex worker at the age of 44

Mohammed Abad finally lost his virginity aged 44 to sex worker Charlotte Rose, which he'd dreamed of since the age of 18

A 44-year-old man whose penis was ripped off in a childhood accident has finally been able to have sex for the first time.

Mohammed Abad, from Edinburgh, Scotland, had a bionic penis fitted in 2012 and lost his virginity to sex worker Charlotte Rose, 35, after being given the green light by doctors.

The divorcee said a 'big burden' had been lifted following their encounter which happened after the pair got to know each other over a few days. Mohammed told New Day: 'I've been waiting for this day since I was 18. But now a big burden is off my back and I'm so happy.'

He first met Charlotte, who specialises in disabled clients, for a dinner date and then got to know each other better over a few days and stayed in a central London hotel.

Mohammed was nervous and on the first attempt, his penis malfunctioned with one side of the pump failing to properly inflate.

But on the second attempt, the pump was able to perform properly. 

Mohammed told the newspaper: 'When Charlotte saw it for the first time, she was silent and I was a bit worried. But then she said: "It's incredible".'

Charlotte told New Day: 'I wanted to make sure there was no pressure for Mo. There was a lot of fun, smiles and giggles. The room got quite heated.'

After their session together, which lasted for an hour and three quarters, Charlotte said she was 'impressed'.

Now Mohammed's goal is to become a father. 

He previously said: 'Three years ago I never thought this day would come but now I'm ready to have some fun and sow my wild oats.

'I've never felt like a full man but now I'm ready for my life to start and I've never felt so confident.

'I want to get the 'virgin' tag off my back as soon as possible but eventually I hope to get married and have two children - a girl and a boy.'

Mohammed was given the green light by doctors to test it out and hopes to be in a long-term relationship by next year.

He said: 'I've waited so long for this that I don't want to waste any more time. I feel like my life is finally starting and I plan to live it to the fullest.'

Charlotte, who specialises in disabled clients, got in touch when she heard about Mohammed's plight and waived her usual £160 fee for the occasion.

Charlotte, a single mum to two teenage children, told New Day: 'I wanted to make sure there was no pressure for Mo. There was a lot of fun, smiles and giggles. The room got quite heated.

'In the end, he lasted for an hour and three quarters. I was impressed.' 

Charlotte has slept with 'well over 1,000 men' but said she had never come across a bionic penis before. 

In January 1978, Mohammed was pushed into the street during a snowball fight and hit by a car that dragged him 600 yards.

Mohammed said: 'My penis was ripped off and a testicle was also destroyed.

'I was taken to the hospital and given 12 hours to live.'

Doctors were miraculously able to stabilise him, but there was nothing they could do to salvage his detached penis.

Mohammed said: 'They made me a wee tube that was three centimetres long and I was told to carry on with that. There was nothing else they could do at that time.

From the age of six to 11, Mohammed was in and out of hospital but his situation made it hard for him to fit in at school after news of his accident spread.

Mohammed said: 'I never used to associate myself with girls because I knew if I took the next step it's going to come back and slap me in the face.

'I avoided girls entirely just because I didn't want to put myself in that situation.'

Mohammed threw himself into his work in a convenience store, but as time passed he longed for a normal life.

He said: 'I think I was about 31 or 32 and went to the doctors again and said 'I'm desperate I need some kind of help, you need to try and help me. I'm ready to see the world out there'.

'It wasn't until I was about 37 that I got a letter out of the blue from a hospital which I had attended saying that they thought they could help me.'

Four years ago, Mohammed had the life-changing surgery to create his penis, which was constructed using skin from his forearm rolled up like a 'sausage roll'.

Prior to his surgeries, Mohammed had an arranged marriage, but kept his situation a secret from his wife until his wedding night.

Mohammed was never able to consummate the marriage and last year the relationship came to an end after three years.

Now, Mohammed has a working penis and hopes he will be able to sustain a relationship in the future.

Mohammed said: 'First thing the doctor said, was, 'You've got a big arm, so we'll be able to make you a big penis' so from there I just left it to him and I'm quite happy with what I've got.'

Mohammed's ninth and final operation was completed last July and now he has an implant that allows him to have erections at the touch of a button.

His new member was made using a graft of his arm, two rubber tubes and a reservoir of resin to pump into the penis – and he has full feeling in his new organ.

Mohammed operates his penis by pushing a button on his testicles to inflate and another one to deflate.

His testosterone is now operating at a normal level and doctors believe he will be able to have children.

Mr Nim Christopher, the consultant neurologist who built Mohammed's penis, said: 'The penis itself was actually made from the skin and fat from the forearm rolled up into a roll with a tube in the middle like a sausage roll.

'It will stay up as long as he wants and then when he's had enough he switches the off button.'  

Culled from Daily Mail

Geoscientist discovers legendary river that BOILS its victims alive

A four-mile long river, deep in the heart of the Amazon, is so hot that it boils. The river has long been a legend in Peru, but when geoscientist Andrés Ruzo (pictured) heard about it, he thought such a phenomenon was impossible. But then, he saw it with his own eyes

A mysterious, four-mile long river, deep in the heart of the Amazon, is so hot that it boils.

The river has long been a legend in Peru, but when geoscientist Andrés Ruzo's heard about it, he thought such a phenomenon was impossible.

He believed that it would require a huge amount of geothermal heat to boil even a small river, and the Amazon basin is far from any active volcanoes. 

But then, Ruzo saw the legendary boiling river with his own eyes.

Ruzo first heard about the Mayantuyacu river when his grandfather told him a story about how Spanish conquistadors killed the last Inca emperor.

The story goes that after the murder, the Spanish conquistador headed into the Amazon rainforest in search of gold.

When they returned, the men spoke of a terrifying experience that involved poisoned water, man-eating snakes and a river that boils from below.

Twelve years later, at a family dinner, Ruzo heard the river mentioned again when his aunt said that she had visited it.

As a PhD student in geophysics at Southern Methodist University, Ruzo wanted to find the river for himself. 

'I began asking that question. Could the boiling river exist?, Ruzo said in Ted Talk. 

'I asked colleagues from universities, the government, oil, gas and mining companies, and the answer was a unanimous no. 

'And this makes sense. You see, boiling rivers do exist in the world, but they're generally associated with volcanoes. You need a powerful heat source to produce such a large geothermal manifestation.

'Telling this same story at a family dinner, my aunt tells me, 'But no, Andrés, I've been there. I've swum in that river.' 

Despite his skepticism, Runzo found myself hiking into the jungle in 2011, guided by his aunt, far from the he nearest volcanic center. 

He said he was mentally preparing to behold the legendary 'warm stream of the Amazon - but what he saw was very different. 

Runzo discovered a four mile 'boiling river' in the sacred geothermal healing site of the Asháninka people in Mayantuyacu. 

At its widest, it is 82ft (25 metres), and around 20ft (six metres) deep. The water is hot enough to brew tea, according to a report in Gizmodo, and in some parts, it boils over.

'Dipping my hand into the river would give me third-degree burns in less than half a second,' Ruzo told Ted.com 'Falling in could easily kill me.'

The river boils because of fault-fed hot springs.

'As we have hot blood running through our veins and arteries, so, too, the Earth has hot water running through its cracks and faults,' Runzo explained in a Ted speech.

'Where these arteries come to the surface, these earth arteries, we'll get geothermal manifestations: fumaroles, hot springs and in our case, the boiling river.

Parts of the river are so hot that any animals that falls in boils instantly. 

'I've seen all sorts of animals fall in, and what's shocking to me, is the process is pretty much the same,' said Runzo.

'So they fall in and the first thing to go are the eyes. Eyes, apparently, cook very quickly. They turn this milky-white color. The stream is carrying them. 

'They're trying to swim out, but their meat is cooking on the bone because it's so hot. So they're losing power, losing power, until finally they get to a point where hot water goes into their mouths and they cook from the inside out.' 

For some reason, the river has escaped scientific scrutiny. But Ruzo is on a mission to change that.

He has published a book, 'The Boiling River: Adventure and Discovery in the Amazon,' that publicises the river for the first time. 

Ruzo's is now trying to save the boiling river. The surrounding forest has been destroyed by logging practices, and if action isn't taken, the area could vanish entirely.

'In the middle of my PhD, I realized, this river is a natural wonder,' Ruzo told Gizmodo. 'And it's not going to be around unless we do something about it.'

Ruzo heard about the river when his grandfather told him a story about how Spanish conquistadors killed the last Inca emperor. The story goes that after the murder, the Spanish conquistador headed into the Amazon rainforest in search of gold. When they returned, the men spoke of a terrifying experience that involved a river that boils from below. Pictured above is a shaman that guards the river

This frog did not survive its encounter with the river. 'I've seen all sorts of animals fall in, and what's shocking to me, is the process is pretty much the same,' said Runzo. 'So they fall in and the first thing to go are the eyes. Eyes, apparently, cook very quickly'

Culled from DAILY MAIL

Russian President, Vladimir Putin had sex with under-aged boys, said murdered KGB agent.

Mr Putin's encounter with Nikita Konkin, pictured, came during a walkabout in the Kremlin

Alexander Litvinenko claimed that Vladimir Putin had been caught on camera having sex with young boys, according to the inquiry into the spy's murder.

When the future Russian president was a student, he was filmed abusing children in a flat where another top Russian politician, Yuri Skuratov, had a threesome with prostitutes, Litvinenko wrote in a sensational web post.

The wild claim is recorded in Sir Robert Owen's inquiry report as part of a long list of allegations made by the assassinated spy against Mr Putin after he fled Russia and settled in Britain.Litvinenko made the accusation after the president was pictured kissing the stomach of a five-year-old boy during a walkabout in the Kremlin in June 2006.

Mr Putin's encounter with the five-year-old boy a few months earlier made global headlines, as the Russian president insisted it was nothing more than a gesture of affection.

'People came up and I began talking to them, among them this little boy,' Mr Putin said afterwards. 'He seemed to me very independent, sure of himself and at the same time defenceless so to speak, an innocent boy and a very nice little boy.

'I tell you honestly, I just wanted to stroke him like a kitten and it came out in this gesture. There is nothing behind it.'

The child, named by Russian media as Nikita Konkin, said that he had refused to wash after Mr Putin had kissed his stomach.

'I just liked him and he liked me very much,' Nikita said. 'I want to be president myself.'

Alexander Litvinenko (pictured) accused Vladimir Putin of being a paedophile after he was pictured kissing the stomach of a five-year-old boy, right

The inquiry report describes how the dissident claimed Mr Putin was a 'paedophile', adding that videos existed of him 'making sex with some underage boys'.

Litvinenko said that Mr Putin destroyed the footage, which allegedly saw him sent away from Russia for a while when he was a student, after becoming head of the FSB secret service.

After graduating from the Andropov Institute, which prepares officers for the KGB intelligence service, Putin was not accepted into the foreign intelligence. Instead, he was sent to a junior position in KGB Leningrad Directorate.

'This was a very unusual twist for a career of an Andropov Institute's graduate with fluent German. Why did that happen with Putin?

'Because, shortly before his graduation, his bosses learned that Putin was a pedophile [sic]. So say some people who knew Putin as a student at the Institute.

'Many years later, when Putin became the FSB director and was preparing for the presidency, he began to seek and destroy any compromising materials collected against him by the secret services over earlier years. It was not difficult, provided he himself was the FSB director.

President: Mr Putin is alleged to have ordered Litvinenko's killing after the ex-spy fled Russia became one of his fiercest critics

The Kremlin has never commented directly on the allegations made by Litvinenko, but yesterday the Russian government dismissed the whole inquiry report as 'Western propaganda'.

Giving evidence to the inquiry last year, Litvinenko's widow Marina said she had 'no idea' whether or not the paedophile claims were true.

Sir Robert concluded that Mr Putin had 'probably' approved the dissident's assassination himself, along with the current head of the FSB.

Litvinenko died in November 2006 after drinking tea laced with radioactive polonium during a meeting with Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitri Kovtun at a London hotel.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has condemned the state-sponsored assassination of Alexander Litvinenko, branding the murder "horrific".

The London Mayor said there should be the "strongest possible diplomatic response" against those behind the killing.

His comments come after a public inquiry found that the radioactive poisoning of the former KGB officer in 2006 was "probably" sanctioned by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Litvinenko's allegations were reproduced in the report released yesterday by retired High Court judge Sir Robert Owen, pictured

Culled from DAILY MAIL

Woman who gave birth to 18 children says she's pregnant again

Sue and Noel Radford (pictured with their children after the birth of youngest daughter Hallie) have announced they are expecting their 19th child

The parents of Britain's biggest family have announced they are expecting their 19th child, and they are still not claiming a penny in benefits.

Sue and Noel Radford celebrated the birth of daughter Hallie in June, but now Mrs Radford, 40, from Morcambe, Lancashire, is pregnant again, with the baby due in July.

The Radfords, who run a successful bakery business and do not claim any state benefits said the pregnancy had been a surprise, but they are excited to add to their huge brood.

Writing on their Facebook page, the family said: 'We are so thrilled to announce our precious new addition to the family who will be joining us in July.' 

When Hallie, now eight months, was born last summer the Radfords said that they were not planning on having any more children, but would 'leave it up to nature'. 'It has come as a huge surprise,' Mrs Radford told The Sun. 'We were adamant that we wouldn’t have more. But it is a brilliant start to the New Year.' 

The family, who rose to fame on Channel 4 documentary series 16 Kids And Counting, live in a ten-bedroom converted care home and believe that they spend around £30,000 a year of their own money bringing up their children.

They spend around £300 a week on groceries, and every day the family gets through two boxes of cereal and 18 pints of milk. When it comes to celebrating their children's birthdays they have a budget of £100 for presents, while at Christmas they set aside between £100 to £250. 

The family also have a holiday abroad each year, but are fiercely proud of the fact that they do not claim state handouts and instead support themselves with the bakery business, run by Mr Radford, 45.

Writing on their website, the couple said their other children were thrilled with the prospect of a new baby brother or sister. 

'We announced our news to the children last week after having a brilliant scan, we decided to put the scan photo on the fireplace and sit back and watch to see who noticed it first,' they said.

'Well it really didn’t take long. Tillie spotted it first and said "ohhhh who’s that?" with a big grin on her face.

'We said "who do you think it is?". She said "I need to go get Millie" so she ran to get her and came back in, closely followed by the rest of the children.

'The reaction was so funny they are so excited. We did want to keep it a secret for a little while longer but the children have been so excited and sharing the news so we decided it was time to share it with you all.' The announcement of the pregnancy comes just a few weeks after the couple's second eldest child, Sophie, 22, welcomed her third child, a boy called Leo on Christmas Eve. 

Sophie, who married husband Joe last year also helps out with the family business. 

Mr and Mrs Radford were childhood sweethearts and she fell pregnant with her first child, eldest son Chris, 27, when she was just 14. The couple were determined to keep the baby as they had both been adopted at birth. 

They have never looked back and very few years have gone by when Mrs Radford hasn't been expecting. 

Hallie's arrival was tinged with sadness for the couple however, as it came less than a year after they lost their 17th child, a boy named Alfie, 23 weeks into Mrs Radford's pregnancy.

Mrs Radford said that as a result of the loss her pregnancies with Hallie and the latest baby were being closely monitored. She added that they have had the 12-week scan, adding that the new arrival was 'doing brilliantly'.  

They have never looked back and very few years have gone by when she hasn't been expecting.

The couple say they originally planned on having three children, but they loved the experience so much that they simply kept going.

But at the heart of this is a desire to bring up children in a family not bankrolled by the state.

Speaking last year, Mrs Radford said: 'It's important that our children see us working. When they're old enough, they go out to work themselves. 'Big families will always be tarred with the same brush. People will say "They must be on benefits", but there are lots of very hard-working large families who support themselves.'

After an early start in the bakery, Mr Radford returns home every day at 7.45am to sort out the children and get them to nursery at school.

All their uniforms are washed and laid out the night before, while breakfast is staggered into two shifts. 

Six of the children are at the same primary school ten minutes away and five are at secondary school. Noel drives them in a minibus which, as it carries more than nine passengers, is entitled to use bus lanes.

Meanwhile, the three youngest, Oscar, Caspar and Hallie, remain at home with Sue, though Oscar goes to nursery in the afternoons.

The family do between six and 12 loads of washing a day, get through 30 bottles of washing liquid every month and use four toilet rolls a day.

Incredibly they manage to feed the family on £250 a week, feeding them all pasta or a large stew using deals with their local butcher and greengrocer.

Bathtime at home begins around 6pm and while the younger ones will be bathed and in bed by about 7pm, the older ones stay up until 9pm. Mr and Mrs Radford say they are in bed by 10pm.

Culled from DAILY MAIL

Mexican drug lord, El Chapo re-arrested 6 months after jail break

Joaquin El Chapo Guzmán

World's most notorious drug lord, Joaquin El Chapo Guzmán who escaped from a maximum security prison in Mexico six months ago, has been re-arrested and detained by the Mexican government. His audacious escape from prison last July saw him dash through a mile-long tunnel system which led to a building under construction next to the prison - from where he collected clothes left for him by his conspirators.

Shortly before El Chapo was re-arrested a certain actor named Sean Penn had visited him at his hideout in the jungle to ask him a handful of Hollywood-worthy questions such as 'do you dream?' and 'how would you define yourself?'

And then just hours after the Sinaloa cartel leader was detained by Mexican marines, the Rolling Stone published a lyrical 10,000-word account of their meeting.

The sensational meeting between Penn and El Chapo took place deep in the Mexican jungle in October and was arranged by Penn, Mexican actress Kate del Castillo and a fixer, with the permission of the Sinaloa cartel.

El Chapo admitted in the bizarre interview to being the biggest drug trafficker in the world and said he sent engineers to Germany to learn how to build the tunnel he would eventually use to escape a maximum security prison.

In an article written by Penn for Rolling Stone, El Chapo says: 'I supply more heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana than anybody else in the world. I have a fleet of submarines, airplanes, trucks and boats.' 

Penn's sensational interview for Rolling Stone almost saw the world's most wanted drug lord captured in October - just days after he met Penn - but a raid had to be aborted because El Chapo was with two women and a child.

The cartel boss was eventually captured on Friday in a daring 4am raid by Mexican marines and was returned to Altiplano jail. The double Oscar-winning actor's meeting with El Chapo led to the gun battle in which he was captured, an official said.  The Mexican Army intelligence unit intercepted electronic communications between Penn and El Chapo closed the Mexican military's net and led to an aborted raid days later. It was called off because the wanted man was in the company of two women and a child.

The double Oscar-winning actor and del Castillo - who had been in direct contact with El Chapo after his escape from the Altiplano jail - are now under investigation by the Mexican authorities.

The U.S. has filed at least seven extradition requests in six different states for Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman to be extradited but justice officials warned that his lawyers were likely to 'milk it' by firing off different appeals at different stages of the extradition battle to prolong the legal tussle. 

While Penn did not tell the authorities of El Chapo's whereabouts, his extraordinary interview led Mexican marines to his location.

El Chapo was caught after contacting actors and directors about making a Narcos-style biopic about his life, Mexican officials said. It is not clear whether Penn was contacted about the movie.

The meeting in Mexico was arranged by Penn, Mexican actress Kate del Castillo (pictured with Penn and musicians) and a fixer

Graphic photographs taken inside the kingpin's compound show bodies strewn across the blood-stained floor following the 4am firefight on Friday.

Five of the notorious Sinaloa cartel were slain by marines and six were arrested, but El Chapo made another of his infamous escapes, slipping out through a sewer system with his right-hand man El Cholo Ivan.

Hours later they were both detained at a nearby motel in the town of Los Mochis and El Chapo has been returned to the same maximum security prison he fled from six months ago. 

Locals in the seaside town said no one had been living in the gated, heavily guarded property until the night before the gun battle, when a black pickup truck arrived outside the two-story home. The bloody pictures appeared to show all five of the drug baron's lieutenants who were killed in the gun battle with Mexican marines on Friday.

All of the dead are seen lying in pools of blood next to heavy machine guns used to fight off the military as El Chapo slipped out through a drainage system, only to be captured hours later. 

A vast arsenal of weapons was seized, including loaded rocket launchers, rifles, semi-automatic weapons, grenades and armored vehicles.

Despite the huge cache of firearms, only one marine was hurt and did not suffer life-threatening injuries.

Penn shakes hands with Bolivian president Evo Morales at the presidential palace in La Paz in 2012

  El Chapo managed to escape Friday morning's raid at the compound on Friday morning with his most-trusted hitman known as El Cholo, but were caught hours later by federal police officers as they tried to flee north after stealing a car.

While waiting for back-up, the cops took the two men to sex motel, where El Chapo was handcuffed to a bed, The Guardian reported.

In a room that costs 300 pesos ($16.72) for six hours, he was detained on a satin bedspread, with sex toys and lubricants sat on a bedside table. 

Culled from DAILY MAIL

Margaret Thatcher tried to stop HIV AIDS awareness campaign in Europe

Margaret Thatcher attempted to block an AIDS public information campaign because she feared teaching children about ‘risky sex’ would corrupt them

Margaret Thatcher attempted to block an AIDS public information campaign because she feared teaching children about ‘risky sex’ would corrupt them, according to previously secret files.

The then Prime Minister warned that plans to educate the country to stem the spread of the syndrome could instead cause ‘immense harm’ to impressionable young minds.

It was only after her aides warned her that the country was facing an epidemic and that she did not have the support of the Cabinet that she backed down.

Horrified by then health secretary Norman Fowler’s proposal for a newspaper advertising campaign about safe sex, Mrs Thatcher scrawled on the memo: ‘Do we have to do the section on risky sex?’

‘I should have thought it could do immense harm if young teenagers were to read it.’

Her remarks were discovered in files released yesterday under the former 30-year rule by the National Archives at Kew, west London.

She suggested the advert could even breach the Obscene Publications Act and proposed a more limited campaign based on previous public information campaigns on venereal disease.

‘I think the anxiety on the part of parents and many teenagers who would never be in danger from AIDS, exceeds the good it may do,’ she wrote.

‘It would be better in my view to follow the ‘VD’ precedent of putting notices in surgeries, public lavatories etc.

‘But adverts where every young person will read and hear of practices they never knew about will do harm.’

Mr Fowler stood up to her, stating that the advert would lose ‘all its medical authority and credibility’ unless the advice was included.

‘Given that there is no vaccine and no cure, the only option open is public education,’ he stated.

‘No one is condoning these practices - quite the contrary; but they exist and are one of the ways by which AIDS spreads.’

The first case of AIDS in the UK was recorded in 1981 and by 1986 there was growing public awareness of the spread of the disease for which there was then no known treatment.

She was warned that the incurable syndrome could spread to hundreds of thousands of people unless those at risk changed their practices.

Mrs Thatcher eventually backed down when Deputy Prime Minister William Whitelaw told her there was no support for her objections among other ministers.

But she refused to sanction information leaflets being sent to every home in the country.

The cabinet secretary, Sir Robert Armstrong, warned that while there had only been 512 cases so far in the UK, experts estimated that 25,000 people with the disease could be unaware.

‘If there is no change in habits and practices, particularly but not exclusively among those currently most at risk (homosexual and bisexual men and drug misusers), there could at the end of five years be half a million infected carriers of whom a substantial number would subsequently develop the disease; and that is a sober estimate,’ he wrote.

Her press secretary Bernard Ingham added: ‘There is certainly a feeling abroad that the Government is doing too little and is not treating the issue with sufficient urgency.

‘There is also a feeling that the Prime Minister is acting as a brake on educational publicity.’ 

Culled from DAILY MAIL

Nigerian professor solves 156-yr-old Riemann Hypothesis to scoop $1 million prize

Dr Opeyemi Enoch

One of the most important problems in mathematics - the Riemann Hypothesis - has finally been solved by a Nigerian professor.

Dr Opeyemi Enoch said he made a key breakthrough in 2010 which later enabled him to solve the puzzle, which is one of the seven Millennium Problems in Mathematics. 

These seven puzzles were set by The Clay Mathematics Institute in 2000 and the organisation has now rewarded Dr Enoch with a $1 million (£658,000) prize for his discovery.

The Riemann Hypothesis was proposed by mathematician Bernard Riemann in 1859 and concerns the distribution of prime numbers.

It has become arguably the most famous problem in mathematics, since Fermat's Last Theorem was solved in the 1990s. 

At its most simple, the distribution of prime numbers among all others doesn't follow a regular pattern.

However, Riemann noticed that the frequency of prime numbers is very closely related to the behaviour of an elaborate function called the Riemann Zeta function.

The hypothesis asserts that all solutions of the equation ζ(s) = 0 lies on a certain vertical straight line, according to the Clay Mathematics Institute.

While this has been checked for the first 10,000,000,000 solutions, it is only now that a proof explaining their distribution beyond this has been found. 

The Riemann Hypothesis was proposed by mathematician Bernard Riemann in 1859 (his working is pictured) and concerns the distribution of prime numbers. It has become arguably the most famous problem in mathematics, since Fermat's Last Theorem was solved in the 1990sr Enoch, who teaches at the Federal University of Oye Ekiti (FUOYE) in Nigeria, said he was motivated to solve the 156-year-old problem because of his students.

He told the BBC that they wanted him to make money from the internet.

'The motivation was because my students trusted that the solution could come from me - not because the financial reward and that was why I started trying to solve the problem in the first place,' he said.

THE MILLENNIUM PRIZE PROBLEMS 

The Millennium Prize Problems were launched on 24 May, 2000.

They include seven problems considered by the Clay Mathematics Institute to be 'important classic questions that have resisted solution over the years'.

These include: P versus NP, The Hodge conjecture, The Poincaré conjecture, The Riemann hypothesis, Yang–Mills existence and mass gap, Navier–Stokes existence and smoothness and The Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture.

The full details of each are available from the institute's website.  

The first person to solve each of the problems will receive $1 million (£658,000).

The professor presented his proof on 11 November during the International Conference on Mathematics and Computer Science in Vienna, Nigerian news site Vanguard reported.

A statement from the university said that having started investigating the problem, Dr Enoch 'went on to consider and to correct the misconceptions that were communicated by mathematicians in the past generations, thus paving way for his solutions and proofs to be established.

'He also showed how other problems of this kind can be formulated and obtained the matrix that Hilbert and Poly predicted will give these undiscovered solutions. 

'He revealed how these solutions are applicable in cryptography, quantum information science and in quantum computers.'

Despite his achievement, the academic said some people have been critical by asking "If this man can solve the Riemann problem...why should he not be able to provide solutions to Nigeria's problems?" Dr Enoch said.

'Some guys celebrated it, some criticised it- saying what has that got to do with putting food on the tables of Nigerians.'

Dr Enoch has previously designed a prototype silo for poor farmers and is working on how to protect oil pipelines from vandalism as well as mathematical approaches to climate change.  

Culled from DAILY MAIL