WHEN WILL THIS ENDLESS KILLING STOP

Some armed persons suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect on Saturday night attacked a village in Adamawa State, killing 12 people. While narrating how the attack occurred, Maina Ularamu, a former Chairman of Madagali Local Government Area, said the insurgents attacked Dar Village in the council at about 8:30 p.m. “A large number of gunmen invaded the village, forcing residents to flee to a nearby bush,” Mr. Ularamu said in a telephone interview. He added that “two female suicide bombers disguised as fleeing villagers detonated explosives in the bush where many people were hiding, killing 12 persons.” He added that many victims who sustained injuries were evacuated to the hospital by police personnel. The spokesperson of the Adamawa Police Command, Othman Abubakar, confirmed the attack. He late contacted PREMIUM TIMES to say 11 people were killed in the attack. The Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria has killed about 20,000 people; with Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe most affected. The attacks have continued despite a change of government that saw President Muhammadu Buhari replace Goodluck Jonathan after the latter lost the presidential election in March. The Nigerian military, however, says it is winning the war against the insurgents and has recovered several territory from them.

12 FOODS FOR BREAST CANCER REDUCTION AND PREVENTION

A healthy diet isn't a magic bullet against cancer, but new research suggests it may help. Two studies just released by the University of California, San Diego, and the Genesis Prevention Center at University Hospital in South Manchester, England, show that a meal plan rich in fruits and veggies and low in starchy carbohydrates may help prevent breast cancer and breast cancer recurrence. In fact, diet may even play a greater role than weight management in breast cancer prevention. “Overweight women who exercise 150 minutes a week and eat lots of fruits and veggies have a lower risk of breast cancer than normal-weight women who are sedentary and have a low intake of fruits and veggies,” says nutritionist Mary Marian, MS, RD, CSO, a research specialist and lecturer at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson. She recommends careful shopping in the produce section, seafood department, and spice aisle to help you create an anti-cancer nutrition plan. The following foods, in particular, may offer nutrients that promote better breast health and boost your immune system.

THE MOST AMBITIOUS BUILDING PROJECT EVER UNDERTAKEN BY ANY CIVILIZATION

Perhaps the most recognizable symbol of China and its long and vivid history, the Great Wall of China actually consists of numerous walls and fortifications, many running parallel to each other. Originally conceived by Emperor Qin Shi Huang (c. 259-210 B.C.) in the third century B.C. as a means of preventing incursions from barbarian nomads into the Chinese Empire, the wall is one of the most extensive construction projects ever completed. The best-known and best-preserved section of the Great Wall was built in the 14th through 17th centuries A.D., during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Though the Great Wall never effectively prevented invaders from entering China, it came to function more as a psychological barrier between Chinese civilization and the world, and remains a powerful symbol of the country’s enduring strength.

QIN DYNASTY CONSTRUCTION Though the beginning of the Great Wall of China can be traced to the third century B.C., many of the fortifications included in the wall date from hundreds of years earlier, when China was divided into a number of individual kingdoms during the so-called Warring States Period. Around 220 B.C., Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China, ordered that earlier fortifications between states be removed and a number of existing walls along the northern border be joined into a single system that would extend for more than 10,000 li (a li is about one-third of a mile) and protect China against attacks from the north. Did You Know?

When Emperor Qin Shi Huang ordered construction of the Great Wall around 221 B.C., the labor force that built the wall was made up largely of soldiers and convicts. It is said that as many as 400,000 people died during the wall's construction; many of these workers were buried within the wall itself. Construction of the “Wan Li Chang Cheng,” or 10,000-Li-Long Wall, was one of the most ambitious building projects ever undertaken by any civilization. The famous Chinese general Meng Tian directed the project, and was said to have used a massive army of soldiers, convicts and commoners as workers. Made mostly of earth and stone, the wall stretched from the China Sea port of Shanhaiguan over 3,000 miles west into Gansu province. In some strategic areas, sections of the wall overlapped for maximum security (including the Badaling stretch, north of Beijing, that was later restored by the Ming dynasty). From a base of 15 to 50 feet, the Great Wall rose some 15-30 feet high and was topped by ramparts 12 feet or higher; guard towers were distributed at intervals along it. The Great Wall of China Through the Centuries

With the death of Qin Shi Huang and the fall of the Qin dynasty, much of the Great Wall fell into disrepair. After the fall of the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.), a series of frontier tribes seized control in northern China. The most powerful of these was the Northern Wei dynasty (386-535 A.D.), which repaired and extended the existing wall to defend against attacks from other tribes. The Bei Qi kingdom (550–577) built or repaired more than 900 miles of wall, and the short-lived but effective Sui dynasty (581–618) repaired and extended the Great Wall of China a number of times.

With the fall of the Sui and the rise of the Tang dynasty (618-907), the Great Wall lost its importance as a fortification, as China had defeated the Tujue tribe to the north and expanded past the original frontier protected by the wall. During the Song dynasty (960-1279), the Chinese were forced to withdraw under threat from the Liao and Jin peoples to the north, who took over many areas on both sides of the Great Wall. The powerful Yuan (Mongol) dynasty (1206-1368) established by Genghis Khan eventually controlled all of China, parts of Asia and sections of Europe. Though the Great Wall held little importance for the Mongols as a military fortification, soldiers were assigned to man the wall in order to protect merchants and caravans traveling along the profitable trade routes established during this period. Wall Building During the Ming Dynasty Despite its long history, the Great Wall of China as it is exists today was constructed mainly during the mighty Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Like the Mongols, the early Ming rulers had little interest in building border fortifications, and wall building was limited before the late 15th century. In 1421, the Ming emperor Yongle proclaimed China’s new capital, Beijing, on the site of the former Mongol city of Dadu. Under the strong hand of the Ming rulers, Chinese culture flourished, and the period saw an immense amount of construction in addition to the Great Wall, including bridges, temples and pagodas. The construction of the Great Wall as it is known today began around 1474. After an initial phase of territorial expansion, Ming rulers took a largely defensive stance, and their reformation and extension of the Great Wall was key to this strategy. The Ming wall extended from the Yalu River in Liaoning Province to the eastern bank of the Taolai River in Gansu Province, and winded its way from east to west through today’s Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia and Gansu. Starting west of Juyong Pass, the Great Wall was split into south and north lines, respectively named the Inner and Outer Walls. Strategic “passes” (i.e., fortresses) and gates were placed along the wall; the Juyong, Daoma and Zijing passes, closest to Beijing, were named the Three Inner Passes, while further west were Yanmen, Ningwu and Piantou, the Three Outer Passes. All six passes were heavily garrisoned during the Ming period and considered vital to the defense of the capital. Significance of the Great Wall of China In the mid-17th century, the Manchus from central and southern Manchuria broke through the Great Wall and encroached on Beijing, eventually forcing the fall of the Ming dynasty and beginning of the Qing (Manchu) dynasty (1644-1912). Between the 18th and 20th centuries, the Great Wall emerged as the most common emblem of China for the Western world, and a symbol both physical–a manifestation of Chinese strength–and psychological–a representation of the barrier maintained by the Chinese state to repel foreign influences and exert control over its citizens. Today, the Great Wall is generally recognized as one of the most impressive architectural feats in history. In 1987, UNESCO designated the Great Wall a World Heritage site, and a popular claim that emerged in the 20th century holds that it is the only manmade structure that is visible from the moon. Over the years, roadways have been cut through the wall in various points, and many sections have deteriorated after centuries of neglect. The best-known section of the Great Wall of China–Badaling, located 43 miles (70 km) northwest of Beijing–was rebuilt in the late 1950s, and attracts thousands of national and foreign tourists every day.

LIST OF SIGNING BY CLUBS ACROSS EUROPE

Yohan Cabaye [Paris St-Germain - Crystal Palace] £10m Shay Given [Aston Villa - Stoke] Free Idrissa Gueye [Lille - Aston Villa ] Undisclosed Angelo Ogbonna [Juventus - West Ham] £10m (reported) Marco van Ginkel [Chelsea - Stoke] Loan Football League Adam Bartlett [Gateshead - Hartlepool] Free Tyler Blackwood [Unattached - QPR] Free David Cornell [Swasnea - Oldham] Free Kyle Dempsey [Carlisle - Huddersfield] Undisclosed Michael Harriman [QPR - Wycombe] Loan Luke James [Peterborough - Bradford] Loan Lloyd Jones [Liverpool - Blackpool] Loan Alex Lopez [Celta Vigo - Sheffield Wednesday] Loan Josh McEachran [Chelsea - Brentford] £750,000 Jamie Ness [Stoke - Scunthorpe] Free Lewis Price [Crystal Palace - Sheffield Wednesday] Free Jack Redshaw [Morecambe - Blackpool] Undisclosed Ross Wallace [Burnley - Sheffield Wednesday] Free Conor Wilkinson [Bolton - Barnsley] Loan Jordan Williams [Liverpool - Swindon] Loan Scottish Premiership Dale Carrick [Hearts - Kilmarnock] Free Stuart Findlay [Celtic - Kilmarnock] Loan 9 JULY Premier League Mark Bunn [Norwich - Aston Villa] Free Football League Shaun Batt [Leyton Orient - Barnet] Free Marco Matias [Nacional - Sheffield Wednesday] Undisclosed Liam McAlinden [Wolves - Shrewsbury] Loan Mark O'Brien [Derby - Luton] Free Joe Wright [Huddersfield - Accrington] Loan Scottish Premiership Nadir Ciftci [Dundee United - Celtic] £1.5m Global Steven Nzonzi [Stoke City - Sevilla] £7m 8 JULY Premier League Toby Alderweireld [Atletico Madrid - Tottenham] Undisclosed Football League Graham Burke [Aston Villa - Notts County] Free Eggert Jonsson [FC Vestsjaelland - Fleetwood] Free Will Keane [Manchester United - Preston] Loan Filip Valencic [Monza - Notts County] Free Romain Vincelot [Leyton Orient - Coventry] Undisclosed Scottish Premiership Logan Bailly [OH Leuven - Celtic] Undisclosed 7 JULY Premier League Cuco Martina [FC Twente - Southampton] Undisclosed Football League Sammy Ameobi [Newcastle - Cardiff] Loan Craig Davies [Bolton - Wigan] Free Julian Jenner [Disogyor - Notts County] Free Jamie O'Hara [Blackpool - Fulham] Free Jayden Stockley [Bournemouth - Portsmouth] Loan Jelle Vossen [Genk - Burnley] Undisclosed Scottish Premiership Jordan Roberts [Aldershot - Inverness] Free Global Bryan Ruiz [Fulham - Sporting Lisbon] Undisclosed 6 JULY Premier League Etienne Capoue [Tottenham - Watford] Undisclosed Enes Unal [Bursaspor - Manchester City] Undisclosed Football League Alex Baptiste [Bolton - Middlesbrough] Undisclosed Billy Bingham [Dagenham & Redbridge - Crewe] Free Adam Campbell [Newcastle - Notts County] Free Richard Chaplow [Millwall - Doncaster] Free Kyle De Silva [Crystal Palace - Notts County] Free Michael Doyle [Sheffield United - Portsmouth] Free Joe Edwards [Yeovil - Colchester] Free Greg Halford [Nottingham Forest - Rotherham] Free Niki Maenpaa [VVV-Venlo - Brighton] Free Remi Matthews [Norwich - Burton] Loan Eddie Nolan [Scunthorpe - York] Free Sanmi Odelusi [Bolton - Wigan] Undisclosed Derik Osede [Real Madrid - Bolton] Free Kudus Oyenuga [Dundee United - Hartlepool] Free Ollie Palmer [Mansfield - Leyton Orient] Undisclosed Sam Ricketts [Wolves - Coventry] Free Josh Simpson [Crawley - Plymouth] Free Genaro Snijders [FC Oss - Notts County] Free Andrai Jones [Gateshead - Southport] Free Scottish Premiership None Global Nani [Manchester United - Fenerbahce] £4.25m Andrea Pirlo [Juventus - New York City] Free Arda Turan [Atletico Madrid - Barcelona] £24m 4 JULY Premier League None Football League Sam Beasant [Stevenage - Cambridge] Free Jonathan Bond [Watford - Reading] Undisclosed Tony Craig [Brentford - Millwall] Free Danny Green [MK Dons - Luton] Free Scottish Premiership None Global Lukas Podolski [Arsenal - Galatasaray] £1.8m 3 JULY Premier League Radamel Falcao [Monaco - Chelsea] Loan Football League Mawouna Amevor [Go Ahead Eagles - Notts County] Free Anthony Barry [Forest Green - Accrington] Free Troy Brown [Cheltenham - Exeter] Free Jamie Burrows [Rangers - Yeovil] Free Graham Carey [Ross County - Plymouth] Free Conor Coady [Huddersfield - Wolves] £2m Danny Collins [Nottingham Forest - Rotherham] Free Mark Duffy [Birmingham - Burton] Loan George Elokobi [Oldham - Colchester] Free Jack Hunt [Crystal Palace - Sheff Wednesday] Loan Thomas Ince [Hull - Derby] £4.75m Tony McMahon [Blackpool - Bradford] Free Max Power [Tranmere - Wigan] Fee to be set by tribunal Tom Thorpe [Manchester United - Rotherham] Free Anthony Wordsworth [Ipswich - Southend] Free Scottish Premiership None Global Luiz Adriano [Shakhtar Donetsk - AC Milan] £5.7m Mario Pasalic [Chelsea - Monaco] Loan 2 JULY Premier League Jose Holebas [Roma - Watford] £1.8m Football League Andreas Bjelland [FC Twente - Brentford] £2.1m Gaetan Bong [Wigan - Brighton] Free Ryan Clarke [Oxford - Northampton] Free Max Ehmer [QPR - Gillingham] Free Tom Elliott [Cambridge - AFC Wimbledon] Free Neil Etheridge [Charlton - Walsall] Free Emmanuel Ledesma [Middlesbrough - Rotherham] Free Paul McShane [Hull - Reading] Free Ainsley Maitland-Niles [Arsenal - Ipswich] Loan Cristian Montano [Unattached - Bristol Rovers] David Mooney [Leyton Orient - Southend] Free Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill [Arsenal - Swindon] Free Karleigh Osborne [Bristol City - AFC Wimbledon] Loan Sebastian Polter [FSV Mainz - QPR] Undisclosed Jazz Richards [Swansea - Fulham] Undisclosed Jon Stead [Huddersfield - Notts County] Free Jamie Ward [Derby - Nottingham Forest] Free Luke Williams [Middlesbrough - Scunthorpe] Free Scottish Premiership None Global Carlos Bacca [Sevilla - AC Milan] £21m Andy Delort [Wigan - Caen] Undisclosed 1 JULY Premier League Nathaniel Clyne [Southampton - Liverpool] £12.5m Sebastian Coates [Liverpool - Sunderland] Undisclosed Sylvain Distin [Everton - Bournemouth] Free Eder [Sporting Braga - Swansea] Undisclosed Matej Vydra [Udinese - Watford] Undisclosed Football League Ben Amos [Manchester United - Bolton] Free Stephen Arthurworrey [Fulham - Yeovil] Loan Andy Barcham [Portsmouth - AFC Wimbledon] Free Jason Demetriou [Anorthosis Famagusta - Walsall] Free Ryan Dickson [Crawley - Yeovil] Nominal Konstantin Kerschbaumer [FC Admira Wacker Modling - Brentford] Undisclosed Tomasz Kuszczak [Wolves - Birmingham] Free Gary Madine [Sheffield Wednesday - Bolton] Free Simon Makienok [Palermo - Charlton] Loan Paddy McCourt [Brighton - Luton] Free Matt Mills [Bolton - Nottingham Forest] Free Jason Mooney [York - Accrington] Free Josh Morris [Blackburn - Bradford] Free Magnus Okuonghae [Colchester - Luton] Free Chris Wood [Leicester - Leeds] Undisclosed Scottish Premiership David Amoo [Carlisle - Partick Thistle] Free Saidy Janko [Manchester United - Celtic] Compensation Global Benoit Assou-Ekotto [Unattached - St Etienne] Douglas Costa [Shakhtar Donetsk - Bayern Munich] £21m Samuel Eto'o [Sampdoria - Antalyaspor] Undisclosed Lewis Holtby [Tottenham - Hamburg] Undisclosed Miranda [Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan] Undisclosed

THE 20 YEAR DEATH CYCLE OF AMERICAN PRESIDENT

Between 1840 and 1960, US presidents who were elected in years ending in '0' were either assassinated or have died of natural causes while in office. This 20 year death cycle had been appreciated for many decades. An edition of Ripley's Believe It or Not, published in 1934, noted the coincidental 20 year pattern of presidential deaths between 1840 and 1920, with question marks inserted for the upcoming 1940 entry. This implied that there could be a continuation of the cyclic pattern, which was fulfilled when Franklin Roosevelt was re-elected in 1940 and subsequently died in office in 1945. Based on this 20 year death cycle, several astrologers correctly predicted the death of President John F Kennedy when he was elected in 1960. Similarly, it was expected that President Reagan would also die in office, which almost came to pass with the attempted assassination on March 30, 1981. This marked the end of the 20 death cycle, as President George W Bush completed his full term in office.
Strangely, two Presidents, who were elected in years ending in ‘0’ -- Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D Roosevelt -- both died in their following term after being re-elected in the ‘4’ ended year. Therefore, the 20 year death cycle anticipated the successful re-election of these presidents to the oval office.
Using the Fisher Exact Probability test, the presidential death cycle was shown to yield a significance level of 0.00004, thus confirming that the cycle was very unlikely to occur by chance. A mathematician, Michael Capobianco, applied a more conservative methodology and still produced significance at p < .01. The 20 year death cycle appears to be more than just coincidence, especially as only one president between 1840 and 1960 died in office and was not elected in a '0' year. The exception was Zachary Taylor, who became president in 1848 and died of a stomach ailment in 1850. The cause of death was suspicious and it was speculated he had been poisoned with arsenic. In 1991, his body was exhumed to investigate this theory, but the findings proved negative.
President Elected In
Died
1800 Jefferson
Survived: Died July 4, 1826.
1820 Monroe
Survived: Died July 4, 1831.
1840, Harrison
April 4, 1841. Pneumonia
1860, Lincoln
April 15, 1865. Assassinated
1880, Garfield
July 2, 1881. Assassinated
1900, McKinley
September 19, 1901. Assassinated
1920, Harding
August 2, 1923. Food poisoning
1940, Roosevelt
April 12, 1945. Stroke, medical records missing
1960, Kennedy
November 22, 1963. Assassinated
1980, Reagan
Survived: March 30, 1981. Assassination attempt.Died: June 5, 2004.
2000, Bush
Survived
Adding to the mystery, there have been attempted assassinations on various presidents - Andrew Jackson 1835, Franklin D Roosevelt 1933, Harry Truman 1950, Gerald Ford (two separate attempts in Sept 1975) and Ronald Reagan (1981). (John Taylor survived a shipboard explosion in 1844, but this may have been an accident.) Of the attempted assassinations, only Ronald Reagan was elected in a '0' year compared with four successful murders within the 20 year cycle. Additionally, vice presidents only attained the presidency outside the curse on two occasions - Millard Fillmore after the death of Zachary Taylor in 1850 and Gerald Ford after the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1973 following the Watergate scandal

SELF ESTEEM AND BODY IMAGE

Self-esteem is all about how much people value themselves, the pride they feel in themselves, and how worthwhile they feel. Self-esteem is important because feeling good about yourself can affect how you act. A person who has high self-esteem will make friends easily, is more in control of his or her behavior, and will enjoy life more.
Body image is how someone feels about his or her own physical appearance.
For many people, especially those in their early teens, body image can be closely linked to self-esteem. That's because as kids develop into teens, they care more about how others see them.
What Influences a Person's Self-Esteem?
Puberty
Some teens struggle with their self-esteem when they begin puberty because the body goes through many changes. These changes, combined with a natural desire to feel accepted, mean it can be tempting for people to compare themselves with others. They may compare themselves with the people around them or with actors and celebs they see on TV, in movies, or in magazines.
But it's impossible to measure ourselves against others because the changes that come with puberty are different for everyone. Some people start developing early; others are late bloomers. Some get a temporary layer of fat to prepare for a growth spurt, others fill out permanently, and others feel like they stay skinny no matter how much they eat. It all depends on how our genes have programmed our bodies to act.
The changes that come with puberty can affect how both girls and guys feel about themselves. Some girls may feel uncomfortable or embarrassed about their maturing bodies. Others may wish that they were developing faster. Girls may feel pressure to be thin but guys may feel like they don't look big or muscular enough.
Outside Influences
It's not just development that affect self-esteem, though. Lots of other factors (like media images of skinny girls and bulked-up guys) can affect a person's body image too.
Family life can sometimes influence a person's self-esteem. Some parents spend more time criticizing their kids and the way they look than praising them. This criticism may reduce a person's ability to develop good self-esteem.
People may also experience negative comments and hurtful teasing about the way they look from classmates and peers. Sometimes racial and ethnic prejudice is the source of such comments. Although these often come from ignorance, sometimes they can affect another person's body image and self-esteem.