A D V E R T S
A billboard with a message on the end of the world at the Globe Cinema roundabout in Nairobi. The so-called rapture did not occur as predicted.
If you are reading this, your world did not end on Saturday at 6 p.m. But earlier in the day, that of a middle-aged man ended in a suspected suicide. The victim reportedly made his way into a store at the Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi, hours before American evangelist Harold Camping had predicted the world would end at 6 p.m. Witnesses say the man entered the prayer sanctuary during the early morning mass. In a statement to police, catechist Michael Waweru, who found the body hanging from metal bars above the store’s entrance, said he opened a side security door at the back of the church at around 7.15 a.m. At that time, the body was not there.
“We normally do this to allow church workers to access washing materials for the church and to give access to florists. This is the norm every morning,” he said.
Suicide time
It is believed that it was between this time and the time mass ended that the man entered the room and used an electric chord to hang himself. The body was found at 9 a.m. Police took it away. The man’s identity, age or reasons for taking his own life could not be immediately established.
Peter Kamau, the priest in charge, told the Sunday Nation that this is the first time anyone had chosen Holy Family Basilica to end their life. Mr Camping’s prediction that the world would end in a huge earthquake was received differently throughout the country. As believers of his Christian Family Network ministry prepared themselves for judgement day and the return of the Messiah, atheists in the United States were preparing for what they termed “the best damned party in North Carolina”. Priest in charge says, 'it’s the first time anyone has chosen the hallowed grounds of Catholic church in the city centre as the place to end his or her life'.
According to the BBC news website, the rapture-after party in Fayetteville, North Carolina, will be a two-day event organised by the Central North Carolina Atheists and Humanists. “Though the absurdity of this claim is obvious to the majority of the world, it’s a great opportunity to highlight some of the most bizarre beliefs often put forth by religious fundamentalists and raise awareness of the need for reason,” read a statement on the group’s website. Similar parties were being planned in Tacoma, Washington, Houston, Texas, and in Florida and California. Mr Camping, 89, had predicted that Jesus Christ would return on Saturday and true believers were to be swept up to heaven.
He had used broadcasts and billboards to publicise his belief that a giant earthquake yesterday would have marked the start of the world’s destruction, and that by October 21 all non-believers would be dead. But this is not the first time the doomsday preacher has preached doom and gloom to the world. He did so in 1994, though followers now say the 1994 incident only referred to an intermediary stage. Despite his previous failed prediction, Mr Camping was convinced that yesterday the world, as we know it, would change. “We know without any shadow of a doubt it is going to happen,” he told the US Christian station Family Radio. Reacting to the statement, Kenya’s own Christian media organisation Family Media put out an advertisement in the local dailies distancing themselves from Family Radio.
The advertisement said: “We expect the Lord Jesus to return soon, but even He does not know when, only God the Father knows. So we keep on trusting Him.” “Wish to inform our viewers, listeners, partners and well wishers that we are not in any way or form affiliated to the US evangelical Christian broadcaster Harold Camping or family radio.com,” read the statement from Family Media.
It is up to Attorney-General Amos Wako (left) to seek the court orders to extradite the two after Interpol issued a red notice against them. Photos/FILE
Police will arrest Nambale MP Chris Okemo and former Kenya Power and Lighting Company boss Samuel Gichuru and send them abroad for trial once a warrant of arrest issued in the UK is endorsed by local courts. Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said the law and existing treaties would guide the process of handing over the two to police in the UK. It is up to Attorney-General Amos Wako to seek the court orders to extradite the two. “That’s the time police would be involved. The AG must also be convinced that what they have been charged with in the UK is recognised as a crime in Kenya,” Mr Kiraithe added.
Interpol issued a red notice against the two after the warrant was given by the Bailiff and Chief Justice of the Island of Jersey, UK. On Sunday, chief public prosecutor Keriako Tobiko said they had not received the warrants. He promised to issue a statement upon receipt of the documents.
Jersey, because of its secrecy laws, has in the past been a haven for money launderers. Corrupt African rulers and their loyalists have stashed in Europe and other jurisdictions billions of dollars looted from their countries. They were charged with “concealing of transferring the proceeds of crime” an offence that attracts a maximum of 14 years in jail there.
Besides Kenyan police, Interpol also alerted South Africa and United Arab Emirates as the countries where the two were likely to visit. The charges relate to transactions done between 1986 and 2002. The Interpol notice reads in part: “Samuel Gichuru accepted bribes from foreign businesses that contracted with KPLC and hid the money in Jersey. “Witnesses have explained that it was considered that the payments to Gichuru had to be made if they wanted to work for KPLC,” it added.
In regard to Mr Okemo, it says: “Gichuru worked with the purview of Chrysanthus Okemo, serving as Energy minister and Finance minister at different times.” UK authorities further claim Mr Gichuru used a Winward Trading Limited in Jersey, where the money was channelled to his personal accounts. The amounts under investigation include £1.3 million (Sh175 million) to Gichuru’s personal accounts as well as £5.5 million (Sh742 million), $5.4 million (Sh430 million) and 1 million Danish Kroner (Sh16m) to Winward.
Mr Gichuru served as KPLC managing director between 1983 and 2003. Mr Okemo served as Energy Minister between 1999 and 2001 before he was moved to the Finance docket where he served between 2001 and 2003. “This request is to be treated as a formal request for provisional arrest, in conformity with national laws and/or the applicable bilateral and multilateral treaties,” a judicial decision sent to Kenya from UK states in part. It adds: “Assurances are given that extradition will be sought upon arrest of the person, in conformity with national laws and/or the applicable bilateral and multilateral treaties.”
Mr Gichuru is also accused of having used a Gibraltarian company named Arus Management Services to layer payments from Windward. According to Mr Kiraithe, the CID would arrest them once the warrant is endorsed locally. He said Foreign Affairs ministry would also be involved.
“That would be so if the court rules against them. Besides the foreign warrant being presented in court, a case file would also be produced, precisely giving the evidence collected against them,” he said.
A dramatic picture of the erupting Grimsvotn Iceland's biggest volcano in the south-east of Iceland (left), and its aerial view on the right.
The Icelandic volcano, the country's most active, erupted on Saturday and has led to the closure of much of the island's airspace after ash travelled to the capital Reykjavik.And today the Isavia civil aviation authority placed a ban on flights in a 120 nautical mile-area. Grimsvotn started erupting on Saturday night as smoke and ash were shot 12 miles high. The ash cloud even covered nearby farms and villages as it blocked out the sun. But if the ash travels at the rate it is doing now, it is thought other parts of Europe could be affected too.
The warning is based on the latest 5-day weather forecast but due to different air currents and a different forecast period to last year's eruption, weather officials have warned this could change.
Despite Iceland's airspace being closed today, officials have said no disruption to European airspace is expected over the next 24 hours.
The news comes nearly one year after Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted in Iceland which saw 34 countries shut down their airspace due to fears the ash particles could cause jet engines to stop. It was also estimated the global airline industry lost a staggering £130million a day during the disaster. However today experts are warning they don't think Grimsvotn's eruption effects will be as bad as last year's volcanic eruption.
Gunnar Gudmundsson, of Iceland's Meteorological Office, said: 'I don’t expect this will have the same effect as Eyjafjoell volcano because the ash is not as fine.' But changing weather patterns could sweep the ash into areas where it would affect other countries as Einar Kjartansson, a geophysicist at Iceland’s Met Office, added: 'If the eruption lasts for a long time we could be seeing similar effects as seen with Eyjafjallajökull last year.'
‘Joe came in the pub at the weekend and tied the horse to a pole outside,’ said Glynn Evans, a regular at the Elihu Yale watering hole in Wrexham, north Wales. ‘He had brought it into the pub before but this time staff told him he was barred for life.’
Doctors have prescribed it, nutritionists advised it and mothers insisted on it. Eat your fruits and vegetables and you will live longer. Photo/FILE
That a generous serving of fruits and vegetables is healthy for you is not just another one of those contestable mothers’ tales, but a fact of nature that will save you a lot of suffering and some pretty penny in later life.
Even though many frown at the prospect of loading their diets with veggies and fruits, experience and research have shown that the benefits of taking even a small serving of these will greatly boost your health, especially if you live a sedentary lifestyle. And, if you want to get the best out of your bowl of fruits, eat them as foods, not as supplementary diets to your pizza or french fry lunches.
This is because fruits and vegetables are low in fat, salt and sugar; and provide a good source of dietary fibre.
They have been known to reduce obesity and maintain a healthy weight by lowering your cholesterol and blood pressure levels, thereby keeping diseases like Type 2 diabetes and stroke at bay. Let’s go green and colourful today and show you what a bit of nature’s best on your plate will do for you:
APPLE
Though the forbidden fruit in the Book of Genesis is not identified, popular Christian tradition has held that it was an apple that Eve coaxed Adam to share with her.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away, so goes the adage, and this has been linked to the high levels of fibre and vitamin C in this fruit.
Research also suggests that apples may reduce the risk of colon cancer, prostate cancer and lung cancer.
The real excitement about apples as health food has to do with chemicals that act as antioxidants to help protect your health.
A Cornell University study found that rats who ate one apple per day reduced their risk of breast cancer by 17 per cent.
Rats fed three apples per day reduced their risk by 39 per cent and those fed six apples per day reduced their risk by 44 per cent.
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AVOCADO
The word ‘avocado’ is derived from the Aztec word ‘ahuacatl’. The fruit may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped or spherical.
Avocados are native to Central and South America and have been cultivated in these regions since 8,000 BC.
In Kenya, the avocado is often eaten as a fruit, alone or mixed with other fruits in a fruit salad, or as part of a vegetable salad.
Avocados have 60 per cent more potassium than bananas, and the method you use to peel them can make a difference to your health.
Research has shown that the greatest concentration of carotenoids in avocado occurs in the dark green flesh that lies just beneath the skin.
Consumption of this widely available fruit protects the digestive lining and lowers blood cholesterol.
Research has found that certain nutrients are absorbed better when eaten with avocado. In one study, when participants ate a salad containing avocados, they absorbed five times the amount of carotenoids than those who didn’t include avocados.
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BANANAS
These yellow, curved tropical fruits beloved the world over are native to Southeast Asia, and are thought to have originated in Malaysia around 4,000 years ago.
Bananas have been described as ‘magical fruits’ due to their health benefits, and their natural packaging comes in a ziplock bag that is not only biodegradable, but also hugely beneficial to the soil. A single banana can give you approximately 15 per cent of the necessary daily amount of vitamin C.
Bananas are one of our best sources of potassium, an essential mineral for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function.
They are also naturally slightly radioactive because of their high potassium content and the small amounts of the isotope potassium-40 found in naturally occurring potassium.
Plantains are used in various stews and curries; or cooked, baked or mashed in much the same way as potatoes. Their consumption has been associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer and, in women, breast cancer and renal cell carcinoma.
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CABBAGE
Cabbage is referred to as ‘the king of vegetables’ and is easy to grow almost anywhere.
While not as colourful as an orange, it is a good source of Vitamin C. In fact, cabbages have more Vitamin C than their cheerful orange counterparts.
The vegetable contains sulphur, which boosts your body and encourages wounds, if any, to heal fast.
The only part of the plant that is normally eaten is the leafy head; more precisely, the spherical cluster of immature leaves that blooms attractively.
The so-called “cabbage head” is widely consumed raw, cooked or preserved in a great variety of dishes.
The vegetable has been known to have anti-cancer properties, but boiling it, as many do, reduces its potency against the disease.
They also slow aging, prevent cataracts, heal ulcers, lower serum cholesterol, help you lose weight, clear your skin, boost immune function, relieve muscle soreness and help heal fungal infections. For best results, cabbage should be sliced thinly and cooked for four minutes.
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CARROTS
Carrots contain an abundant amount of vitamins and minerals and are a tasty way to add extra nutrition to your diet.
A single serving of carrots also contains zinc, copper and selenium, and is high in dietary fibre.
The abundant fibre in carrots also helps deal with ailments such as high cholesterol complications and constipation.
The edible orange rooted vegetable contains more sugar than any other vegetable, with the exception of beets.
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DATES
All dates have a single long seed, but they can range in shape from oblong to round. Their history has been traced back to ancient Egypt.
Dates have a sweet taste that can be described as a mixture of honey and sugar syrup.
A large date of around eight grammes may have approximately 23 calories, meaning regular consumption of the fruit will safely provide you with a large portion of your daily energy needs.
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GARLIC
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion family Alliaceae.
Garlic has been used throughout history for both culinary and medicinal purposes. It is widely used around the world for its pungent flavour as a seasoning or condiment.
The garlic plant’s bulb is the most commonly used part of the plant.
The cloves are used for consumption (raw or cooked), or for medicinal purposes, and have a characteristic pungent, spicy flavour that mellows and sweetens considerably with cooking.
Garlic has been found to have antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal activity, and is used to prevent certain types of cancer, including stomach and colon cancers.
Research has established that, in countries where garlic is consumed in higher amounts — mostly because of traditional cuisine — natives have a lower prevalence of cancer.
In 1924, doctors found out that garlic could be an effective way to prevent scurvy because of its high vitamin C content.
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KALE
Kale is one of the healthiest vegetables around, and one way to ensure that you enjoy its maximum nutrition and flavour is to cook it properly by steaming it for five minutes.
Kale is considered a highly nutritious vegetable with powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
The vegetable is very high in beta carotene, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthi;, and reasonably rich in calcium.
In East Africa, it is known as sukuma wiki and is an essential ingredient in making a stew for ugali, which is almost always eaten with kale.
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MANGOES
The name ‘mango’ is derived from the Tamil word ‘mangkay’ or ‘man-gay’.
But when Portuguese traders settled in Western India, they adopted the name ‘manga’.
Mangoes are comfort foods that can really make you feel better!
Beyond being delicious and rich in vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants, mangoes contain an enzyme with stomach-soothing properties similar to the papain found in papayas.
But to enjoy these benefits you will have to be patient, for the mango tree fruits four to six years after planting.
Mangoes are an excellent source of Vitamins A and C, as well as a good source of Potassium and beta carotene.
The mango is known as the ‘king of fruits’ throughout the world, and a ripe species has a full, fruity aroma emitting from the stem end.
If you are a livestock farmer, keep your herd away from this plant, for mango leaves are so toxic that they can kill cattle or other grazing livestock.
Every part of the mango is beneficial and has been utilised in folk remedies in some form or another.
The bark, leaves, skin or pit have all been concocted into various types of treatments through the centuries
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ONIONS
Ancient Egyptians worshipped the plant, believing its spherical shape and concentric rings symbolised eternal life.
In ancient Greece, athletes ate large quantities of onion because it was believed it would lighten the balance of blood.
Doctors have been known to prescribe onions to facilitate bowel movements and erections, and also to relieve headaches, coughs, snake bites and hair loss.
However, recent evidence has shown that dogs, cats, and other animals should not be given onions in any form due to toxicity during digestion
Onions are beneficial to women facing the risk for osteoporosis as they go through menopause, by destroying osteoclasts so that they do not break down bones.
FYI: One tears when cutting onions due to the LF gas diffused through the air into the eyes, where it activates sensory neurons, creating a stinging sensation.
Tear glands produce tears to dilute and flush out the irritant. Eye irritation can, therefore, be avoided by cutting onions under running water or while submerged in a basin of water.
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ORANGES
A popular fresh fruit, people like to consume this globule of health because of its tangy taste and nutritive values.
The ‘navel orange’ is so called because the depression at the end looks like a belly button.
Persons addicted to alcohol have found that the desire for liquor is greatly reduced after drinking orange juice.
Oranges are rich in a compound called liminoid, which combats cancers of the colon, stomach, breast, lung, skin, and mouth.
Regular consumption of oranges keeps a man’s sperms healthy by preventing genetic damage, which can cause birth defects in babies.
Regular consumption of oranges can also reduce the chances of forming calcium oxalate stones in your kidneys, while eating large quantities of this fruit will decrease the outpouring of mucus secretions from the nose.
Oranges contain folic acid for proper brain development and betacarotene, another powerful antioxidant that protects our cells from damage.
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PARSLEY (DHANIA)
Parsley has been widely cultivated as a herb, a spice and a vegetable, and is a good source of folic acid, one of the most important B vitamins. Ancient Greeks held parsley on a sacred pedestal, using it to not only adorn victors of athletic contests, but also for decorating the tombs of the deceased.
Since the plant has a strong flavour, experts suggest that it should be added towards the end of the cooking process so that it can best retain its taste, colour and nutritional value.
Parsley is an excellent source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin K. Chinese and German herbologists recommend parsley tea to help control high blood pressure.
When crushed and rubbed on the skin, parsley is said to reduce itching of mosquito bites.
Parsley should not be consumed in excess by pregnant women, but is safe in normal food quantities
It contains more Vitamin C than any other standard culinary vegetable, approximately three times as much as oranges and about the same as blackcurrants.
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PAPAYA
Christopher Columbus described it as the ‘fruit of angels’ when he first encountered it due to its delicious sweetness and musky undertones of a soft, butter-like consistency.
The papaya contains small amounts of an enzyme that is capable of digesting its own weight in protein.
It is 88.8 per cent water, almost as much as its cousin, the watermelon.
It is recommended in cases of difficult digestion and helps neutralise excess gastric acid.
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PINEAPPLES
Pineapples are an ideal dessert that improves digestion, and also an excellent aperitif that prepares the stomach for a meal.
They help you lessen the risk of hypertension, lose weight, maintain good eye health, prevent plague, and cure constipation and irregular bowel movement.
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PLUMS
They are a good source of unique phytonutrients called neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acid, which are effective in neutralising a particularly destructive oxygen radical called superoxide anion radical.
They also help prevent oxygen-based damage to fats, such as the fats that comprise a substantial portion of our brain cells or neurons, the cholesterol and triglycerides circulating in our bloodstream, or the fats that make up our cell membranes.
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PUMPKIN
Pumpkins are 90 per cent water, contain potassium and Vitamin A, and their flowers are edible.
They promote overall prostate health, improve bladder function, are anti-inflammatory and have been used in cultural set ups as a remedy against parasites such as tapeworms.
Six of the seven continents can grow pumpkins, including Alaska! Antarctica is the only continent that they won’t grow in.
FYI: The largest pumpkin pie ever made was over five feet in diameter and weighed over 350 pounds.
It used 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, 12 dozen eggs and took six hours to bake!
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SPINACH
According to a popular cartoon series, Popeye, the star, made himself super strong by eating spinach.
But, while the veggie probably won’t make you super-strong the minute you eat it, it will promote your health and vitality in many other ways because it contains lots of healthy trace minerals, including iron.
It is only one of the three vegetables we recommend boiling to free up acids and allow them to leach into the boiling water.
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TOMATOES
Because of high amounts of lycopene, a substance found in many of the more expensive over-the-counter facial cleansers, tomatoes are great for skin care.
Peel a bunch of them, eight to twelve, then lay back and place the tomato skins on your face (or other skin areas).
Make sure the inside of the tomato skins are against your skin, and let this sit for at least 10 minutes. Then wash off.
You’re face will be cleaner and more shiny, though it also might be a little red from the tomatoes.
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WATERMELONS
Watermelons are thought to have originated in the Kalahari Desert of Africa.
The first recorded watermelon harvest occurred nearly 5,000 years ago in Egypt, and is depicted in Egyptian hieroglyphics on the walls of their ancient buildings.
Watermelons were often placed in the burial tombs of kings to nourish them in the afterlife. The watermelon is a cousin to cucumbers, pumpkins and squash.
It not only boosts your “health esteem”, but is also practically a multi-vitamin unto itself, containing excellent levels of vitamins A, B6 and C.
A watermelon contains about 6 per cent sugar and 92 per cent water by weight. As with many other fruits, it is a source of vitamin C.
Gwassi MP John Mbadi (left) has moved a motion in Parliament that will see at least 1.8 million Kenyans aged above 60 (centre & right + others) getting a Sh2,000 monthly stipend
A motion that envisages Kenyans aged over 60 receive a Sh2,000 monthly stipend received huge support from MPs on Wednesday.
The motion was also amended such that if passed and assented to by the President its implementation will start from July 1, 2012. It would cost tax-payers more than Sh3.6 billion monthly to cater for the estimated 1.8 million in that age bracket.
The mover, Gwassi MP John Mbadi argues that majority of Kenyans above 60 are poor and could not support themselves and that they should be assisted by the government and society to live a decent live as per the constitution.
“Aware that article 57 (d) of the constitution makes it a requirement that the elderly receive reasonable assistance from their family and state; this House urges the government to create a scheme to pay any person who is over 60 years and is not in receipt of a pension or benefit from any organisation or state agency, an amount of not less than KSh2000 per month to enable them live in dignity and respect,” the motion says in part.
Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, who is also minister for Finance, is expected to respond to the motion next week. Mr Kenyatta’s Ministry has been banned from transacting business in the House but deputy Speaker Farah Maalim said it is expected the punishment would have been lifted next week.
In Parliament, Forestry and Wildlife minister Noah Wekesa led MPs in backing the motion terming it a good idea and a social service carried out in developed countries.
Gender minister Naomi Shaban also threw her weight behind the motion although her Ministry is currently paying elders in 40 districts Sh1,500 per month.
She hoped the Sh530 million given for the programme would be doubled so that it could be spread to other parts of the country.
Further, only elders aged above 65 benefit from the Gender Ministry’s programme which was highly criticised by MPs led by Defence minister Yusuf Haji for leaving out other districts.
“The Ministry of Gender should be given more money. I appreciate the members’ frustrations. I encourage members to bear with us,” Dr Shaban said.
Mr Haji said it is sad that some areas were not benefiting.
Mr Mbadi (ODM) said there are many Kenyans who have exhausted their productive potential after being useful in their formative years and that they are unable to sustain themselves.
“Any country that cares about its citizens should not leave them to languish in poverty,” Mr Mbadi said.
He added that the constitution makes it mandatory for the State and society to cater for all its citizens and that since the Sh2,000 translates to less than a dollar a day, families should provide the remainder.
Others who supported the motion were: MPs David Njuguna, Yusuf Chanzu, Danson Mwazo, Maison Lechoomo, Luka Kigen, Millie Odhiambo, Rachel Shebesh, Raphael Letimalo, Manson Nyamweya, Benjamin Langat, Margaret Kamar, Amina Abdalla and Maina Kamau
A bid by Mr Langat to have the motion implemented from July 1 this year was defeated with members said it had not been factored in next financial year’s budget.
