The very secretive state of North Korea has told U.S President Barack Obama to focus on leaving the White House rather than North Korea’s track record of human rights abuses.
after the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Monday imposed additional sanctions on North Korea for it’s flagrant abuse of human rights.The sanctions by OFAC which includes blacklisting seven North Korean citizens, North Korea leader Kim Jong-un’s sister among them, were being enacted alongside the United State Department’s “Report on Serious Human Rights Abuses or Censorship in North Korea,”In November, a report was released showing satellite images of up 120,000 people including children as young as 7 subjected to forced labor, torture, starvation, rape and death and a 2014 UN report estimated that “hundreds of thousands of political prisoners” have died in North Korean.KCNA, North Korea’s run media agency swiftly reacted to the U.S’ sanctions saying:“The Obama group can hardly have a sound sleep, seized with the extreme uneasiness after facing the undeniable strategic setback. Worse still, they are hit hard by the public. Much upset by this situation, the Obama group have gone so foolish as to kick up the ‘human rights’ racket against the DPRK.”“The US is not qualified to talk about somebody’s ‘human rights’ as it is the world’s worst human rights abuser and a tundra of human rights.“Obama would be well advised not to waste time taking issue with others’ ‘human rights issue(s)’ but make good arrangements for packing in the White House.“He had better repent of the pain and misfortune he has brought to so many Americans and other people of the world by creating the worst human rights situation in the US during his tenure of office.”Amnesty International said in a statement:“The inmate population has been gradually eliminated through deliberate starvation, forced labor, executions, torture, rape and the denial of reproductive rights,”“These camps constitute the cornerstone of the country’s large infrastructure dedicated to political repression and social control that enables widespread and systematic human rights abuses”
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Cucumbers belong to the same plant family as squash, pumpkin, and watermelon (the Cucurbitaceae family)
Like watermelon, cucumbers are made up of mostly (95 percent) water, which means eating them on a hot summer day can help you stay hydrated.
However, there’s reason to eat cucumbers all year long.
With vitamin K, B vitamins, copper, potassium, vitamin C, and manganese, cucumbers can help you to avoid nutrient deficiencies that are widespread among those eating a typical American diet.
Plus, cucumbers contain unique polyphenols and other compounds that may help reduce your risk of chronic diseases and much, much more.
9 Reasons to Eat Cucumbers
1. Protect Your Brain
Cucumbers contain an anti-inflammatory flavonol called fisetin that appears to play an important role in brain health. In addition to improving your memory and protecting your nerve cells from age-related decline,1 fisetin has been found to prevent progressive memory and learning impairments in mice with Alzheimer’s disease.2
2. Reduce Your Risk of Cancer
Cucumbers contain polyphenols called lignans (pinoresinol, lariciresinol, and secoisolariciresinol), which may help to lower your risk of breast, uterine, ovarian, and prostate cancers.3 They also contain phytonutrients called cucurbitacins, which also have anti-cancer properties. According to the George Mateljan Foundation:4
“Scientists have already determined that several different signaling pathways (for example, the JAK-STAT and MAPK pathways) required for cancer cell development and survival can be blocked by activity of cucurbitacins.”
3. Fight Inflammation
Cucumbers may help to “cool” the inflammatory response in your body, and animal studies suggest that cucumber extract helps reduce unwanted inflammation, in part by inhibiting the activity of pro-inflammatory enzymes (including cyclo-oxygenase 2, or COX-2).5
4. Antioxidant Properties
Cucumbers contain numerous antioxidants, including the well-known vitamin C and beta-carotene. They also contain antioxidant flavonoids, such as quercetin, apigenin, luteolin, and kaempferol,6 which provide additional benefits.
For instance, quercetin is an antioxidant that many believe prevents histamine release—making quercetin-rich foods “natural antihistamines.” Kaempferol, meanwhile, may help fight cancer and lower your risk of chronic diseases including heart disease.
5. Freshen Your Breath
Placing a cucumber slice on the roof of your mouth may help to rid your mouth of odor-causing bacteria.
According to the principles of Ayurveda, eating cucumbers may also help to release excess heat in your stomach, which is said to be a primary cause of bad breath.7
6. Manage Stress
Cucumbers contain multiple B vitamins, including vitamin B1, vitamin B5, and vitamin B7 (biotin).
B vitamins are known to help ease feelings of anxiety and buffer some of the damaging effects of stress.
7. Support Your Digestive Health
Cucumbers are rich in two of the most basic elements needed for healthy digestion:
water and fiber. Adding cucumbers to your juice or salad can help you meet the ideal of amount of fiber your body needs — 50 grams per 1,000 calories consumed.
If you struggle with acid reflux, you should know that drinking water can help suppress acute symptoms of acid reflux by temporarily raising stomach pH; it’s possible that water-rich cucumbers may have a similar effect.
Cucumber skins contain insoluble fiber, which helps add bulk to your stool. This helps food to move through your digestive tract more quickly for healthy elimination.
8. Maintain a Healthy Weight
Cucumbers are very low in calories, yet they make a filling snack (one cup of sliced cucumber contains just 16 calories).8 The soluble fiber in cucumbers dissolves into a gel-like texture in your gut, helping to slow down your digestion.
This helps you to feel full longer and is one reason why fiber-rich foods may help with weight control.
9. Support Heart Health
Cucumbers contain potassium, which is associated with lower blood pressure levels.
A proper balance of potassium both inside and outside your cells is crucial for your body to function properly.
As an electrolyte, potassium is a positive charged ion that must maintain a certain concentration (about 30 times higher inside than outside your cells) in order to carry out its functions, which includes interacting with sodium to help control nerve impulse transmission, muscle contraction, and heart function.
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An inmate of the medium security prison, Koton-Karfe in Kogi state, Lawrence Urih has escaped from custody during his trial at the State High Court, Lokoja.
The accused escaped from the prison wanders in the premises of the state high court where he was brough for the continuation of his trial.It was gathered that the inmate who was standing trial at Kogi High Court II for criminal conspiracy and armed robbery scaled the walls of the High Court complex and escaped when an officer of the Prison Service escorted him out to urinate.Urih, a painter from Ole, Delta State, was escorted out by an unarmed prisons warden and crossed a stretch of over 50 meters of grassland to the high wall to urinate.The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Kogi state command of the Nigerian Prisons Service, Umar Abubakar, who confirmed the incident on Tuesday in Lokoja, said the escape took place on Monday.He however, said the command was not immediately informed as he had to confirm from the officer in charge of the Koton-Karfe prisons on Tuesday.However, the prosecuting counsel, Badama Kadiri, expressed concerns over the development, saying he suspected foul play in the escape of the accused.He said it was wrong for a trained prisons’ personnel to escort a self-confessed armed robber to urinate during trial unarmed and without handcuffs.Kadiri said he was particularly disturbed that the prison officers did not tell him, adding that he had to apply for adjournment when he did not see the accused in court.On the trial of the accused, the prosecuting counsel said the trial had had reached advance stage as that four of his eight witnesses had already testified and one was billed to testify on Monday but for the escape.In his head charges, said Urih allegedly conspired with one Aby (surename unknown) and a commercial motorcyclist whose identity is not known both at large, to rob a former chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lokoja branch, William Aliwo of N500,000 cash at gun point.The charge said Aliwo was robbed at gun point in his office on May 9, 2016 at about 12 noon.Kadiri said that the accused also made away with a Nokia 640XL handset and one IPAD but luck ran out on him on May 10, 2017 when the lawyer’s secretary, Hajarat Alkali spotted him in banking hall of Zenith Bank, Lokoja and promptly reported.
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Nigeria captain, Mikel John Obi has said that coaching at his new club, Tianjin Teda is as good as at his former club, Chelsea FC .
Mikel spent 10 years with the Blues working under top class coaches like Jose Mourinho, Guus Hiddink, Felipe Scolari, Carlo Ancelotti, Rafael Benitez and Antonio Conte.The midfielder joined Tianjin Teda early this month and is already impressed with the level of coaching at the Chinese Super League side, as done by his new manager Jamie Pacheco.“I do not think there is a lot of difference in the level of coaches now,” Mikel said, adding “I think (Jamie) Pacheco is a high level coach, and he was a very good player.“Training is done very well, with a very high level.”Mikel has already made three appearances for Tianjin Teda in pre-season games against German sides Borrusia Mochengladbach, St. Pauli and Romanian top side Dinamo Bucuresti. He was on target in his club’s defeat against St. Pauli on Saturday.
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