Cancer Patient Wins Record $417 Million Payout In Johnson & Johnson Talc Case

As Johnson & Johnson faces thousands of U.S. lawsuits over potential cancer risks of its talc-based products, a California jury ordered the company Monday to pay $417 million in damages to a terminally ill woman.

Eva Echeverria, 63, who is undergoing treatment in hospital for ovarian cancer, testified through a video deposition that she’d used Johnson’s Baby Powder for feminine hygiene for more than 50 years before halting the practice in 2016, the Los Angeles Times reported. She only stopped after watching a news story about a woman with ovarian cancer who had also used the talc for a similar purpose, she said.

At the time, Echeverria had already been treated for ovarian cancer for almost a decade. 

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury awarded Eva Echeverria, who has an incurable form of ovarian cancer, a record $70 million in compensatory damages and $347 million in punitive damages on Monday.  (Lucas Jackson / Reuters)

Agreeing with the plaintiff that there was a connection between her cancer and her use of Johnson & Johnson’s products containing talc, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury awarded Echeverria $70 million in compensatory damages and $347 million, a record total in punitive damages on Monday. 

Nigeria ranks third in global internet crimes behind UK, U.S., says NCC

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says Nigeria currently ranks third globally in cyber crimes behind the UK and the U.S.

NCC’s Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Umar Danbatta, disclosed this on Tuesday at the ongoing 2017 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference’ theme is: “African Business: Penetrating through Institution Building”.

Danbatta, at a breakout session with the sub-theme: “The Business of Cyber Law, Internet Policy and Privacy Rights”, moderated by Mr Augustine Alegeh (SAN) a former NBA President, said the number of internet users in Nigeria has hit 91.6 million.

“About N127 billion was the estimated loss to cybercrime in Nigeria in 2015; Nigeria ranks third in global internet crimes behind the UK and U.S.

“A critical factor militating against Africa’s economic resurgence is the weakness of its institutions.

“Nigeria ranks 169 out of 199 on the World Bank’s ease of doing business rankings; we are in a middle of a revolution and the rise of what we call the networked society.

Oldest Kids In Class Do Better, Even Through College

Image credit: Rawpixel Ltd./Getty Images/iStockphoto

Starting kindergarten later could boost kids' grades and improve their odds of attending a top college. Being the youngest kid in class can hurt their academic performance.

Children who start school at an older age do better than their younger classmates and have better odds of attending college and graduating from an elite institution. That's according to a new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Many parents already delay enrolling their children in school, believing they'll do better if they're a bit older. It's sort of "academic red-shirting," says one of the study's authors, David Figlio, an economist at Northwestern University, using a term that originated in college athletics and refers to recruits who are held out of games for a year.

Inspirational Quotes

Be humble and never think you are better than anyone else. remember for dust you are and to dust you shall return.

The happiest people in life are the givers, not the receivers.

You deserve someone who never stops trying to show you how much you mean to them, even after they have you.Don’t ruin other people’s happiness just because you can’t find your own.

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C/River To Commence Exploration As Govt Discovers Uranium, Others

The Cross River State Government says it has discovered new solid mineral deposits across the three Senatorial Districts of the state and if fully tapped would tremendously transform the economy of the state and reduce its over dependence on federal allocations.

The search and discovery of the resources follow a geological mapping of the state by some Chinese geologists from Shian Xi Province of China after an MOU signed between the Country and Cross River State.

Some of the minerals discovered in commercial quantity were Uranium, iron ore, manganese, tourmaline, barites, marbles, Galina, spherite, coal, kaolin, sulphite, rutile as well as new limestone deposits.

JAMB Fixes Cut-Off Marks For Tertiary Institutions

Candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria now have cause to smile as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has fixed the minimum cut-off marks for 2017, despite the ongoing strike by the academic staff union of universities.

At a policy meeting on the 2017/2018 admission exercise in Abuja, the Registrar of JAMB, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, announced 120 as the minimum cut-off marks for admissions into universities in Nigeria.

The meeting was attended by the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, and heads of tertiary institutions across the country.

The cut-off mark for admission into polytechnics and colleges of education was fixed at 100, while that of innovative enterprising institutes was pegged at 110.

Rodents Forced President Buhari To Work From Home – Garba Shehu

President Muhammadu Buhari will work from home after rodents damaged his official office during a more than 100-day overseas medical absence, a presidential spokesman told AFP Tuesday.

The rodents damaged furniture and air conditioning fittings in the president’s official Abuja office while he was in London receiving treatment, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu said.

“These are also general works and it is not uncommon for Nigerian presidents to also work from the presidential villa. He has used the residential office for many years,” said Shehu.

“What is important is that the job gets done. Whether he does it from his bedroom or his sitting room or his anteroom — it does not matter. Let the job be done. And the job will be done,” Shehu told the Arise News broadcaster.

Pig organs could soon be transplanted into humans

Piglets that were born after having their genes edited ... Pigs’ organs are similar in size to ours and they can be bred easily in large numbers

Gene editing creates virus-free piglets, advance moves animals closer to becoming organ donors for people 

Scientists have cleared a major barrier to transplanting organs from pigs into humans after removing threatening viruses from the animals' Deoxy ribonucleic Acid (DNA)/genetic material.

The new research opens up the possibility of breeding animals to harvest their organs to meet the demand for new tissue.

Some challenges, including major ethical objections still remain, but experts said the breakthrough is a significant step towards pig-to-man transplants, also known as xenotransplantation.

The shortage of organs for transplants is one of the biggest challenges to modern medicine, and the current supply of tissue meets only a tiny amount of the total demand, the authors said. But the ability to breed pigs specifically for that purpose would allow that to be easily addressed, since they have similar organs to ours and can be bred in large numbers.

In Africa, the five best universities are in South Africa — ARWU

Universities in Africa, the world’s second-largest and second-most-populous continent, may not be competing favourably with other institutions in the world as only five have been ranked among the top 500 academic institutions.

The five – University of Witwatersrand, University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University, University of Johannesburg and University of KwaZulu-Natal – are all based in South Africa.

US universities retained their dominance in the annual Chinese ranking of the world’s top academic institutions, with Harvard staying number one for the 15th straight year.

In a top 10, little changed from last year, Stanford held on to the second spot in the“Academic Ranking of World Universities” compiled by the independent Shanghai Ranking Consultancy, which has ranked the top 500 institutions each year since 2003.

China bans Christian summer camps and Sunday schools - Evangelical Focus

Chinese officials in Zhejiang province have issued orders to shut down Sunday schools and prevent Christian churches from holding events during the summer months.

"For a long time, teenagers and students have not been allowed to participate in religious activities", a local Christian surnamed Zhang said.

However, “the Three-Self Churches and house churches would usually hold summer camps during the summer vacation. But now the government has emphasized that even the Sunday schools would be closed down. The government's major intention is to shut down the Sunday schools", he added.

CHRISTIAN CAMPS ALSO BANNED IN HENAN PROVINCE

The orders came after another Chinese province banned Christian churches from organizing youth camps this summer.

Inspirational Quotes

Weak people revenge. Strong people forgive. Intelligent people ignore. – Albert Einstein

Weak people revenge. Strong people forgive. Intelligent people ignore. – Albert Einstein

A relationship is not based on the length of time you spent together; it’s based on the foundation you built together.

A relationship is not based on the length of time you spent together; it’s based on the foundation you built together.

Don’t feel bad if someone rejects you. People usually rejects expensive things because they can’t afford them.

Don’t feel bad if someone rejects you. People usually rejects expensive things because they can’t afford them.

Read more on Daily Inspirational Quotes.

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Modern slavery and trafficking 'in every UK town and city'

Modern slavery and human trafficking in the UK is "far more prevalent than previously thought," the National Crime Agency has said.

The NCA said there were more than 300 live policing operations currently, with cases affecting "every large town and city in the country".

The agency estimated that there were tens of thousands of victims.

It said previous estimates of 10,000-13,000 victims in the UK were found to be the "tip of the iceberg".

"The more we look, the more we find," the NCA's vulnerabilities director Will Kerr said.

Mr Kerr said he had been shocked by what he had seen during this year's intensive efforts to break up gangs, with almost every major operation triggering even more investigations.

He warned that trafficking into modern slavery was now so widespread that ordinary people would be unwittingly coming into contact with victims every day.

'Recognise concerns'

Saudi singer arrested for dabbing

The dance move is banned in the country due to perceived links to drug culture.

A popular singer has been arrested for "dabbing" during a concert in south-west Saudi Arabia.

Abdallah Al Shahani, a TV host, actor, and Saudi national, was performing the dance move, which involves a person tucking their head into the crook of their arm, at a music festival in the city of Taif at the weekend.

Dabbing is banned in the conservative country where authorities consider it a reference to narcotics culture.

A video of Mr Al Shahani's dab became popular on social

Thai granny completes university degree at 91

PANUMAS SANGUANWONG/BBC THAI

A 91-year-old woman from Thailand who says it's "never too late to study" has completed her bachelor's degree after more than 10 years of work. She spoke to Watchiranont Thongtep of the BBC's Thai service.

Kimlan Jinakul had always wanted to go to university but as a young girl simply did not have the opportunity.

But almost a lifetime later and after seeing most of her own children through university, she decided to enrol and on Wednesday finally picked up her degree.

Buhari’s aides holding him captive –Group

The #resumeOrResign protesters have accused aides of President Muhammadu Buhari of “holding him captive.”

They called on the President to demonstrate his” touted integrity” by resigning from office, saying he is “incapacitated and can no longer rule the country.”

The civil society coalition members reminded Buhari that he once asked late President Musa Yar’Adua to resign or be impeached when the latter was sick in 2010, stressing that he should toe the path of honour by doing so.

Speaking to journalists on the fourth day of their protest at the Unity Fountain, Maitama, Abuja on Thursday, the convener, Deji Adeyanju, said Buhari should leave office if he knew what integrity meant.

PHOTOS: Police lead pro-Buhari protesters to Villa

Photos: Olatunji Obasa

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[VIDEO] African migrants arrive Spanish beach, scatter before police arrive

A boat carrying dozens of African migrants landed on a Spanish beach in front of shocked holiday-makers.

Footage shows the migrants leaping out of a black inflatable dinghy (open boat with a mast and sails) and dashing across the sand on beaches at Cadiz in southern Spain, after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar.

The group managed to leave from the beach before the authorities arrived some time after.

The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon, with footage showing the boat coming up behind a man and a child taking a dip in the sea.

The migrants disperse hurriedly before police arrival.

As the boat pulls into shallow water, those on board leap out and run up the beach.

One onlooker asks in an astonished voice, ‘What’s going on?’

Herdsmen seek inclusion in FG’s health programmes

The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), has appealed to the Federal Government to include pastoralists in its health programmes to avoid transfer of diseases from humans to animals.

The National Secretary of the association, Alhaji Baba Ngelzarma, made the appeal while speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Thursday.

Ngelzarma who expressed regret over the neglect of the livestock sector, said that pastoralists were not usually considered  while designing government health programmes.

The national secretary said that the population of pastoralists and herdsmen across the country was over 30 million and should not be neglected in any government programme.

“Pastoralists do not benefit from government health programmes. Today, if they are sick, they only go to the patent medical stores in nearby communities to get treated.

Lassa fever: Lagos urges calm as three test positive

Officials confirmed yesterday three more cases of  Lassa fever in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial and business honeypot.

But the state government urged residents not to panic as it is on top of the situation.

Two persons infected with the disease have died at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH),  Idi-Araba. A resident doctor who participated in the autopsy on the cases got infected.

Yesterday, three of the 100 people being traced in connection with the treatment of the cases were declared positive after tests.

The three, like the doctor, are being treated at the hospital’s isolation ward.

Four people were quarantined for clinical analysis in Yobe State, according to Commissioner for Health  Dr Bello Kawuwa.