Nigerian girl among world 50 smartest teenager honored in white house

Saheela Ibraheem, 19, made history On Thursday, February, 26, when she was honoured with an official reception in the White House by the US President, Barack Obama and the First Lady, Michelle.

Saheela Ibraheem got into the Ivy League Harvard at the age of 15, where she is currently studying neurobiology — a branch of science that studies the brain — and has been listed among the “World’s 50 Smartest Teenagers.” She was also accepted for admission by 13 other top colleges in the United States, including the MIT, Princeton, Columbia, and six Ivy League institutions, choosing Harvard, she became one of the youngest students to ever attend the university. She will be graduating in May this year.

Speaking after an introductory speech by Ibraheem at the White House, President Obama stated that “there are a lot of teenagers in the world. Saheela is like one of the 50 smartest ones. That’s pretty smart. And she’s a wonderful young lady. She’s like the State Department and the National Institute of Health all rolled into one. And we are so proud of your accomplishments and all that lies ahead of you. And you reflect our history. Young people like you inspire our future.”

Ibraheem, who skipped two grades in school, said the key to success is figuring out what you love to learn as early as possible, which she did at the young age of five.

“If you are passionate about what you do, and I am passionate about most of these things, especially with math and science, it will work out well,” she told CBS 2s Cindy Hsu. In addition, Ibraheem speaks four languages that include Arabic, Spanish and Latin.

Her mother, Shakirat Ibraheem, said her daughter has been way ahead of the academic game since kindergarten — never cutting corners and trying to do everything on her own. “She’s like always independent,” she said. “I never get to help with her homework because she’d say ‘it’s my work mommy, not yours.’”

Ibraheem’s recognition and reception was part of the “Black History Month” celebration in the US, which comes up in February. The “Black History Month”, takes root from the activities of the “Association for the Study of African American Life and History.” Every year, Americans set aside the month of February to celebrate the central role that African-Americans have played in every aspect of American life especially the march for freedom and equality, jobs and justice, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and some profound contributions African-Americans make in the American culture.

Present at the evening event were members of the US Congress, including Leader Nancy Pelosi, and members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Wenger: Arsenal far from title race

Arsene Wenger believes his Arsenal side are currently "nowhere near" being involved in the race for the Premier League title - but believes a consistent run could change all that.

The Gunners currently sit third in the table and are nine points adrift of league-leaders Chelsea, with Manchester City four points clear in second spot.

The chase for the top four has closed up in recent weeks with Arsenal likely to come under heavy pressure from the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham and Southampton in the hunt for Champions League qualification.

Wenger takes his side across London to face struggling QPR on Wednesday night looking for a seventh win in eight league games but, even with such a strong run of form, Wenger feels a push for the title is not currently feasible.
Arsenal 2 Everton 0 player ratings

"At the moment we are nowhere near to winning the Premier League, and nowhere near close to being in the race," he said. "But what we want is to do as well as we can without speculating on the weakness of any team. The only thing you can say is that it's very tight.

"You look in front of you, Manchester City are four points ahead of us, and you look behind you, there's plenty of people chasing us. That will be very, very tight and it will be down to consistency in our results and mental strength. That will certainly be needed again on Wednesday night."

Whilst closing in on Capital One Cup winners Chelsea seems an outside bet for Wenger, he is hoping a drop in form form reigning champions Man City could open up the chance to pip Manuel Pellegrini's side to second spot.

"At the moment we are too far from Chelsea to say we are in the title race, but you never know what can happen," he added. "I speak as well about Man City, why should they give up for the title? They have done it three years ago by being eight points behind.

"If you ask a team who is four points behind us, they will say it's realistic to try and catch us. Manchester City are four points in front of us so mathematically of course that is possible.

BOKO HARAM: Behading video raises fear of ties with ISIS

A video released by Boko Haram purporting to show the beheading of two hostages is raising fears the extremist group is trying to create closer ties with Isis.

The film, released via social media on Monday, shows militants standing behind two men who are bound and on their knees.

Its graphics and advanced editing techniques echo beheading videos and well-produced propaganda released by Isis through its various media arms.

The video, entitled 'Harvest of Spies', sees one of the bound men asked to say his name and where he is from. He introduces himself as Dawoud Muhammad, a farmer from the Nigerian town of Baga, and says he was one of three men bribed by police to spy on the Islamist militant group. The second man says he is from Michika in Adamawa.

A militant stands behind him brandishing a knife in a scene comparable to the actions of Jihadi John, the British Isis militant, who was seen standing behind hostages from the UK, the US and Japan and wielding a knife.

26-year-old 'Jihadi John' is believed to have left Britain in 2012-13 26-year-old 'Jihadi John' is believed to have left Britain in 2012-13
Nigeria’s army claimed territories in Baga were recaptured from Boko Haram in recent months. In January, Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the massacre of up to 2,000 civilians in Baga.

A flag can be clearly seen in the corner of the video, another production aspect well established in Isis videos. Speech is translated into English, French and Arabic in subtitles accompanying the footage.

BOKO HARAM: Chadian troops reclaimed Northeastern Nigerian town

Chadian troops have seized a strategically located northeast Nigerian town from Boko Haram, but not before the defeated Islamic extremists killed hundreds of civilians, Chad's military said.

The Chadian forces regained control Monday of Dikwa, a town occupied by the militants for weeks, said Chad's military spokesman Col. Azem Bermandoua.

One soldier was killed and 34 were wounded, most by a suicide car bomber, Bermandoua said on national television. Dikwa is at a crossroads to two border crossings with Chad and a route north to Lake Chad.

Separately, southwest of Dikwa, Nigerian troops Monday repelled an attack by Boko Haram on Konduga, killing more than 70 insurgents, according to a Nigerian corporal who helped defend the town. A security official confirmed the attack. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to reporters.

Boko Haram invaded the town between herds of cattle and a suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden car, the corporal said. But the military had been warned and were well prepared to drive back the insurgents, he said.

Konduga has been attacked many times in recent months because it is a final defense for Maiduguri, the biggest northeastern city 35 kilometers (25 miles) away that is the birthplace of Boko Haram.

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan said Tuesday that "utmost care was being taken by the federal government to avoid collateral damage to the lives and properties of civilians as the military intensifies its ongoing offensive against Boko Haram." The military has been accused of gross abuses including indiscriminate killings of civilians. Jonathan claimed his government has investigated previous reports of abuse which "were mostly blown out of proportion for political reasons."

The United Nations said Tuesday that fighting in the northeast forced 16,000 Nigerians to flee across the border into Cameroon over the weekend. Some 1.6 million Nigerians have been forced from their homes and unknown hundreds of girls and young men have been kidnapped in the 6-year-old Islamic uprising by Nigeria's home-grown Boko Haram group.

The Islamic extremists' attacks have spread across borders into Cameroon, Chad and Niger, which are forming a multinational force to fight the militants.

International concern has risen along with fatalities in the uprising: Some 10,000 people were killed last year compared to 2,000 in the four previous years, according to the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations.

Baby with three eyes

Medical doctors at the Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital, Kano are struggling to unravel the mystery behind with the case of a baby boy born with three eyes, which are all functioning. But many are wondering whether the infant is a ‘special child’ or is deformed.
A Woman from Rano local government area of Kano State was recently delivered of a baby boy with an extra eye, raising serious questions as to how the third eye, which appears like a protrusion on the upper side of his left ear, came about. Doctors at the Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital Kano, say the third eye is as functional as the normal pair in terms of sight and sensitivity. one can see the eye lashes, the eyeballs and all other things available in the normal eyes. Idris Ashiru, born two weeks ago, is undergoing a series of medical investigations to determine the next line of action to be taken by the hospital on the abnormal body part. Oblivious of what is going on around him, the infant lies peacefully on his hospital bed waiting for the outcome of the investigation to determine if the third eye will be removed or not.
 Narrating how she gave birth to Idris, the 24-year-old mother, Sajida Ashiru, said she had a normal ante natal and delivery process: “I did not experience any abnormality during his pregnancy and even when I gave birth, it was normal like all other births that I had.” Being her fourth birth, Sajida said when she gave birth to Idris, he was hale and hearty and till date he has shown no sign of ailment or pain: “He is very healthy; he sleeps well and is not showing any sign of pain and even the additional eye itself shows no sign of pain or inconvenience.” As soon as she noticed the abnormal thing on her child’s face after birth, Sajida took him to the Rano General Hospital from where they were referred to the Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital Kano for further investigations.
The troubled mother said it was the wish of God and that she is praying for the successfully removal of the third eye so that her child can live a normal life like his three siblings, stressing that all her other children were born normal without any deformity. Explaining the mystery behind the third eye, the head of ophthalmology department at the specialist hospital, Dr. Hadi Bala Yahaya, said when the child was brought to them two weeks ago, they examined him to ascertain the position of the third eye. “When we examined him, we certified that this patient has three different eyes apart from the normal anatomical position of two eyes which we used to see,” Yahaya explained. He added that after certifying that the additional eye was indeed an eye, they decided to put him under a series of investigations to ascertain whether it was a functional eye.
“At the end of the investigations we are able to ascertain that it is an additional eye, and not just that, but also a functional eye because if one puts on a torch-light on the eye it is reflecting and it has all the structures of an eye,” he said. The child was further referred for additional examination to enable them know what steps to take in addressing the problem, Yahaya explained further. He said at the end of the analysis, the medical team would be able to know the possibility of removing the third eye, which the ophthalmologist said would be done on the condition that it would not affect the two normal eyes. He added that if at the end of the investigations it is certified that the additional eye could be operated, the surgery would involve specialists from different departments: “The operation will include in addition to the ophthalmologist, a neurologist, a paediatric surgeon and an orthopaedic surgeon. These entire specialists have a stake in the operation.” The ophthalmologist stated that this was the first case at the hospital of a child being born with three eyes, saying such stories normally filter in from faraway places like China and far East Asia.
Explaining the possible reasons for such an abnormality, Yahaya said: “Indiscriminate taking of drugs during the first three months of pregnancy could sometimes cause such abnormality. We call this congenital malformation. There are some drugs that can affect the formation of the child at that stage and at the end; the child can be born with either one leg or one eye.” Another possible cause according to him could be deficiency on the part of the mother, saying if due to poverty the mother suffers from  deficiency of some vitamins or had suffered certain illnesses during pregnancy, it could as well affect the formation of the child. He therefore advised pregnant women to attend ante natal clinic because during ante natal, certain abnormalities could be detected on time and be corrected.

Boko Haram: Nigerian troops record defeat in Adamawa and Borno

Military troops stationed at Djimitillo, Borno battled a “group of terrorists” Friday night after encountering their hideouts, the army said Saturday.

A number of the militants were killed in what Defence Headquaters called a “fierce fight to dislodge” them from their location, close to a market, along the road between Djmitilllo and Damaturu.

The army did not give a number of those killed in the fighting, but it said the fight also resulted in the capture of machine guns and rifles.

“Some of the terrorists are believed to have died in the fire that gutted the house where they had made their base,” said Maj-Gen Chris Olukolade, Defence’s director of information.

“A soldier was killed while another was wounded and is undergoing treatment.”

In separate fighting, troops chasing insurgents caught up with some as they tried to blow up a bridge to deter army advance in Gulak, Adamawa state, the army said.

“The terrorists were not lucky as they died in their encounter with troops,” said Olukolade.

“The troops are continuing with the cordon and search of the town and environs after overpowering the terrorists. A lot of arms have been recovered in the process. Troops are also dismantling the terrorists group’s flags hoisted in the towns.”

Nigerian troops has reclamied some towns from Book Haram

The Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen Chris Olukolade, has said that troops have recaptured more towns from the members of the Boko Haram sect.

Olukolade said in a statement that the troops handed out a crushing defeat to the insurgents and recovered the headquarters of Gulani Local Government Area of Yobe State, Bara, and the headquarters of Madagali Local Government area, Gulag, from them in the early hours of Friday.

He said that the troops also flushed out terrorists from other locations such as Shikah, Fikayel, Tetebah, Buza, Kamla and Bumsa, during the two-day operation.

According to Olukolade, many insurgents were killed in the fierce fighting that preceded the liberation of the communities.

The Defence spokesman said that the troops recovered and destroyed several arms and ammunition, vehicles and other equipment.

According to him, the items recovered included anti-air craft guns, general purpose machine guns, barrel grenade launchers, rifles and mortar guns.