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Celebrity Couple Banky W And Adesua Etomi Recount How They Lost Twins To Miscarriage

Nigerian celebrity couple Banky W and Adesua Etomi have both recounted their experience after they lost their twins to miscarriage.

The music star and his award-winning actress wife made this known during an episode of The Waterbrook series.

“So we got pregnant and we got pregnant with twins. And we had gone for the scans, we had seen the heartbeats. At this point very few people knew what happened,” Adesua said.

“Every report that you have heard was a lie because nobody knew what happened. So during a routine checkup, we went back to the hospital to have a scan and I just saw the doctor’s face…you know when something is wrong, sometimes you can tell.”

“She was scanning and scanning and I was like what’s wrong and she said ‘oh nothing’ and I looked at the nurse’s face and asked what’s wrong and she said ‘Adesua’ I’m looking for the heartbeats and I said ‘for the two of them?’.”

The movie star recounted how she collapsed immediately after she got home from the hospital.

“So I went home and I remember Banky not being at that time and I remember collapsing on the floor wailing. Wailing is different from crying, it’s like a deep groin in your chest. I’m sharing because many women go through this and nobody talks about it because it is almost like a thing of shame for whatever reason and I don’t know why,” she added.

“So we said we were going to pray over the weekend and go back for the scan on Tuesday or Monday can’t remember now, hoping that God would do something.”

Banky W goes on to narrate how the heartbeats of their twins not only stopped but started shrinking and how they lost the babies.

“Monday or Tuesday came and we went for the scan, not only did we not see heartbeats but the embryos were shrinking, they were decaying. When we found out we were losing them and we needed to do an evacuation, it was a very emotional time for her,” he said.

The couple talked about how they planned on adopting or even surrogacy at some point.

Etomi revealed how their family pastor told them to give it six months. This was followed by several dreams and visions of them carrying their baby.

Months after prayers, Adesua revealed that she found out that she was pregnant and all she said as she looked at the positive pregnancy stick was ”Olubankole God has done it.”

The couple welcomed their first child in early 2021.

Russia Extends Twitter Slowdown Over Banned Content Until Mid-May

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Russia said on Monday it would extend a punitive slowdown of Twitter until May 15 though it acknowledged the U.S. social media company had speeded up deletion of banned content.

Moscow has traditionally taken a more hands-off role in policing the internet than neighbouring China. But as friction has grown this year over the arrest and jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, it has signalled a tougher line.

Russia has since March impeded the speed of Twitter for not removing content it deems illegal, and threatened to block it entirely. Photos and videos take longer to load for some users.

However, in a statement on Monday, state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said Twitter had held talks with Russian authorities on April 1, resulting in an agreement to give it more time and a recognition that banned content was being deleted quicker.

Twitter confirmed the talks with Russia.

It was a productive discussion about how we can both work to ensure that reports of such illegal content are dealt with expeditiously,” it said in a statement.

Roskomnadzor said that on average, Twitter was removing illegal content within 81 hours of receiving a request. That is still much longer than the 24 hours demanded in law.

Russian authorities have accused Twitter and others this year of failing to delete posts that Moscow said illegally urged children to take part in anti-Kremlin protests.

Roskomnadzor says it wants Twitter to delete content that contains child pornography, drug abuse information and calls for minors to commit suicide.

Twitter denies allowing its platform to be used to promote illegal behaviour, says its has a zero-tolerance policy for child sexual exploitation, and prohibits the promotion of suicide or self-harm.

After Russia announced the move to slow down its traffic, Twitter said it was worried about the impact on free speech.

As well as Russia, major social media companies have been embroiled in an increasing number of disputes around the globe as governments seek to curb their power.

The Weeknd Donates $1 Million To Relief Efforts In Ethiopia

The Weeknd is set to donate $1 million to help Ethiopians amid violence in the country. The Canadian popstar, whose real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, the son of two Ethiopian immigrants, announced on Sunday that the donation is to provide food aid to Ethiopia, where an ongoing conflict between the government and the Tigray region has resulted in thousands of deaths and over a million displaced people.

“My heart breaks for my people of Ethiopia as innocent civilians ranging from small children to the elderly are being senselessly murdered and entire villages are being displaced out of fear and destruction,” The Weeknd wrote on Instagram on Sunday

“I will be donating $1 million to provide 2 million meals through the United Nations World Food Program and encourage those who can to please give as well,” he said providing a link for his fans to contribute.

“The outbreak of conflict in Tigray last November coincided with the peak harvest period, leading to lost employment and incomes, disrupted markets, a rise in food prices, and limited access to cash and fuel,” the U.N. World Food Programme said, adding that they aim “to support 1.4 million of these vulnerable people before it’s too late.”

In June 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, the Weeknd donated $1 million in Covid-19 relief, with $500,000 going to MusiCares and $500,000 to an Ontario, Canada hospital. Two months later, Tesfaye also gave $300,000 to a fund helping those impacted by the devastating explosion in Beirut, Lebanon.

The Weeknd is among the world’s best-selling music artists with over 75 million records sold. He has won three Grammy Awards, five American Music Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, and nine Juno Awards, and has been nominated for an Academy Award.

Taiwan’s transport minister To Resign After catastrophic train crash

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Taiwan’s transport minister has resigned after he and the manager of a construction site accepted responsibility for a catastrophic train crash when a truck slid onto rail tracks.

Lin Chia-lung, in a statement on his Facebook page, said he would step down once the initial rescue work had come to an end, accepting full responsibility”.

Officials are investigating the manager of the construction site, Lee Yi-hsiang, whose truck is suspected of not having its brakes properly applied.

Lee in a statement was also apologising for what happened while equally accepting responsibility as police took him away from his residence

A Hualien court has reportedly ordered that Lee be detained for two months, saying there was a risk he may destroy evidence having being suspected of causing death by negligence

The accident is the Island’s worst in decades when a packed express train carrying almost 500 passengers and crew slammed into the truck near the eastern city of Hualien on Friday, causing it to derail and the front part to crumple.

50 people have been confirmed dead while workers are continuing to remove the train from inside the tunnel and look for other bodies, with officials warning that the death toll could go up or down as they verify identities.

The Transport Ministry and the rail administration that comes under it are facing a number of questions, including why there was no proper fencing at the site and whether too many standing-only tickets were sold for the train journey.

Ethiopia Says Eritrean Troops Have ‘Started To Evacuate’ Tigray

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Ethiopia has announced that military troops from neighboring Eritrea have started to evacuate the conflict-hit Tigray region situated between the two African states.

This comes Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed finally acknowledging their presence amid mounting reports of massacres and widespread sexual violence.

However, residents of some Tigray cities and towns have continued to report the presence of Eritrean soldiers in recent days.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have accused Eritrean troops of massacring hundreds of people in the Tigrayan town of Axum in November.

The G7 group of leading nations had also called for their rapid withdrawal.

Abiy sent troops into Tigray in November, a move he said came in response to TPLF-orchestrated attacks on federal army camp.

Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich Smashes Half Marathon World Record

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Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich on Sunday smashed the women’s half marathon world record in a time of one hour four minutes and two seconds in Istanbul.

The marathon world champion took out almost half a minute off the previous best mark of 1hr 4:31 set by Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh in February 2020 in the United Arab Emirates.

Chepngetich, aged 26, and who won the race for a third time after 2017 and 2019, was followed across the line in Turkey by Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw (1hr 4:40) with Kenya’s Hellen Obiri third in 1hr 4:51.

Another Ethiopian, Ababel Yeshaneh, was the previous world record holder after clocking 1:04:31 at the RAK Half Marathon in Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates in February last year.

Third place went to two-time world 5,000 metres champion Hellen Obiri, with the Kenyan Olympic silver medallist finishing in 1:04:51 in her first half marathon.

This was the quickest debut time ever over the distance, while the race was also the first to see three women finishing inside 65 minutes.

Chepngetich’s winning time was quicker than the 1:04:28 run by Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei at the Great North Run in England in 2019.

Also, World record-holder Kibiwott Kandie won the men’s race in a course record of 59min 35sec.

Japan And Germany To Hold First ‘2 Plus 2’ Dialogue Talks

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The foreign and Defence ministers of Japan and Germany will hold a “2 plus 2” virtual dialogue in mid-April.

This comes in the wake of China taking an increasingly aggressive foreign policy approach in the Indo-Pacific region.

On Monday, The daily Yomiuri reported that the ‘2 plus 2’ talks will be the first among the two countries, and they are expected to discuss ways to defence and a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The reports say the two parties are looking to speak on April 16, although the exact date has so far not been confirmed.

Tokyo already has similar pacts with the United States and Australia.

Last September, Germany drew up diplomatic and trade guidelines for the Indo-Pacific region to try and reverse course from its heavy focus on China and boost its security presence in Asia.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reached a broad agreement on an information protection pact with then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during her visit to Japan in February 2019.

Angola Celebrates 19 Years Of Peace, End Of Armed Conflicts

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Angola has commemorated 19 years of peace and the end of long-armed conflicts when the Country signed the peace and national reconciliation agreements.

On April 4 2002, the Angolan government and the main opposition party UNITA put an end to 27 years of war with this iconic deal.

The signing of the peace agreement on April 4 2002 was preceded by several negotiations — including the Bicesse agreement signed in Portugal on May 31 in 1991, and the Lusaka protocol signed on November 20 in 1994.

Celebrated across the country, this year the main event, also a national public holiday, took place in Cabinda province and was led by the Vice President of the Republic of Angola Bornito de Sousa.

Addressing the Angolan population Bornito de Sousa said after the Country’s National Independence on November 11, 1975, peace is certainly the greatest achievement of the Angolan people.

After long years of destruction of lives and economic and social infrastructure and the diversion of

He said thousands of young people promote the construction and development of Angola, valuing the benefits of peace and political and social stability.

In Luanda, several figures connected to the central government and diplomatic corps attended the raising of the flag and the laying of a wreath at the Monumento do Soldado Desconhecido, on the waterfront in the capital city.

India Leads With Over 25 Billion Digital Transactions In 2020

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India has witnessed the highest number of real-time online transactions in 2020, trumping China and United States with at least 25.5 billion real-time transactions.

That record is followed by 15.7 billion in China, 6 billion in South Korea, 5.2 billion in Thailand, followed by the United Kingdom with 2.8 billion transactions.

The United States barely made it to the top 10, staying at number 9 nine with 1.2 billion transactions.

Based on a report released by ACI Worldwide, a UK-based payments system company, India’s volume share was 15.6 per cent For instant payments while for other electronic payments, it stood at 22.9 per cent,.

Even then, paper-based payments remain important in India, with a 61.4 per cent share.

But there are projections that this will change by 2025 with Instant payments volume set to increase to over 37 per cent, while the share of other electronic payments is likely to grow to over 34 per cent.

As a result, the share of paper-based transactions is set to decline below 28 per cent. Real-time payments’ share is expected to exceed 50 per cent by 2024.

Pre-Paid Instruments (PPI) and the Universal Payment Interface (UPI) have helped make digitisation mainstream in India with UPI transactions continuing to grow in the country on a month-on-month basis.

“Same coach, different players” – Jose Mourinho

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Tottenham leading and then dropping points has become a bit of a habit this season but, according to manager Jose Mourinho, it is not his fault.

The 58-year-old has earned a reputation as a master tactician and defensive-minded coach, but his Spurs side have now lost 15 points from winning positions this campaign after Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Newcastle.

Tottenham fell behind at St James’ Park through Joelinton’s precise finish, but Harry Kane’s double put them ahead, before on-loan Arsenal midfielder Joe Willock pounced on a loose ball to earn Newcastle a point with an 85th-minute strike.

So, who is to blame for letting leads slip?

“Same coach, different players,” was Mourinho’s response when reporters pointed out his teams are usually good at defending leads.

The latest setback saw them miss out on climbing back into the top four – and a Champions League qualification spot – for the first time since 2 January, after Chelsea’s defeat by West Brom.

Eleven of those 15 dropped points have been lost in the final 10 minutes of games – the most of any side in the Premier League – while the north London side have also failed to win six games in which they led at half-time, again the most in the league.

So how does that compare with Mourinho’s time at other Premier League clubs?

His side only need to drop one more point from a winning position for it to be the worst season in that regard – with his 2014-15 Chelsea side also dropping 15 points.

During his initial three-year spell at Stamford Bridge, which covered 120 games, he only dropped 14 points from winning positions. His Manchester United side dropped 18 in just over two seasons.

Asked if he has more work to do with Spurs’ players, Mourinho said: “I don’t think so. We work well, we work hard.

“But there are mistakes which I probably shouldn’t even call mistakes because they are related to qualities that players have.

“Looking at the second goal, it’s easy to understand because there’s three different moments – the cross, the ball at the far post where they won it, and then the ball in the face of the goal where our two centre-backs were in position. You can analyse it easily.”

And speaking to Match of the Day, Mourinho added: “It’s not just about the defensive mistakes that lead to goals. We have situations where we have the ball and I know already the ball is going to end with [keeper] Hugo Lloris.

“That’s the way we sometimes create instability to ourselves.”