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‘Fresh PDP’ Bows, Embraces Secondus-led PDP

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Members of the ‘Fresh PDP’ on Saturday willingly dissolved the group after a marathon meeting with some chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Led by Chief Olukayode Akindele, the group agreed to drop its decision to create a breakaway faction of the opposition party and pledged loyalty to the Uche Secondus-led PDP.

The decision was reached after a peace meeting held at the Abuja residence of a former National Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, in Abuja.

Notable among those present at the meeting were a member of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Senator Stella Omu and the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbodiyan.

Besides Akindele, other members of the Fresh PDP at the meeting were Duru Ihuoma and Franklyne Edederan who lost out at the party’s December 9 convention.

The Fresh PDP had, mid-December, opened its parallel secretariat PDP in Abuja to register its dissatisfaction with the outcome of the convention.

The group has also renounced its plans to inaugurate a separate National Executive Committee on Monday, January 22.

Speaking after the meeting, Nwodo disclosed that the reconciliatory process enjoyed the backing of the national leadership of the party and the BoT.

According to him, no conditions were given by the group for agreeing to dissolve itself, stressing that members were enthusiastic youths that would be useful to the PDP in the 2019 elections.

Also speaking after the meeting, Ologbondiyan declared that the group’s grievances had been addressed and that the PDP remained united across the country and in the diaspora.

Nwodo described the disbandment of the group as the best gift the PDP can give to Nigerians, saying, “A lot of people thought our house was divided and was about to cascade down.

“But we want to assure you that by God’s mercy, an internal reconciliation capacity of the PDP, the cracks that you noticed have been completely sealed off”.

The ex-party chairman stated that the PDP will displace the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019, adding that the government has proven to be insensitive to the feelings of Nigerians.

He noted that the administration has failed in its duty of protecting the lives of the citizenry and therefore has no business being in government.

Nwodo said, “Today, by what has happened here, we are sending a powerful signal across the country that the PDP wants to assure all Nigerians that we will not disappoint you.”

“The members of the Fresh PDP that is now disbanded are young vibrant politicians. If a leader is leading, and nobody is following, he is taking a walk. PDP is leading and mentoring the young ones to take over.

“The wish of a father is that his offspring will be bigger than him. If a father does not bring an offspring that will surpass him, he is not a good father. It means he doesn’t want his future to be better than his past”.

Erstwhile chairman of Fresh PDP, Chief Olukayode Akindele, stated that his members were forced to breakaway owing to what he described as acts of impunity in the party.

Akindele said, “But the issue of impunity and imposition had forced us into this situation because in PDP we don’t have any mechanism to address it.

We have a mechanism for reconciliation. Reconciliation is when you have a dispute.

“But when a criminal political act is committed, then what you need is restitution. But we have received assurances from our leaders here that this will be addressed and today while it marks the end of Fresh PDP, it brings a PDP that is caring and wants to address issues that may affect it in the primaries.

“We have been having these meetings for a long time. An executive meeting was held at 5am today (yesterday) in the interest of the nation and the party so that we won’t have a parallel NWC come Monday.

“That has been cancelled and we have surrendered the list to our leader here and we want to assure that this is the best thing that can happen to PDP”. (Nation)

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The Peruvian Government Has Officially Classified Transgender, Nonbinary And Intersex People As “Mentally ill”

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According to the country’s ministry of health, the controversial decision was made to ensure the country’s public health services could “guarantee full coverage of medical attention for mental health” for the trans community.

It also categorises “dual-role transvestitism,” “fetishistic transvestism,” and “other gender identity disorders” under the same bracket of mental illness.

The new law will change language in the Essential Health Insurance Plan (PEAS) to reflect the view of trans and intersex people as a mental health disorder.

Trans groups across Peru have loudly condemned the decision as a step backwards for the country’s already complex relationship with LGBTQ+ rights.

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Math Teacher Accused Of Having Sex With 2 Students And Getting Pregnant For One Tearfully Reveals The Baby Was Taken Away From Her

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The UK teacher who had a baby with an underage student while on trial for having sex with another teenage boy broke down in court after revealing her newborn baby girl had been “taken away” from her.

Manchester math teacher Rebecca Joynes, 30, sobbed to jurors over how her baby was taken “24 hours after being born” this past January — and now she only sees her for nine hours a week, Joynes told jurors on Monday, May 13, according to the Manchester Evening News.

“At the moment I have contact with her three times a week for three hours and that’s it,” she said through tears.

Joynes was arrested and released on bail on orders not to have unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 after allegedly grooming her pupil, known as Boy A in court, by buying him a $430 Gucci belt before bringing him to her apartment for unprotected sex.

She was suspended from school and eventually fired, but soon after, she began having a relationship with a 15-year-old boy, known in court as Boy B, whom she had a baby with in January.

Joynes, who has denied having sex with either boy when they were underage, told the court that when she learned of the allegations against her she had gone to the second boy in a “panic” and he deleted all of her phone’s content.

The former teacher denied having a sexual relationship with the second boy until after he turned 16 and she was already suspended from teaching.

According to her narration,

She said he had added her on Snapchat twice, which she only accepted the second time because she thought he “wanted to tell her something.”

Joynes said a friendship developed and he quickly became her “best friend” even though the boy would make flirtatious and sexualized comments toward her when he was drunk.

She told jurors that it wasn’t until after his 16th birthday that he messaged her saying “I’ve left school now” with a winky face.

After she received notice that she had been dismissed from her job, he went to her apartment, where following an emotional conversation, they had sex.

The two then entered a relationship that Joynes described as “quite toxic” telling the court how the teenager was “very controlling.”

After discovering she was pregnant, Joynes hid love notes for the boy to find around her apartment.

The notes eventually led to a piece of baby clothing that had the words “I love my daddy to the moon and back” written on it.

The court was told that she gave birth to their baby girl in January, but following an emergency court hearing, the newborn was taken away from Joynes.

Joynes has denied two counts of sexual activity with Boy A; two counts of sexual activity with Boy B; and two counts of sexual activity with Boy B while being a person in a position of trust.

Her trial is ongoing.

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First Man To Receive Pig Kidney Transplant Has Died

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The first Man to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant has died two months after the operation.

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), which carried out the procedure in March, announced Sunday, May 12, that Richard “Rick” Slayman, 62, has died.

They said there was no indication his death was a result of the transplant.

Transplants of other organs from genetically modified pigs have failed in the past, but the operation on Mr Slayman, who was suffering with end-stage kidney disease, was hailed as a historic milestone.

In addition to kidney disease, Mr Slayman also suffered from Type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

In 2018, he had a human kidney transplant, but it began to fail after five years.

Following his pig kidney transplant on March 16, his doctors confirmed he no longer needed dialysis after the new organ was said to be functioning well.

“Mr Slayman will forever be seen as a beacon of hope to countless transplant patients worldwide and we are deeply grateful for his trust and willingness to advance the field of xenotransplantation,” MGH said in a statement.

Xenotransplantation is the transplanting of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another.

MGH said it was “deeply saddened” at his sudden death and offered condolences to his family.

Mr Slayman’s relatives said his story was an inspiration.

“Rick said that one of the reasons he underwent this procedure was to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive,” they said.

“Rick accomplished that goal and his hope and optimism will endure forever.

“To us, Rick was a kind-hearted man with a quick-witted sense of humour who was fiercely dedicated to his family, friends, and co-workers,” they added.

While Mr Slayman received the first pig kidney to be transplanted into a human, it is not the first pig organ to be used in a transplant procedure.

Two other patients have received pig heart transplants, but those procedures were unsuccessful as the recipients died a few weeks later.

In one case, there were signs the patient’s immune system had rejected the organ, which is a common risk in transplants.

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