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Daily Trust: Real reason army is after us – Editor-in-Chief, Dan Ali speaks

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Editor-in-chief of Daily Trust Newspaper, Mannir Dan Ali, has reacted to the military siege on the offices of his medium nationwide.

He said the siege and subsequent arrest of some editorial staff in Maiduguri Borno state was a targeted attempt by the army to clampdown on the paper for ‘comprehensively’ reporting the many losses and defeats of the military by Boko Haram insurgents in the Northeast region.

Speaking with newsmen yesterday, Dan Ali said the military authorities merely latched onto Sunday’s lead report on the newspaper which bore the bold caption: “Military prepares massive operation to retake Baga, others” to accuse the medium of ‘exposing’ the surprise strategy which the military was planning to unleash on the insurgents thereby ‘leaking’ information to the enemies.

“The military is not happy with our reporting of the Baga attacks by Boko Haram and is just using today’s story as an excuse to clamp down on the newspaper,” the Editor-in-Chief said.

However, he assured that the contentious matter of his medium’s coverage style of the anti-terror war in the Northeast was already being resolved by the government.

“Government officials are trying to resolve the matter,” he added.

Recall, a detachment of Nigerian soldiers on Sunday sealed off the Abuja headquarters of Media Trust, Limited, Publishers of Daily TrustWeekend Trust, Sunday Trust and Aminiya, over stories related to Boko Haram insurgency.

GRASSROOTS Correspondent who monitored the activities of the operatives in Abuja reports that the six-storey building was besieged at about 6pm on Sunday.

The soldiers were said to have been led by a 2nd Lieutenant whose team ordered every staff out of the premises.

The soldiers were also said to have shut down the computers and laptops after which the items were carted away.

Staff of the company were seen loitering around MAFEMI Crescent, Off Solomon Lar Way, Utako, Abuja.

It was learnt that the soldiers, some of whose faces were masked, ordered all staff out of the building, asking them to converge at the front of the complex, where they were surrounded by some soldiers.

The staff were also asked to produce the Political Editor, Hamza Idris, who at the time was not within the complex.

A team of soldiers had equally around 4pm raided the Maiduguri Regional Office of the company in Borno State, where they were said to have arrested two senior editorial staff on hand.

The soldiers were said to have also asked for Hamza, whose byline was on the story seen as offensive by the soldiers.

Sunday Trust equally featured an Editorial opinion on January 6, 2019 which indicated that the government was running out of excuses on the Boko Haram insurgency.

Some staff of the company said that some of the soldiers who raided the office later brought a list of persons detailed for arrest after most of the staff on hand had dispersed.

The detachment of soldiers and plain-clothe operatives were still stationed in the complex to prevent any form of production as at 8.30pm on Sunday.

The soldiers were stationed at the gate entrance gate after a security man attached to the company had taken inventory of the seized items before the soldiers took them away.

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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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