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Vatican Says It Will Not Bless Same-Sex Unions. ‘God Cant Bless Sin’

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The Vatican, in a statement released on Monday has declared that they will not bless same-sex unions as it was a choice and could not be objectively ordered to Gods plans.

This is a stance certain to disappoint the homosexual community an its “friends” who had for some reason hoped that a “faith-based” organisation like the Vatican would approve

The Vatican’s top doctrinal office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith wrote in their statement that “The blessing of homosexual unions cannot be considered licit. God does not and cannot bless sin,”

The Vatican said that previous statements where it said that “Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable over it. What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered.” have been repeatedly taken out of context and did not indicate a change in doctrine.

This statement is said to have been approved by the “reformist” pope much to the disappointment of Catholics who had hoped the institution would modernize its approach to homosexuality but the church’s insists that marriage should be limited to a union between a man and a woman.

In the Vatican’s view, same-sex marriages are not part of God’s plan for families and raising children.

Three dead, 284 hospitalised as strange disease hits Kano

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Three persons have been confirmed dead following the outbreak of a strange disease suspected to be caused by food poisoning in Kano.

Kano State Ministry of Health confirmed the death of three and hospitalization of more than 284 affected individuals after intake of an expired flavoured powder juice in the state metropolis.

While giving an update, the State Commissioner of Health, Dr Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa, confirmed that no fewer than 284 were hospitalised following the outbreak of the strange disease, which broke out five days ago in the Kano metropolis.

According to the commissioner, the expired flavoured juice powder has affected residents in 13 local government areas in 10 days after the index case, a 6-year-old girl died of the foodborne disease.

The Kano health commissioner noted that 183 persons are currently receiving medical care at various health facilities in the state.

Aminu Tsanyawa said the state government had since instituted the execution of proactive measures against the menace through surveillance, sensitization and public enlightenment.

The official said the health ministry officials are currently in a meeting with the commissioner on the issue.

“I’m currently with the commissioner of Health, so, call me later so that I can give you an update and details on the issue,” the director said.

However, a reliable source in the ministry told our correspondent on the condition of anonymity that no fewer than 200 affected persons are currently receiving medical attention at various health facilities in the state.

“The ministry has designated about eight facilities for the treatment of the infected persons following the rising number of cases,” the source said.

He said based on statistics gathered, the affected people contracted the strange disease across three local government areas of the state.

Read Also: FG urges Nigerians to be vigilant, says it can’t secure every school in the country

He said in an effort to promptly address the challenge, the Ministry for Health taskforce had so far seized items that caused the outbreak of the disease worth over N59 million.

He, however, disclosed that samples of the affected patients had been taken and sent to Abuja for analysis.

According to him, the affected victims are currently receiving medical attention at three health facilities, including Murtala Mohammad Specialist Hospital Kano, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, and Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital among others.

Following the outbreak of the disease, the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control had since collected water samples and flavour products for laboratory analysis in its laboratory in Kaduna.

Tensions Spread Amidst Sudan And Ethiopia Border Clashes

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Tensions seem to be spreading over fertile farmland between Sudan and Ethiopia which is said to be fueling regional clashes and sparking concerns of an even wider conflict.

The said border dispute which is over a decade old has to do with Ethiopian farmers cultivating land which Sudan claims is theirs. But the fall out is now stoking more tensions over Ethiopia’s Blue Nile mega-dam, which Sudan and Egypt consider a threat to their water supply.

There has also been a fallout from unrest in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, with tens of thousands of refugees having fled into Sudan.

The agricultural area, Al-Fashaqa which covers some 12,000 square kilometres, is sandwiched between two rivers, where Ethiopia’s northern Amhara and Tigray regions meet Sudan’s eastern Gedaref state.

According to an expert on the region Alex de Waal, a professor at Tufts University in the US, the international boundary runs east of Al-Fashaqa, meaning the land belongs to Sudan, according to colonial-era treaties from 1902 and 1907.

However, over the years, thousands of Ethiopian farmers have entered the region and settled in the area to cultivate land during the rainy season and paying taxes to Ethiopian authorities.

Brazil To Appoint Fourth Health Minister Since Start Of Covid-19 Pandemic

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Brazil’s President, Jair Bolsonaro says he will be appointing a new health minister, Marcelo Queiroga, a cardiologist, who will be replacing army officer General Eduardo Pazuello.

The appointment will be the fourth since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and follows reports of the number of Covid-19-related deaths in Brazil approaches 280,000.

Speaking in an address at the Alvorada presidential palace on Monday, Bolsonaro said the transition process should take one or two weeks adding that his administration would begin a more aggressive phase regarding the fight against the virus.

Outgoing Health Minister, Gen Pazuello who was appointed as health minister in May had earlier told reporters that the president was seeking to replace him to streamline the ministry.

The Health response on Covid-19 has generally been criticised with Gen Pazuello as well as his predecessors being accused of downplaying the gravity of the virus According to local reports Infections have continued to surge, made worse by more contagious variants. In addition to that, Brazil’s health systems are said to be overrun with intensive care units almost at full capacity in 15 state capitals

Hollywood: Viola Davis Makes History, Gets Fourth Oscar Nomination

Viola Davis just reached a four-midable milestone. She received her fourth Oscar nomination on Monday, setting a record for the most acting nominations for a Black actress, according to Netflix.

Davis, who won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for “Fences” in 2017, was tied with Octavia Spencer, with three nominations, until her name was called for the Best Actress category Monday as the title character in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” That also makes her the first Black woman to earn two Best Actress nominations, said Netflix, which released the screen adaptation of the August Wilson play.

Whoopi Goldberg is the only other female Black actor with multiple nods, winning Best Supporting Actress for “Ghost” in 1991 after a Best Actress nomination for “The Color Purple” in 1986, Entertainment Weekly noted.

Davis has repeatedly called out the racial divide in Hollywood. Her “pay me what I’m worth” plea for equality at a 2018 Women in the World once again went viral last summer.

Both Davis and her late “Ma Rainey’s” co-star Chadwick Boseman will be chasing history in the Best Actress and Best Actor categories.

The last (and only) Black Best Actress winner was Halle Berry for “Monster’s Ball” in 2002. The last for the men was Forest Whitaker for “The Last King of Scotland” in 2007.

Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2021: Nigeria’s comedy star Emanuella Wins Big

Nigeria’s comedy star, Emanuella Samuel, known as Emanuella has won the Nickelodeon Kid Choice Awards 2021 in the ‘Favorite African Social Media Star’ category.

Emanuella emerged winner in the “Favourite African Social Media Star” category at Nickelodeons Kids Choice Awards by public voting.

She was nominated alongside Nigerian comedy group, Ikorodu Bois, South African Magician, Wian Van Den Berg; Ugandan Youth Dance Group, Ghetto Kids, Kenyan social media sensation, Elsa Majimbo, and South African media personality, Bonang Matheba.

She showed her appreciation to her fans in a post on Instagram, she wrote:

Congratulations to me as I won the Favourite African Social Media Star category at the Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards 2021. I am so happy to be a winner, thank you! To all my fans out there, I say thank you. To all those who voted for me, I love you so much, this win would not have been possible without you.

Emanuella Samuel was just five years old and on a family holiday when she partook in a comedy skit that would shoot her to stardom and win her four international awards.

In the skit titled, “My Real Face,” she deformed her face to avoid the wrath of the headmistress and her daughter.

Her catchphrase “This Is Not My Real Face Oh” quickly became a household slang and a source of fascination for the kid whose actions and words defied her age.

Emanuella’s daring yet hilarious actions evoked laughter and curiosity as to who the little girl was.

Alongside Emanuella who won the award is the popular Ikorodu Bois who have succeeded in using everyday items to make a difference.

Using little things, mostly household equipment at their disposal the kids have endeared themselves to the heart of millions across the world.

The Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, also known as the KCAs or Kids’ Choice, is an annual American children’s awards ceremony show that is produced by Nickelodeon.

The show honours the year’s biggest television, movie, and music acts as voted by viewers worldwide of Nickelodeon networks.

Winners receive a hollow orange blimp figurine, a logo outline for much of the network’s 1984–2009 era, which also functions as a kaleidoscope.

Maintaining a Clean Environment

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Having a clean environment, one can say is a necessity of life. No one can deny the benefits of having a clean environment. Whether at home, offices, industry and public places, everybody should get familiar with the healthy environment benefits. Its importance has been more recognized as environment started to get polluted as a result of industrialization in the second half of 20th century.

A clean and healthy environment is essential for conducting business, generating wealth and most importantly for human existence. The components of the clean environment are clean water, air, energy, and land. I bet that one who gets familiar to the importance of having a clean environment will definitely focus on adopting, promoting and maintaining a clean and healthy environment at homes, offices, public places and to say the least, wherever he goes.

 There are countless advantages of having a clean environment; a few of them are listed below:

  1. Cleaning gives your mood a boost: A clean environment always makes you feel good especially when you did the cleaning by yourself. I usually feel good, proud and accomplished whenever I spend time to clean my house.
  • Cleaning helps you stay active: Fitness Experts have often encouraged spending time to do chores, is a way to keep fit and active. So you want to be fit, clean your room.
  •  Cleaning makes the home safer: When you clean your home, you get rid of unwanted stuff, which before might be harmful to your health. We can confidently say A Clean Home is A Safe Home.
  •  Cleaning makes everyone healthier: Like previously mentioned, a clean home is a safe home, thereby creating a healthy environment for people living in such space, as a result; healthy people.
  •  Cleaning leads to better productivity: It is believed working in a dirty environment, might be very uncomfortable causing a dissonance and some cases causing illness and all these will lead to less productivity, but in clean environment, you will hardly experience such thereby having better productivity.

We have talked about the benefits of having a clean environment; here is a quick list of Smart Cleaning Tips

  • Regularly sort and unclog your space
  • Keep all items in their designated places
  • Schedule periodic cleanings
  • Set and maintain the set standard for cleaning in your home or office space

Therefore, to keep and attain a clean and green clear environment that is dust free, smell free and disease free, we have to exert our contribution. By doing this, we can get reduced pollution, fresh air, a peaceful and healthier environment without any problems. In short, we can get an environment that is human-friendly and that will add value to life by increasing the average life.

2,000-year-old biblical texts found in Israel, 1st since Dead Sea Scrolls

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A 2,000-year-old biblical scroll has been unearthed in the Judean desert, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Tuesday. The groundbreaking discovery marks the first time that such an artifact has been uncovered in decades, since the time of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The two dozen fragments were found in a cave in the Judean Desert, as a result of a several-year-long breathtaking rescue operation with the purpose of surveying all the caves of the area, carried out by the IAA in cooperation with the Archaeology Department of the Civil Administration.

The scroll was written in Greek, but God’s name appears in paleo-Hebrew. It contains passages from the Prophets.

Besides the manuscript, the cave harbored several other unique findings, including a trove of coins from the time of the Bar Kochba Revolt, the skeleton of a child dating back to some 6,000 years, and a 10,000-year-old exceptionally well-preserved basket which experts say might be the earliest item of this kind ever uncovered.

“These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to one another, render true and perfect justice in your gates. And do not contrive evil against one another, and do not love perjury, because all those are things that I hate – declares the Lord,” one of the fragments reads, featuring an excerpt of the biblical book of Zechariah.

“The aim of this national initiative is to rescue these rare and important heritage assets from the robbers’ clutches,” IAA director Israel Hasson said in a press release. “The newly discovered scroll fragments are a wake-up call to the state. Resources must be allocated for the completion of this historically important operation. We must ensure that we recover all the data that has not yet been discovered in the caves, before the robbers do. Some things are beyond value.”

Michelle Obama Reveals Thoughts On Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Interview

Michelle Obama weighed in Monday on Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s troubling revelations about the British royal family last week.

The former first lady was asked during a conversation with “Access Hollywood” for her thoughts on the fallout from Oprah Winfrey’s interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, which aired March 7 on CBS.

“My hope is that when I think about what they’re going through, I think about the importance of family, and I just pray that there is forgiveness and there is clarity and love and resolve at some point in time,” Obama said.

“Because there’s nothing more important than family.”

Obama, who was interviewed by Meghan for the September 2019 issue of British Vogue, has referred to the former “Suits” actor as a friend, praising her as a “thoughtful leader who is breaking the mold and making our world better for it” in an Instagram post at the time.

The interview dominated international news headlines last week, sending shockwaves through Buckingham Palace. The royal institution was accused of being racist, allowing toxic behavior and failing to protect or even help Meghan when she asked for it while going through a mental health crisis.

Harry said he felt he had to step back from his family in order to preserve his own mental health, as well as that of his wife and son, Archie. Though he expressed hurt toward his father, Prince Charles, about how his family was treated, he said he hoped their relationship could be repaired.

“But at the same time, of course I will always love him. But there’s a lot of hurt that’s happened, and I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship,” he said.

Grammy Awards: Kanye West Wins Best Contemporary Christian Music Album For “Jesus Is King”

Kanye West won his 22nd Grammy on Sunday for his album “Jesus Is King” months after he peed on his past trophy in a shocking video on social media.

The Christian rapper won the Best Contemporary Christian Music Album for his 2019 album “Jesus Is King,” which is imbued with his message of evangelical salvation. West did not appear at the virtual ceremony to accept the award – his first Grammy win in eight years since he nabbed three Grammys in the rap categories in 2013.

After years of hinting that he would drop a faith-based album, West released “Jesus Is King” in October 2019, in a year that saw him travel with his impromptu “Sunday Service” shows — a church-like concert series featuring gospel choirs.

West is one of the world’s best-selling music artists, with more than 20 million albums and 140 million singles sold worldwide. He has won a total of 22 Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all time.

Among his other awards include the Billboard Artist Achievement Award, a joint-record three Brit Awards for Best International Male Solo Artist and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Six of his albums have been included on Rolling Stone’s 2020 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list; the same publication named him one of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.