Formal Commissioning Of NESG Headquarters, Ikoyi.

My Ebola Story; Survival recounts Experience

This is the amazing story of Dr.Ada Igonoh,of First Consultants Hospital,Lagos.She was one of the health workers who came in contact with Liberian ,Patrick Sawyer and she has lived to tell her amazing story as shared by BellaNaija..It is long but worth the read.
On the night of Sunday July 20, 2014, Patrick Sawyer was wheeled into the Emergency Room at First Consultants Medical Centre, Obalende, Lagos, with complaints of fever and body weakness. The male doctor on call admitted him as a case of malaria and took a full history. Knowing that Mr Sawyer had recently arrived from Liberia, the doctor asked if he had been in contact with an Ebola patient in the last couple of weeks, and Mr. Sawyer denied any such contact. He also denied attending any funeral ceremony recently. Blood samples were taken for full blood count, malaria parasites, liver function test and other baseline investigations. He was admitted into a private room and started on antimalarial drugs and analgesics. That night, the full blood count result came back as normal and not indicative of infection.

The following day however, his condition worsened. He barely ate any of his meals. His liver function test result showed his liver enzymes were markedly elevated. We then took samples for HIV and hepatitis screening.

The following day however, his condition worsened. He barely ate any of his meals. His liver function test result showed his liver enzymes were markedly elevated. We then took samples for HIV and hepatitis screening.
At about 5.00pm, he requested to see a doctor. I was the doctor on call that night so I went in to see him. He was lying in bed with his intravenous (I.V.) fluid bag removed from its metal stand and placed beside him. He complained that he had stooled about five times that evening and that he wanted to use the bathroom again. I picked up the I.V. bag from his bed and hung it back on the stand. I told him I would inform a nurse to come and disconnect the I.V. so he could conveniently go to the bathroom. I walked out of his room and went straight to the nurses’ station where I told the nurse on duty to disconnect his I.V. I then informed my Consultant, Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh about the patient’s condition and she asked that he be placed on some medications.

The following day, the results for HIV and hepatitis screening came out negative. As we were preparing for the early morning ward rounds, I was approached by an ECOWAS official who informed me that Patrick Sawyer had to catch an 11 o’clock flight to Calabar for a retreat that morning. He wanted to know if it would be possible. I told him it wasn’t, as he was acutely ill. Dr. Adadevoh also told him the patient could certainly not leave the hospital in his condition. She then instructed me to write very boldly on his chart that on no account should Patrick Sawyer be allowed out of the hospital premises without the permission of Dr. Ohiaeri, our Chief Medical Consultant. All nurses and doctors were duly informed.

During our early morning ward round with Dr. Adadevoh, we concluded that this was not malaria and that the patient needed to be screened for Ebola Viral Disease. She immediately started calling laboratories to find out where the test could be carried out. She was eventually referred to Professor Omilabu of the LUTH Virology Reference Lab in Idi-Araba whom she called immediately. Prof. Omilabu told her to send blood and urine samples to LUTH straight away. She tried to reach the Lagos State Commissioner for Health but was unable to contact him at the time. She also put calls across to officials of the Federal Ministry of Health and National Centre for Disease Control.

Dr. Adadevoh at this time was in a pensive mood. Patrick Sawyer was now a suspected case of Ebola, perhaps the first in the country. He was quarantined, and strict barrier nursing was applied with all the precautionary measures we could muster. Dr. Adadevoh went online, downloaded information on Ebola and printed copies which were distributed to the nurses, doctors and ward maids. Blood and urine samples were sent to LUTH that morning. Protective gear, gloves, shoe covers and facemasks were provided for the staff. A wooden barricade was placed at the entrance of the door to keep visitors and unauthorized personnel away from the patient.
Despite the medications prescribed earlier, the vomiting and diarrhea persisted. The fever escalated from 38c to 40c.

On the morning of Wednesday 23rd July, the tests carried out in LUTH showed a signal for Ebola. Samples were then sent to Dakar, Senegal for a confirmatory test. Dr. Adadevoh went for several meetings with the Lagos State Ministry of Health. Thereafter, officials from Lagos State came to inspect the hospital and the protective measures we had put in place.
The following day, Thursday 24th July, I was again on call. At about 10.00pm Mr. Sawyer requested to see me. I went into the newly created dressing room, donned my protective gear and went in to see him. He had not been cooperating with the nurses and had refused any additional treatment. He sounded confused and said he received a call from Liberia asking for a detailed medical report to be sent to them. He also said he had to travel back to Liberia on a 5.00am flight the following morning and that he didn’t want to miss his flight. I told him that I would inform Dr. Adadevoh. As I was leaving the room, I met Dr. Adadevoh dressed in her protective gear along with a nurse and another doctor. They went into his room to have a discussion with him and as I heard later to reset his I.V. line which he had deliberately removed after my visit to his room.

At 6:30am, Friday 25th July, I got a call from the nurse that Patrick Sawyer was completely unresponsive. Again I put on the protective gear and headed to his room. I found him slumped in the bathroom. I examined him and observed that there was no respiratory movement. I felt for his pulse; it was absent. We had lost him. It was I who certified Patrick Sawyer dead. I informed Dr. Adadevoh immediately and she instructed that no one was to be allowed to go into his room for any reason at all. Later that day, officials from W.H.O came and took his body away. The test in Dakar later came out positive for Zaire strain of the Ebola virus. We now had the first official case of Ebola virus disease in Nigeria.

It was a sobering day. We all began to go over all that happened in the last few days, wondering just how much physical contact we had individually made with Patrick Sawyer. Every patient on admission was discharged that day and decontamination began in the hospital. 
We were now managing a crisis situation. The next day, Saturday 26th July, all staff of First Consultants attended a meeting with Prof. Nasidi of the National Centre for Disease Control, Prof Omilabu of LUTH Virology Reference Lab, and some officials of W.H.O. They congratulated us on the actions we had taken and enlightened us further about the Ebola Virus Disease. They said we were going to be grouped into high risk and low risk categories based on our individual level of exposure to Patrick Sawyer, the “index” case. Each person would receive a temperature chart and a thermometer to record temperatures in the morning and night for the next 21 days. We were all officially under surveillance. We were asked to report to them at the first sign of a fever for further blood tests to be done. We were reassured that we would all be given adequate care. The anxiety in the air was palpable.

The frenetic pace of life in Lagos, coupled with the demanding nature of my job as a doctor, means that I occasionally need a change of environment. As such, one week before Patrick Sawyer died, I had gone to my parents’ home for a retreat. I was still staying with them when I received my temperature chart and thermometer on Tuesday 29th of July. I could not contain my anxiety. People were talking Ebola everywhere – on television, online, everywhere. I soon started experiencing joint and muscle aches and a sore throat, which I quickly attributed to stress and anxiety. I decided to take malaria tablets. I also started taking antibiotics for the sore throat. The first couple of temperature readings were normal. Every day I would attempt to recall the period Patrick Sawyer was on admission – just how much direct and indirect contact did I have with him? I reassured myself that my contact with him was quite minimal. I completed the anti-malarials but the aches and pains persisted. I had loss of appetite and felt very tired.

On Friday 1st of August, my temperature read a high 38.7c. As I type this, I recall the anxiety I felt that morning. I could not believe what I saw on the thermometer. I ran to my mother’s room and told her. I did not go to work that day. I cautiously started using a separate set of utensils and cups from the ones my family members were using.
On Saturday 2nd of August, the fever worsened. It was now at 39c and would not be reduced by taking paracetamol. This was now my second day of fever. I couldn’t eat. The sore throat was getting worse. That was when I called the helpline and an ambulance was sent with W.H.O doctors who came and took a sample of my blood. Later that day, I started stooling and vomiting. I stayed away from my family. I started washing my plates and spoons myself. My parents meanwhile, were convinced that I could not have Ebola.

The following day, Sunday 3rd of August, I got a call from one of the doctors who came to take my sample the day before. He told me that the sample which was they had taken was not confirmatory, and that they needed another sample. He did not sound very coherent and I became worried. They came with the ambulance that afternoon and told me that I had to go with them to Yaba. I was confused. Couldn’t the second sample be taken in the ambulance like the previous one? He said a better-qualified person at the Yaba centre would take the sample. I asked if they would bring me back. He said “yes.” Even with the symptoms I did not believe I had Ebola. After all, my contact with Sawyer was minimal. I only touched his I.V. fluid bag just that once without gloves. The only time I actually touched him was when I checked his pulse and confirmed him dead, and I wore double gloves and felt adequately protected.

I told my parents I had to go with the officials to Yaba and that I would be back that evening. I wore a white top and a pair of jeans, and I put my iPad and phones in my bag.
A man opened the ambulance door for me and moved away from me rather swiftly. Strange behavior, I thought. They were friendly with me the day before, but that day, not so. No pleasantries, no smiles. I looked up and saw my mother watching through her bedroom window.
We soon got to Yaba. I really had no clue where I was. I knew it was a hospital. I was left alone in the back of the ambulance for over four hours. My mind was in a whirl. I didn’t know what to think. I was offered food to eat but I could barely eat the rice.

The ambulance door opened and a Caucasian gentleman approached me but kept a little distance. He said to me, “I have to inform you that your blood tested positive for Ebola. I am sorry.” I had no reaction. I think I must have been in shock. He then told me to open my mouth and he looked at my tongue. He said it was the typical Ebola tongue. I took out my mirror from my bag and took a look and I was shocked at what I saw. My whole tongue had a white coating, looked furry and had a long, deep ridge right in the middle. I then started to look at my whole body, searching for Ebola rashes and other signs as we had been recently instructed. I called my mother immediately and said, “Mummy, they said I have Ebola, but don’t worry, I will survive it. Please, go and lock my room now; don’t let anyone inside and don’t touch anything.” She was silent. I cut the line.

I was taken to the female ward. I was shocked at the environment. It looked like an abandoned building. I suspected it had not been in use for quite a while. As I walked in, I immediately recognized one of the ward maids from our hospital. She always had a smile for me but not this time. She was ill and she looked it. She had been stooling a lot too. I soon settled into my corner and looked around the room. It smelled of faeces and vomit. It also had a characteristic Ebola smell to which I became accustomed. Dinner was served – rice and stew. The pepper stung my mouth and tongue. I dropped the spoon. No dinner that night.

Dr. David, the Caucasian man who had met me at the ambulance on my arrival, came in wearing his full protective ‘hazmat’ suit and goggles. It was fascinating seeing one live. I had only seen them online. He brought bottles of water and ORS, the oral fluid therapy which he dropped by my bedside. He told me that 90 percent of the treatment depended on me. He said I had to drink at least 4.5 litres of ORS daily to replace fluids lost in stooling and vomiting. I told him I had stooled three times earlier and taken Imodium tablets to stop the stooling. He said it was not advisable, as the virus would replicate the more inside of me. It was better he said to let it out. He said good night and left.

My parents called. My uncle called. My husband called crying. He could not believe the news. My parents had informed him, as I didn’t even know how to break the news to him.
As I lay on my bed in that isolation ward, strangely, I did not fear for my life. I was confident that I would leave that ward some day. There was an inner sense of calm. I did not for a second think I would be consumed by the disease. That evening, the symptoms fully kicked in. I was stooling almost every two hours. The toilets did not flush so I had to fetch water in a bucket from the bathroom each time I used the toilet. I then placed another bucket beneath my bed for the vomiting.
On occasion I would run to the toilet with a bottle of ORS, so that as I was stooling, I was drinking.

The next day Monday 4th of August, I began to notice red rashes on my skin particularly on my arms. I had developed sores all over my mouth. My head was pounding so badly. The sore throat was so severe I could not eat. I could only drink the ORS. I took paracetamol for the pain. The ward maid across from me wasn’t doing so well. She had stopped speaking. I couldn’t even brush my teeth; the sores in my mouth were so bad. This was a battle for my life but I was determined I would not die.

Every morning, I began the day with reading and meditating on Psalm 91. The sanitary condition in the ward left much to be desired. The whole Ebola thing had caught everyone by surprise. Lagos State Ministry of Health was doing its best to contain the situation but competent hands were few. The sheets were not changed for days. The floor was stained with greenish vomitus and excrement. Dr. David would come in once or twice a day and help clean up the ward after chatting with us. He was the only doctor who attended to us. There was no one else at that time. The matrons would leave our food outside the door; we had to go get the food ourselves. They hardly entered in the initial days. Everyone was being careful. This was all so new. I could understand, was this not how we ourselves had contracted the disease? Mosquitoes were our roommates until they brought us mosquito nets.
Later that evening, Dr. David brought another lady into the ward. I recognized her immediately as Justina Ejelonu, a nurse who had started working at First Consultants on the 21st of July, a day after Patrick Saywer was admitted. She was on duty on the day Patrick reported that he was stooling. While she was attending to him that night, he had yanked off his drip, letting his blood flow almost like a tap onto her hands. Justina was pregnant and was brought into our ward bleeding from a suspected miscarriage. She had been told she was there only on observation. The news that she had contracted Ebola was broken to her the following day after results of her blood test came out positive. Justina was devastated and wept profusely – she had contracted Ebola on her first day at work.
My husband started visiting but was not allowed to come close to me. He could only see me from a window at a distance. He visited so many times. It was he who brought me a change of clothes and toiletries and other things I needed because I had not even packed a bag. I was grateful I was not with him at home when I fell ill or he would most certainly have contracted the disease. My retreat at my parents’ home turned out to be the instrumentality God used to shield and save him.

I drank the ORS fluid like my life depended on it. Then I got a call from my pastor. He had been informed about my predicament. He called me every single day morning and night and would pray with me over the phone. He later sent me a CD player, CDs of messages on faith and healing, and Holy Communion packs through my husband. My pastor, who also happens to be a medical doctor, encouraged me to monitor how many times I had stooled and vomited each day and how many bottles of ORS I had consumed. We would then discuss the disease and pray together. He asked me to do my research on Ebola since I had my iPad with me and told me that he was also doing his study. He wanted us to use all relevant information on Ebola to our advantage. So I researched and found out all I could about the strange disease that has been in existence for 38 years. My research, my faith, my positive view of life, the extended times of prayer, study and listening to encouraging messages boosted my belief that I would survive the Ebola scourge.

There are five strains of the virus and the deadliest of them is the Zaire strain, which was what I had. But that did not matter. I believed I would overcome even the deadliest of strains. Infected patients who succumb to the disease usually die between 6 to 16 days after the onset of the disease from multiple organ failure and shock caused by dehydration. I was counting the days and keeping myself well hydrated. I didn’t intend to die in that ward.

My research gave me ammunition. I read that as soon as the virus gets into the body, it begins to replicate really fast. It enters the blood cells, destroys them and uses those same blood cells to aggressively invade other organs where they further multiply. Ideally, the body’s immune system should immediately mount up a response by producing antibodies to fight the virus. If the person is strong enough, and that strength is sustained long enough for the immune system to kill off the viruses, the patient is likely to survive. If the virus replicates faster than the antibodies can handle however, further damage is done to the organs. Ebola can be likened to a multi-level, multi-organ attack but I had no intention of letting the deadly virus destroy my system. I drank more ORS. I remember saying to myself repeatedly, “I am a survivor, I am a survivor.”
I also found out that a patient with Ebola cannot be re-infected and they cannot relapse back into the disease as there is some immunity conferred on survivors. My pastor and I would discuss these findings, interpret them as it related to my situation and pray together. I looked forward to his calls. They were times of encouragement and strengthening. I continued to meditate on the Word of God. It was my daily bread.
Shortly after Justina came into the ward, the ward maid, Mrs Ukoh passed on. The disease had gotten into her central nervous system. We stared at her lifeless body in shock. It was a whole 12 hours before officials of W.H.O came and took her body away. The ward had become the house of death. The whole area surrounding her bed was disinfected with bleach. Her mattress was taken and burned.

To contain the frequent diarrhea, I had started wearing adult diapers, as running to the toilet was no longer convenient for me. The indignity was quite overwhelming, but I did not have a choice. My faith was being severely tested. The situation was desperate enough to break anyone psychologically. Dr. Ohiaeri also called us day and night, enquiring about our health and the progress we were making. He sent provisions, extra drugs, vitamins, Lucozade, towels, tissue paper; everything we needed to be more comfortable in that dark hole we found ourselves. Some of my male colleagues had also been admitted to the male ward two rooms away, but there was no interaction with them.
We were saddened by the news that Jato, the ECOWAS protocol officer to Patrick Sawyer who had also tested positive, had passed on days after he was admitted.

Two more females joined us in the ward; a nurse from our hospital and a patient from another hospital. The mood in the ward was solemn. There were times we would be awakened by the sudden, loud cry from one of the women. It was either from fear, pain mixed with the distress or just the sheer oppression of our isolation.

I kept encouraging myself. This could not be the end for me. Five days after I was admitted, the vomiting stopped. A day after that, the diarrhea ceased. I was overwhelmed with joy. It happened at a time I thought I could no longer stand the ORS. Drinking that fluid had stretched my endurance greatly.
I knew countless numbers of people were praying for me. Prayer meetings were being held on my behalf. My family was praying day and night. Text messages of prayers flooded my phones from family members and friends. I was encouraged to press on. With the encouragement I was receiving I began to encourage the others in the ward. We decided to speak life and focus on the positive. I then graduated from drinking only the ORS fluid to eating only bananas, to drinking pap and then bland foods. Just when I thought I had the victory, I suddenly developed a severe fever. The initial fever had subsided four days after I was admitted, and then suddenly it showed up again. I thought it was the Ebola. I enquired from Dr. David who said fever was sometimes the last thing to go, but he expressed surprise that it had stopped only to come back on again. I was perplexed.

I discussed it with my pastor who said it could be a separate pathology and possibly a symptom of malaria. He promised he would research if indeed this was Ebola or something else. That night as I stared at the dirty ceiling, I felt a strong impression that the new fever I had developed was not as a result of Ebola but malaria. I was relieved. The following morning, Dr. Ohiaeri sent me antimalarial medication which I took for three days. Before the end of the treatment, the fever had disappeared.

I began to think about my mother. She was under surveillance along with my other family members. I was worried. She had touched my sweat. I couldn’t get the thought off my mind. I prayed for her. Hours later on Twitter I came across a tweet by W.H.O saying that the sweat of an Ebola patient cannot transmit the virus at the early stage of the infection. The sweat could only transmit it at the late stage.
That settled it for me. It calmed the storms that were raging within me concerning my parents. I knew right away it was divine guidance that caused me to see that tweet. I could cope with having Ebola, but I was not prepared to deal with a member of my family contracting it from me.

Soon, volunteer doctors started coming to help Dr. David take care of us. They had learned how to protect themselves. Among the volunteer doctors was Dr. Badmus, my consultant in LUTH during my housemanship days. It was good to see a familiar face among the care-givers. I soon understood the important role these brave volunteers were playing. As they increased in number, so did the number of shifts increase and subsequently the number of times the patients could access a doctor in one day. This allowed for more frequent patient monitoring and treatment. It also reduced care-giver fatigue. It was clear that Lagos State was working hard to contain the crisis
Sadly, Justina succumbed to the disease on the 12th of August. It was a great blow and my faith was greatly shaken as a result. I commenced daily Bible study with the other two female patients and we would encourage one another to stay positive in our outlook though in the natural it was grim and very depressing. My communion sessions with the other women were very special moments for us all.
On my 10th day in the ward, the doctors having noted that I had stopped vomiting and stooling and was no longer running a fever, decided it was time to take my blood sample to test if the virus had cleared from my system. They took the sample and told me that I shouldn’t be worried if it comes out positive as the virus takes a while before it is cleared completely. I prayed that I didn’t want any more samples collected from me. I wanted that to be the first and last sample to be tested for the absence of the virus in my system. I called my pastor. He encouraged me and we prayed again about the test.

On the evening of the day Justina passed on, we were moved to the new isolation centre. We felt like we were leaving hell and going to heaven.
We were conveyed to the new place in an ambulance. It was just behind the old building. Time would not permit me to recount the drama involved with the dynamics of our relocation. It was like a script from a science fiction movie. The new building was cleaner and much better than the old building. Towels and nightwear were provided on each bed. The environment was serene.

The following night, Dr. Adadevoh was moved to our isolation ward from her private room where she had previously been receiving treatment. She had also tested positive for Ebola and was now in a coma. She was receiving I.V. fluids and oxygen support and was being monitored closely by the W.H.O doctors. We all hoped and prayed that she would come out of it. It was so difficult seeing her in that state. I could not bear it. She was my consultant, my boss, my teacher and my mentor. She was the imperial lady of First Consultants, full of passion, energy and competence. I imagined she would wake up soon and see that she was surrounded by her First Consultants family but sadly it was not to be.
I continued listening to my healing messages. They gave me life. I literarily played them hours on end. Two days later, on Saturday the 16th of August, the W.H.O doctors came with some papers. I was informed that the result of my blood test was negative for Ebola virus. If I could somersault, I would have but my joints were still slightly painful. I was free to go home after being in isolation for exactly 14 days. I was so full of thanks and praise to God. I called my mother to get fresh clothes and slippers and come pick me. My husband couldn’t stop shouting when I called him. He was completely overwhelmed with joy.
I was told however that I could not leave the ward with anything I came in with. I glanced one last time at my cd player, my valuable messages, my research assistant a.k.a my iPad, my phones and other items. I remember saying to myself, “I have life; I can always replace these items.”

I went for a chlorine bath, which was necessary to disinfect my skin from my head to my toes. It felt like I was being baptized into a new life as Dr. Carolina, a W.H.O doctor from Argentina poured the bucket of chlorinated water all over me. I wore a new set of clothes, following the strict instructions that no part of the clothes must touch the floor and the walls. Dr. Carolina looked on, making sure I did as instructed.

I was led out of the bathroom and straight to the lawn to be united with my family, but first I had to cut the red ribbon that served as a barrier. It was a symbolic expression of my freedom. Everyone cheered and clapped. It was a little but very important ceremony for me. I was free from Ebola! I hugged my family as one who had been liberated after many years of incarceration. I was like someone who had fought death face to face and come back to the land of the living.

We had to pass through several stations of disinfection before we reached the car. Bleach and chlorinated water were sprayed on everyone’s legs at each station. As we made our way to the car, we walked past the old isolation building. I could hardly recognize it. I could not believe I slept in that building for 10 days. I was free! Free of Ebola. Free to live again. Free to interact with humanity again. Free from the sentence of death.

My parents and two brothers were under surveillance for 21 days and they completed the surveillance successfully. None of them came down with a fever. The house had been disinfected by Lagos State Ministry of Health soon after I was taken to the isolation centre. I thank God for shielding them from the plague.
My recovery after discharge has been gradual but progressive. I thank God for the support of family and friends. I remember my colleagues who we lost in this battle. Dr. Adadevoh my boss, Nurse Justina Ejelonu, and the ward maid, Mrs. Ukoh were heroines who lost their lives in the cause to protect Nigeria. They will never be forgotten.
I commend the dedication of the W.H.O doctors, Dr. David from Virginia, USA, who tried several times to convince me to specialize in infectious diseases, Dr. Carolina from Argentina who spoke so calmly and encouragingly, Mr. Mauricio from Italy who always offered me apples and gave us novels to read. I especially thank the volunteer Nigerian doctors, matrons and cleaners who risked their lives to take care of us. I must also commend the Lagos State government, and the state and federal ministries of health for their swift efforts to contain the virus. To all those prayed for me, I cannot thank you enough. And to my First Consultants family, I say a heartfelt thank you for your dedication and for your support throughout this very difficult period.

I still believe in miracles. None of us in the isolation ward was given any experimental drugs or so-called immune boosters. I was full of faith yet pragmatic enough to consume as much ORS as I could even when I wanted to give up and throw the bottles away. I researched on the disease extensively and read accounts of the survivors. I believed that even if the mortality rate was 99%, I would be part of the 1% who survive.

Early detection and reporting to hospital is key to patient survival. Please do not hide yourself if you have been in contact with an Ebola patient and have developed the symptoms. Regardless of any grim stories one may have heard about the treatment of patients in the isolation centre, it is still better to be in the isolation ward with specialist care, than at home where you and others will be at risk.

I read that Dr. Kent Brantly, the American doctor who contracted Ebola in Liberia and was flown out to the United States for treatment was being criticized for attributing his healing to God when he was given the experimental drug, Zmapp. I don’t claim to have all the answers to the nagging questions of life. Why do some die and some survive? Why do bad things happen to good people? Where is God in the midst of pain and suffering? Where does science end and God begin? These are issues we may never fully comprehend on this side of eternity. All I know is that I walked through the valley of the shadow of death and came out unscathed.

Gangnam hits 2 billion views

Gangnam hits two billion views

By Rick Kelsey

Newsbeat reporter

Psy is the first million single selling Asian music star in the UK
The video for Gangnam Style has become the first YouTube video to be watched more than two billion times.

The hit by the South Korean rapper Psy from July 2012 sparked a worldwide dance craze.

Only Justin Bieber's video for the track Baby, with one billion YouTube hits, comes anywhere near Gangnam Style's global appeal on the site.

Psy's horse-dance has led to numerous tributes and parodies by everyone from Ban Ki Moon to prisoners in a Philippine jail.

His follow up song Gentleman also did well on YouTube, so far picking up almost 700 million views.

Gentlemen also holds the record for the most views in a day with 38 million.

After Justin Beiber a video called Charlie bit my finger - again! is a distant third with 711 million views on YouTube.

In total Psy has three of the top 15 videos on the site.

Inspiration Fm finest Celebrates her birthday.

Fans of the station no doubt would readily agree that Thelma Ilems has a very unique news presentation style and a great voice. The delta state born mother of two, joined the rest of the world to celebrate May day in a different way with the cutting of her birthday cake. Yeah! she is a May 1st baby. So we are wishing her  lots more celebration in all ramifications of life.
Happy birthday Thelma Ilems.

Forty-eight Prisoners pass GCE.

These days when young people with so much freedom would hardly make sense of examinations, forty-eight inmates of Ikoyi Maximum Security Prison have passed their GCE.

The Deputy Comptroller of Prisons, Mr. Emmanuel Bamidele has disclosed. He said the inmates secured enough credits to gain admission into any university.

Since more people tend to pass their exams from prison yard, I think its high-time we threw the prison door opened to those who want to pass their exam o!

Anyway, Congratulation to these inmate and I hope they grant them freedom soon for doing the warders proud.

Teenager hides gun in her Vagina

A teenager had a loaded handgun hidden in her vagina when she was arrested for driving with a suspended licence, police say. Dallas J. Archer, was being searched when a female correction officer detected ‘an unknown item in her crotch’, according to a police report. The 19-year-old, from Kingsport, Tennessee, was found to be concealing a stolen 22-calibre mini-revolver after being arrested when her mother claimed to have been assaulted on April 21. A police check revealed the handgun, which is four inches in length, was stolen from a car in 2013. Its 70-year-old owner, John Souther, told The Smoking Gun he would like the ‘little fellow returned’, but added the weapon would require ‘a bath in bleach’. Ms Archer was charged with gun possession and introducing contraband into a penal facility. She has been released on bail.

21 Year Old Dies After Collision With Jeep Whilst Trying To Reply A Whatsapp Message!!

According to Deustch Magazine RuhrNachricten This happened in February but they are just reporting it because the message is timeless and will serve as a warning to those of you who are guilty of what killed this young woman.

According to the report filed as cause of her death....''It was just a short moment that ended her life.She was driving and received a Whats app message and in that moment she looked at her phone or probably tried to reply and took off her gaze off the road,she missed seeing a Jeep and had a head on collision with it.

The passengers of the Landrover, a man and his wife suffered severe life threatening injuries and had to be airlifted to the Hospital.

They are presently out of danger list..

*please put your phone on silent when driving,i know how many people i call/who call me from Nigeria and they always say ''oh i am driving....''.

Many missing as S Korea ferry sinks

Almost 300 people remain unaccounted for after a ferry carrying 459 people capsized and sank off South Korea.

The ferry, carrying mainly school students, was travelling from the port of Incheon, in the north-west, to the southern resort island of Jeju.

Emergency teams are using floodlights and flares to search the stricken vessel through the night. Those rescued have been taken to a nearby island.

Four people are now said to have died and dozens of others have been hurt.

South Korean officials had earlier said that 368 people had been plucked to safety, but later said there had been a counting error.

They have now revised down the number rescued to 174.

Images showed the ferry listing at a severe angle and then later almost completely submerged, with only a small part of its hull visible. It sank within two hours of sending a distress signal, reports said.

There are fears this could turn out to be South Korea's biggest maritime disaster for more than 20 years, says the BBC's Martin Patience in Seoul.

Cause unclear

Several coast guard, military and commercial vessels were involved in the rescue effort, which unfolded rapidly on Wednesday morning.

Pictures from the scene showed rescue teams balanced on the sinking hull pulling teenagers from cabin windows. Some of their classmates jumped into the sea as the ship went down.

Reports suggest some of those rescued were picked up by nearby commercial vessels.

The US Navy has sent an amphibious assault ship, the USS Bonhomme Richard, to assist with the search, officials say.

Military and civilian ships and helicopters have been searching for survivors

Reports said the ship capsized and sank within a period of two hours
Teams of navy divers were now searching the scene for those unaccounted for, officials said, but the work was challenging.

"There is so much mud in the sea water and the visibility is very low," said Lee Gyeong-og, vice-minister of security and public administration.

One body, of a female crew member, had been recovered from the ship, the coastguard said. Another person, a male high school student, died after being rescued.

One student told local media her friends became trapped.

"Currently, I am in the middle of being rescued. At the time, the ship was turning on its side, and none of us were moving as we were told not to move as it was dangerous," the unnamed student said.

Sulai Aledeh the Superfly's birthday bash.

Lavish is not enough word to describe the birthday bash for the Superfly when he hosted his friends, colleagues and family members at the prestigious Wheatbaker hotels in ikoyi. The event had all the trappings of an A-list show and was well attended even though it was strictly by invitation, lest I forget, the menu was simply out of this world. We wish Sulai a happy fortieth birthday.  God bless you bro!

Cameron Diaz sexually attracted to women?

The 41-year-old actress - who has dated Jared Leto and Justin Timberlake in the past - believes it's ''natural'' to appreciate the ''beauty'' of other ladies and to feel some form of sexual desire towards them from time to time.
She said: ''I think women are beautiful - absolutely beautiful.
''And I think that all women have been sexually attracted to another woman at some point. It's natural to have a connectivity and an appreciation for the beauty of other women.''
Meanwhile, the American actress admits she prefers dating British men because of their hilarious sense of humour, but she can be instantly turned off someone if they're ignorant and douse themselves in too much cologne.
When asked what her biggest turn-off is, she told the May issue of Glamour magazine: ''Being rude. I don't have any patience with that. Oh, and too much cologne - that's something I can't do.
''Hygiene's not a bad thing, either, so that's quite high on the list. But basically I love a sense of humour because that's what tells you how smart a man is.
''I love British humour and British men.'

Did she deserve to be starved to death?

A court in Qatar has sentenced an American couple to three years in prison over the death of their eight-year-old adopted daughter.

The judge did not specify the exact charges of which they were convicted.
But prosecutors had accused Matthew and Grace Huang of fatally starving their daughter Gloria, originally from Ghana, so that they could harvest her organs.

The couple said it was "ridiculous" and that Gloria died from complications related to an eating disorder.

At 84, he wants to kill me with sex

A 69-year-old housewife, Mrs Simbiatu Oduntan, today told an Orile Agege Customary Court in Lagos that her husband, Alhaji Mustairu Oduntan, 84, wanted to divorce her because she refused him sex. Simbiatu, a trader, who lives with her husband at 3, Olaleye St., Orile Agege, told the court that the 45-year-old marriage had witnessed ups and downs. “The main reason my husband wants to leave me is because I refused to satisfy his demands for sex. “I have lost the urge for sex. My thinking is not towards that direction again; but my husband still wants sex. “I have told him to get another wife,’’ she said. The mother of four children, aged between 18 years and 25 years, told the court that she supported her husband’s request for dissolution of the marriage. The court president, Mr Adegboyega Omilola, told the couple to maintain the peace, and adjourned the case till May 15 for judgment.

Gwyneth Paltrow & Chris Martin Split After 10 Years of Marriage

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin are going their separate ways after 11 years of marriage.

“It is with hearts full of sadness that we have decided to separate. We have been working hard for well over a year, some of it together, some of it separated, to see what might have been possible between us, and we have come to the conclusion that while we love each other very much we will remain separate,” the 41-year-old actress and the 37-year-old singer wrote on her website.

The couple added, “We are, however, and always will be a family, and in many ways we are closer than we have ever been. We are parents first and foremost, to two incredibly wonderful children and we ask for their and our space and privacy to be respected at this difficult time. We have always conducted our relationship privately, and we hope that as we consciously uncouple and coparent, we will be able to continue in the same manner.”

Gwyneth and Chris tied the knot in December 2003 and that they have two children – Apple,9, and Moses, 7.

Pharell endorses Hillary Clinton for Presidency

Pharrell Williams leaves his famous hat at home on the cover of GQ magazine’s April 2014 issue.

Here’s what the 40-year-old entertainer had to share with the mag:

On his Oscars snub: “Well, trust me: when they read the results, my face was…frozen. But then I thought about it, and I just decided just to…let it go.”

On Hillary Clinton being the next president of the US: “Let me tell you why Hillary’s going to win. Everywhere you go in this country, you have red and blue. You got the Democrats; you got the Republicans. You got the Bloods; you got the Crips. You know what else is red and blue? Blood. Blood is blue in your body until air hits it, and then it turns red. That means there’s unity. There’s gonna be unity. So when you think about a night where there’s late-night talk-show hosts and it’s mostly women, that’s a different world. Right? A world where 75 percent of the prime ministers and the presidents were women: that’s a different world. That’s gonna happen, and it’s gonna happen when Hillary wins. Because you know what? No matter how staunch of a supporter you are of no-abortion, whatever you are: you’re a woman, and there’s no way in the world you’re going to vote for somebody that’s going to try to tell you what to do with your body. Hillary’s gonna win. Listen, I’m reaching out to her right now. She’s gonna win.”

On his hat: “Anything different, people are going to look at and go, ‘Ha ha ha ha, what is that??’ Then, after a while, they do a little bit of research; they realize it’s Vivienne Westwood, an ode to her boyfriend at the time; they had a store together called World’s End. The guy who went on to sign the Sex Pistols, Malcolm McLaren.”

China families vent plane fury

The BBC's Celia Hatton: "We're witnessing a very rare street protest in Beijing"
Angry relatives of passengers on board the missing Malaysia Airlines plane have clashed with police outside Malaysia's embassy in the Chinese capital, Beijing.

It came after Malaysian PM Najib Razak said a new analysis of satellite data showed the plane had ended its journey in remote seas south-west of Australia.

China has asked to see the data on which Malaysia's conclusion was based.

The search for missing flight MH370 has been suspended because of bad weather.

A multinational search effort has focused on seas some 2,500km (1,500 miles) to the south-west of the Australian city of Perth.

Flight MH370 disappeared on 8 March as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It was carrying a total of 239 people, including 153 Chinese nationals.

In Beijing, relatives of passengers on board the plane released a statement accusing the Malaysian government of trying to "delay, distort and hide the truth".

Dozens of them then left their Beijing hotel on a protest bound for the Malaysian embassy, carrying banners asking Kuala Lumpur to be truthful with the relatives.

Police stopped their buses from leaving, so they left the buses and walked there themselves, with scuffles then erupting outside the diplomatic mission.

The protesters threw water bottles at the embassy and tried to storm the building, demanding to meet the ambassador.

There was a heavy police presence at the embassy, and there was a brief scuffle between police and a group of relatives who tried to approach journalists, according to the Associated Press news agency.

The families also appear to be becoming more critical of the Chinese authorities themselves, the BBC's Celia Hatton reports from Beijing.

While some defended the authorities, other relatives shouted slogans denouncing the Chinese government as "corrupt", she reports.

Final signal

The protest in Beijing came a day after the Malaysian leader said it had to be concluded "with deep sadness and regret" that according to new data "flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean".

Mr Najib said the conclusion the plane was lost was based on new satellite analysis by British firm Inmarsat and information from the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

But Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Xie Hangsheng issued a statement saying: "We demand the Malaysian side state the detailed evidence that leads them to this judgement, as well as supply all the relevant information and evidence about the satellite data analysis.

"The search and rescue work cannot stop now. We demand the Malaysian side continue to finish all the work including search and rescue."

Acting Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has revealed that the latest analysis of satellite data included a final electronic signal that was still being investigated.

"There is evidence of a partial handshake between the aircraft and ground station at 0019 UTC (GMT)," he told a news conference on Tuesday. "At this time, this transmission is not understood and is subject to further ongoing work."

He said that as a result of the latest analysis, the area of search operations had been narrowed from 2.24m sq nautical miles to 469,407 sq nautical miles, and an international working group had now been convened to try to further narrow the search area.

Operations in the "northern corridor" - one of two large areas where the plane might have ended its journey - had been completely called off to concentrate on the southern part of the "southern corridor" in the Indian Ocean west of Perth, he added.

Temitayo drops new single

The much talked about single "Roll out the Carpet" of Temitayo (2nd runner-up) at the first Edition of West African idols has dropped The single which celebrates the people who make it possible for artistes like Temitayo to keep rising is the production of Multi-talented Producer 'TheorySound' and Mixed/Mastered by UK based Nigerian top producer JiffTheGeneral. Temitayo in a chat says this year is gonna be special for fans of good music. She currently has a video for one of her songs "In Your hands" trending on most Tv stations, she believes her new single "Roll out the carpet" is a Masterpiece and will be received as highly inspirational and as such will gain much recognition and accolades in the media and music industry.  The beautiful, energetic and sensational vocalist was quick to add that "With God on my side and the support of good and special people who believe in me, I will succeed". So watch out for me! Its my time"

Roll Out the Carpet by @IAM_TEMITAYO drops ! Download link here http://www.datafilehost.com/d/4b34fa5c

kanye West faces punishment.

Kanye West has been sentenced to 2years probation and 250 hours community service after the attack on a photographer at Los Angeles Airport in 2013, E! News reports.

Kanye pled no contest to one count of misdemeanor battery yesterday in response to videographer Daniel Ramos lawsuit against him. Kanye attacked Ramos at LAX airport in August last year as the paparazzo tried to take photos of him

Minus the two year probation and community service, Kanye is also required to complete 24 sessions of a level-2 anger management program and he must turn himself in to the LAPD for a formal booking. Kanye agreed to all this to make the case disappear from his record

Nigerian conman jailed for duping an 81-year-old.

A 40 year old Nigerian Chris Chidi Dinneya has been jailed for three and a half years for duping an 81 year old pensioner from Cambridge of £300,000 out of his life savings. Dinneya told the old man, who was not named publicly, that he had won the Spanish Lottery and the victim believed that he was set to receive a large payout that he continued to pay even after police launched an investigation. 

Police and a County Council were forced to apply for a court order to take control of the elderly victim's bank accounts to prevent him from sending more cash to the fraudster.

A number of the payments was traced to Dinneya who was promptly arrested. He was convicted on money laundering charges and jailed for a total of three-and-a-half years on March 4.

See who Temitayo is" rolling out the Carpet" for

The much talked about single "Roll out the Carpet" of Temitayo (2nd runner-up) at the first Edition of West African idols is set to drop on Tuesday 18th March, 2014. The single which celebrates the people who make it possible for artistes like Temitayo to keep rising is the production of Multi-talented Producer 'TheorySound' and Mixed/Mastered by UK based Nigerian top producer JiffTheGeneral. Temitayo in a chat says this year is gonna be special for fans of good music. She currently has a video for one of her songs "In Your hands" trending on most Tv stations, she believes her new single "Roll out the carpet" is a Masterpiece and will be received as highly inspirational and as such will gain much recognition and accolades in the media and music industry.  The beautiful, energetic and sensational vocalist was quick to add that "With God on my side and the support of good and special people who believe in me, I will succeed". So watch out for me! Its my time"

Katy P and Miley dirty tongue feud

We thought Katy Perry kissed a girl and she “liked it”? However, it seems the “Dark Horse” singer is going back on her words after a lip-lock with Miley Cyrus.

Miley planted a kiss on Katy during a concert recently, and Katy seemed to be OK with it at the time. However, in an interview Down Under, the 29-year-old threw a little shade at the “Adore You” singer and her famous tongue.

“I just walked up to her to give her like a friendly girly kiss, you know, as girls do, and then she like tried to move her head and go deeper and I pulled away. God knows where that tongue has been. We don’t know! That tongue is so infamous!” Katy said.

PHOTOS: Miley Cyrus - The Early Years

On Thursday, Miley hit back at the low blow with an even lower blow of her own.

“Girl if ur worried abt where tongues have been good thing ur ex boo is ur EX BOO cause we ALL know where THAT [tongue] been,” Miley Tweeted on Thursday. (No word on if she was referring to Katy’s ex-husband Russell Brand, or recent ex-boyfriend John Mayer.)

Scarlett Johanson is Pregnant

Just six months after getting engaged, Scarlett Johansson has more happy news to share — she’s pregnant!

The Her star, 29, is expecting her first child with fiancé Romain Dauriac, PEOPLE confirms.

“I’m very happy,” Johansson, 29, told PEOPLE in January of Dauriac, 31, a French journalist who manages a creative agency. “He’s my buddy.”

“Being engaged is an exciting time to enjoy and to really savor,” she added.

Still, the actress — who was spotted wearing her vintage Art Deco ring back in September while promoting her sci-fi movie Under the Skin at the Venice International Film Festival —  said she was in no rush to walk down the aisle.

Ellen's selfie breaks twitter's records.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Is this the year the "selfie" stole the Oscars?

A self-portrait of host Ellen DeGeneres and stars including Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper taken during Hollywood's annual Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday quickly became the most shared photo ever on Twitter.

"We got an email from Twitter and we crashed and broke Twitter. We have made history," DeGeneres said shortly after access to the social media site was disrupted due to sharing of her star-studded picture.

Kevin Spacey, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and new Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o, also crowded into the picture, which was snapped by Cooper after DeGeneres mingled with stars seated in the audience.

"I've never tweeted before!" Streep, a three-time Oscar winner, gushed after Cooper snapped the photo with a mobile device.

DeGeneres shared the selfie via her Twitter feed https://twitter.com/TheEllenShow/status/440322224407314432/photo/1.

It was shared, or retweeted, more than 2 million times in some two hours during the broadcast of the 86th annual Academy Awards.

The photo surpassed the record set by U.S. President Barack Obama's "Four More Years" re-election victory shot. The picture of Obama hugging first lady Michelle Obama on election night in 2012 has been retweeted more than 780,000 times.

Other widely shared photos from Sunday's Oscars included a DeGeneres selfie with Liza Minnelli, taken after the host made a biting comment about the appearance of the veteran actress and Broadway star.

A separate photo taken by a member of the audience showed Minnelli trying to get into DeGeneres' now famous Oscar selfie.

Top longest Celebrity Marriages

Longest Celebrity Marriages

We often hear of fast and fleeting celebrity marriages, but it would be really nice to mention some of the longest celebrity marriages. Maybe you call me old fashioned, but I think that marriage is special and we need to know more examples of people treating it so. That’s why I decided to compile a list of some of the longest celebrity marriages. These stars prove that not all celebrity marriages last for a short time and family is something they greatly appreciate. Read on and see what secrets you can learn from these famously-in-love couples!

1. Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks

Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks have been married since 1988, and that is nearly 25 years! With a marriage over two decades long, they’re thought of by lots of people as the perfect celebrity couple in the world. Rita and Tom have two sons, Truman and Chester, and Tom also has two children from his first marriage, Colin and Elizabeth.

Love is still in bloom for this couple, and it’s obvious to everyone! Once Rita Wilson told Piers Morgan in the interview that Tom had said to her that she never has to change anything about herself in order to be with him. It is so gorgeous, isn’t it?

2. Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn

Russell and Hawn first met when Goldie was 21 and Kurt was 16 before reconnecting on the set of Swing Shift in 1983. Even though not officially married, Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn have been together for more than 25 years and they are still going strong. Goldie’s daughter Kate Hudson considers Kurt Russell as her dad; even though he isn’t her biological father, he has often accompanied Kate to premiers and supported her work. They also have a 26-year-old son, Wyatt.

3. Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker

Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker have been married since 1997 and have 3 kids together. With 15 years of marriage behind them, this is certainly one of the best and longest celebrity marriages.

Sarah and Matthew are a bright example of how to succeed in Hollywood as popular movie stars while managing a loving household at the same time. But they say that money cannot buy happiness, so there should be something else that has made this celebrity couple so unique.

6. Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon

Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon have been married for over 22 years. Kevin Bacon is certainly connected to his wife. Recently he shared his secret to a long, happy marriage, saying “I think you have got to keep fights clean and sex dirty.”

I was born in a car...Eva Alordiah

Nigerian rap sensation Eva Alordiah while lounging on Metro 97.7fm disclosed that she was born in a car while on the way to the hospital. Eva who is isoko  from delta state named Elohor due to the ease of her birth was seriously on top of her game while hosting the two-hour long programme which had hosted loads of celebrities including Don jazzy, Niyola, Praiz etc. She also revealed how well she loved the sciences while in FGGC. The Computer science graduate of Bowen University also revealed that her love for drawing influenced her choice of course of study and her make-up ability.

Miley's love for nudity sparks a hook-up

Miley Cyrus is twerking her way into Jared Leto’s heart and pants.

According to Life & Style, In Touch and Us Weekly, Hannah Montana and Jordan Catalano have been getting hot and heavy in recent weeks and have apparently bonded over their love of wearing as little clothing as possible.

Apparently, sparks flew at the Clive Davis pre-Grammy party where the odd couple was seen catching up in a corner and have been “hooking up” ever since.
The mags report Cyrus is so smitten with the Oscar nominee and Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman, she can’t stop gushing to friends about her recent sleepover.

“They’ve known each other for a while,” a source told Us.

“They like to have a good time, they love to talk about art and music -- and they’re both comfortable with nudity.”

Just ask photog Terry Richardson, who's shot them both in the buff.

But the 42-year-old rocker isn’t planning on settling down anytime soon, telling PEOPLE the idea of marriage is the farthest thing from his mind: “Right now, I think about what’s in front of me. I love the work.”

Cyrus, who called it quits with fiancé Liam Hemsworth last September, isn’t looking for longterm either... or for a guy to impress her with fancy dinners and trips. TV dinners on the couch will do just fine.

"I don’t need you to impress me. I don’t want you to, like, take me to fancy restaurants. I hate sitting down for dinner!” she told W. “You don’t have to do that to me! You don’t have to take me on trips! I literally just want to chill here [at home]!

“That’s why I’m, like, not trying to jump into a relationship. I love my music so much, and I love what I’m doing so much that that has become my other half -- rather than another person

Jennifer Aniston may be mean Mom

It was 10 years ago that Mean Girls found success mining the endless psychological cruelty of high schoolers for laughs and lessons. That was based on Rosalind Wiseman’s book and, in 2010, New Line looked to her work again, announcing Mean Moms. It’s been bubbling away in development ever since, and finally seems to be moving, with word that Jennifer Aniston is in talks.

Mean Moms, which adapts Wiseman’s tome Queen Bee Moms And King Pin Dads: Dealing With The Parents, Teachers, Coaches, and Counsellors Who Can Make – Or Break – Your Child’s Future, is not a sequel to Girls, but explores some similar territory. If Aniston makes a deal, she’ll play a happily married mother of two who moves from a pleasant small town to the high-powered suburbs, where competitive parenting is a gladiatorial sport.

Adam Shankman is on board to produce, but doesn’t appear to be directing at the moment. Aniston has certainly been on a sharp comedy run of late, with Horrible Bosses and We’re The Millers both proving successful. She’s got more comedy coming up, with a role in the Bosses sequel (out November 28) and Peter Bogdanovich’s Squirrels To The Nuts.

Rihanna to cut down on Smoking Pot.

Rihanna is reportedly keen to cut back on smoking marijuana,

The Bajan born singer celebrated her 26th birthday yesterday, and sources close to the pop star say that she's now focusing on being "healthy and happy".

Rihanna has always been open about her feelings towards the drug, and has previously posted pictures on Twitter showing her with giant rolled up cigarettes with the hashtag "legalizeit (sic)".

"Simply put, she wants to be healthy and happy. She loves blowing fire but said she's going to drastically cut back or even quit smoking,' an insider revealed to HollywoodLife.com. 'She knows she blazes every day and while it's not going to kill her, it's not the healthiest thing for her. So she's trying to quit a bit. But don't worry; she's still going to be sexy with a banging body. She's just going to feel a lot better.'

Rihanna is currently gracing the front cover of Vogue's March issue, flaunting her toned and enviable physique.

Drake, who Rihanna has been romantically linked to in the past, is said to have gotten in touch with the We Found Love singer to wish her a happy birthday.

"Drake gave her a shout-out. He hit her up, asked how she's doing and how she feels on her 26th. She said, 'I'm good, Pa, thank you and much love to you.' He didn't want to keep her too long because he knows she's enjoying herself with friends," the source added.

Reports have surfaced that the pair have once again grown close, and it was even rumoured that Drake sent Rihanna a bouquet of white roses and champagne on Valentine's Day

Christina Aguilera is Pregnant

Christina Aguilera is pregnant.

“The Voice” coach and fiance Matt Rutler are expecting their first child together – Christina’s second – Access Hollywood has learned from a source.

In Touch Weekly claimed to have spoken with Matt’s mom, Kathleen Rutler, who seemed to hint at the news.

PHOTOS: Hot Shots Of Christina Aguilera

“I don’t know what their plans are,” Kathleen Rutler reportedly told In ChrTouch Weekly, when the mag asked if the couple might move to the East coast. “But when you have a baby, you’re not planning on moving anywhere anytime soon!”

Christina announced her engagement to Matt on Valentine’s Day, Tweeting, “He asked and I said……”

PHOTOS: Hollywood’s Hottest Moms & Their Lovable Little Ones

Her Tweet was accompanied by a photo of their two hands together (with a giant sparkler on her ring finger).

Christina is mom to son Max, 6, with ex-husband Jordan Bratman. The pair finalized their divorce in 2011.

Two Koreas hold family reunions.

Two Koreas hold family reunions

Hundreds of North and South Korean relatives are seeing each other for the first time in decades, at a reunion for families separated by the Korean War.

More than 100 mostly elderly South Koreans arrived in the North on Thursday for the event.

The reunions, which come after North Korea called for better relations between the two sides, will take place from 20 to 25 February.

They come ahead of planned US-South Korea drills, which begin on Monday.

North Korea had earlier threatened to cancel the reunions if the military exercises went ahead.

Emotional scenes

On Thursday, 82 elderly South Koreans, accompanied by 58 family members, left for North Korea by bus.

More than a dozen of them were in wheelchairs, and two travelled in ambulances as they needed medical attention, AFP news agency reported.

They carried gifts, including clothing, medicine and food for their relatives.

They met their North Korea relatives at an emotional event in the North's Mount Kumgang resort on Thursday afternoon. The families are also scheduled to have dinner together.

Around 180 North Koreans attended the reunion, reports said.

'A true miracle'

One of those selected for the reunions was South Korean Lee Du-young, who is in his late 70s.

"It's hard for people to understand what it's like when you've been separated so long," he told the BBC before he left for the North.

"But it's a true miracle; I'm so elated. All that was missing in my life was my brother, and now that I can see him again, I'd have no regrets whatsoever if I were to die tomorrow."

He said that as well as warm clothing, he would buy his brother chocolate biscuits because he heard they were sought-after treats in North Korea.

The reunions are brief events. Families from both sides meet for a number of hours, before eventually returning to their respective homes.

Only 100 or so relatives are chosen to take part each time. South Korea uses a lottery system to help determine who is to be included.

The process in North Korea, on the other hand, is more opaque, with critics saying Pyongyang plays politics with the families involved.

North Korea has in the past cancelled the reunions after the South took actions it opposed - most recently in September.

The South Korean relatives were briefed before the reunions and were told not to talk about politics.

Many people were separated from their relatives by the division of the Korean peninsula after the 1950-1953 war.

The Korean War ended in a ceasefire, not a peace treaty, and there are no direct means of communication for most North and South Koreans.

About 72,000 South Koreans are on a waiting list to join the family reunion events. Nearly half of them are over 80.

The reunions are the only legal way for families separated by the division of the country to see each other, the BBC's Lucy Williamson reports from the southern side of the Korean border.

They are a small but significant sign of better relations between the two Koreas, but for many of those not chosen this time, the benefits they offer are slow to arrive, our correspondent adds.
The programme was suspended in 2010 due to altercation that arose between both countries.

Ali Baba becomes Chairman

ALIBABA BECOMES CHAIRMAN OF THE CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA ADVISORY BOARD

The Creative Entrepreneurs Association of Nigeria, a Not for Profit Business Development Service Provider for the Nigerian Creative Industry has inaugurated her Advisory Board.
Alibaba Akporobome is Chairman, while Chief Mrs Nike Okundaye is Vice Chairman. Others include Bashorun Dele Momodu, Steve Ayorinde, Joke Silva-Jacobs, Tosan Jemide, Kenny Ogungbe, Olisa Adibua and Steve Babaeko  amongst others.
The inaugural meeting and election which took place recently confirmed Alibaba to head the Board
He embraced the comedy business with passion since late 1980’s, Akporobome has literally changed the face of the industry in Nigeria. Indeed, he pioneered and took the comedy business to a new and unprecedented height. He not only made joke-making fashionable and profitable but set the pace for a new generation of humourists in the country that have come behind him.
Due to his immense contributions towards taking the comedy business in Nigeria to a greater height he is respected by the new generation of comedians who see him as their role model. In recognition of his clout in the industry, his colleagues recently honoured him with the distinguished title of Grand Comedian of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, G.C.F.R.
CEAN, which currently mentors over 200 entrepreneurs and creative minds monthly in Lagos and Abuja said each of the Board members brings unique perspective and direction, as well as invaluable experience from actively participating in the creative industry," said Wale Ewedemi, Director General of Creative Entrepreneur Association of Nigeria.
Ewedemi confirmed that the new Board members met CEAN's requirement and that the Board reflects the composition of the various sub sectoral enterprises that make up the creative industry. The new Board members' terms begins with immediate effect.
CEAN believes that it is critical for representatives from the different sub sectors of the Creative Industries in Nigeria have opportunity to provide input and service on this Board. All Board members come highly recommended as persons with respected knowledge and experience.
By serving on this committee, they have the opportunity to guide and make valuable suggestions to develop the Nigerian Creative Industry

Woman gives birth to Stone.

Amina Bello, 25-year old woman in Yolde  Pate in Yola South LGA of Adamawa State, on Tuesday, delivered a sizable stone. Bello narrated her story at the opening ceremony of  Vesico vaginal fistula (VVF) free medical treatment in Yola Specialists Hospital. Bello, who is also a VVF patient, told the gathering that after four years pregnancy, she finally delivered a sizable stone last year.
 
Telegraphng.com reports
"I was holding a pregnancy for the duration of four years, which I bitterly suffered because of the heavy weight of what is contained in the stomach,” she said. “It was last year around June, I started feeling labour and I was in that condition for three days and finally I delivered a stone.”
She said that it was after the delivery she now discovered that she was affected with VVF. Responding, Dr Sunday Lengmang, Director VVF Centre, Jos, confirmed that giving birth to a stone or any object was possible.
Lengmang was in Yola to attain to the VVF patients for the duration of one week .
“Stones and other solid objects can form in a human body in different cases,” he said. “Stones can form in a gall bladder, urinary  bladder and other several  parts of urinary tracks.”

The medical expert explained that why VVF  patients were prone to giving birth to stones or any solid object was because they drink less water to reduce urine leakage.

He said as a result of taking less water their urine become concentrated.

“Inside urine, there is salt, sodium and chlorine, and when the urine becomes concentrated, the salt becomes crystallised and finally forms itself and later ends up as stone,” he said.
Lengmang confirmed that three VVF patients had stones in their placentas and they would undergo surgery.
He said the size of the stones uncovered from the three women was six by seven and three by four centimetres.

Lengmang advised VVF patients to drink more water instead of taking less to prevent them from risk of having stones.