Dame Tessa Jowell reveals she has rare and aggressive brain cancer
Dame
Tessa Jowell has revealed the extend of her rare, aggressive brain
cancer for the first time, but insists she is "not afraid."
The
former Minister for Public Health and Culture Secretary will today speak
out in the House of Lords, calling for greater collaboration in cancer
research - and for cancer sufferers to be given greater freedom to risk
experimental treatments.
She told the BBC the diagnosis came without warning.
"It
was It came with absolutely no expectation," she said. "Absolutely none
at all. I had not a single apparent symptom and I was on my way to host
a centre for children - [I had a] seizure and I was unconscious for
three or four days."
Despite her condition, she is determined to
keep campaigning for greater collaboration between hospitals - and even
internationally - to beat cancer.
(Image: PA) She said new developments in technology create opportunities for hospitals in different countries to connect.
Baroness Jowell was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a high-grade brain tumour, in May last year.
She
has received treatment on the NHS, but has also had consultations with
doctors in the United States and in Germany, where she underwent an
experimental immunotherapy treatment.
Ahead of her speech in the
House of Lords today, she told the BBC's Nick Robinson patients with
aggressive forms of cancer like hers should have the freedom to take
part in 'adaptive' drug trials, which can maximise the chance of
success.
She said: "The important fact about an adaptive trial is
that it can start, not achieve what you want and then move on to the
next version.
"Brain cancers happen very quickly. You have to
show that there’s been change quickly and if you don’t do that then
basically nothing changes."
The trials allow doctors to try more than one type of treatment without having to wait for weeks and months between trials.
It can increase the chance of success, but brings with it the risk of side-effects.
But Baroness Jowell said: "Shall I tell you something? I am absolutely 100 per cent trying to stay alive.
"That is exactly the kind of risk that patients should be
free to take. Risk that they have the chance to take and it’s certainly
what somebody like me wants."
But despite her diagnosis, she is determined not to just "curl up on the sofa".
She
said: "That would be absolutely impossible. I have so much love in my
family, my children, my close friends. It’s the most extraordinary,
blessed and recreating sense and I feel that I want that to be
experienced by so many other people as well.
"I was deeply touched by Seamus Heaney’s last words when he said “do not be afraid”
"I
am not afraid. I feel very clear about my sense of purpose and what I
want to do and how do I know how long it’s going to last? I’m certainly
going to do everything I can to make it a very long time."
Mirror
Wednesday, 24 January 2018
Govs, Lawmakers, Political Leaders Meet on How to Form New Party
Tobi Soniyi
As former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s
bombshell to President Muhammadu Buhari, advising him not to re-contest
the 2019 presidential election sent shock waves across the country
Tuesday, governors, legislators and political leaders cutting across the
two major political parties – the All Progressives Congress (APC) and
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – met Tuesday night at an undisclosed
location to continue discussions on the formation of a new major
political party.
Sources conversant with the move to form
a third major political party to wrest power from the APC, informed
THISDAY that the meeting Tuesday night was a follow up to previous
meetings held by the amorphous group of political leaders in Dubai,
Saudi Arabia and London, with the objective of forming a “third force”
that can meet the aspirations of its members.
One source who provided clarity on the
coalescing of politicians that can trounce the APC and PDP in the next
general election, explained that the concept of a third force in the
political firmament has two strands.
“One is the Nigeria Intervention Movement (NIM) that is not a political
party but is trying to galvanise professionals, civil society groups and
activists to support credible candidates in different parties.
“The second is an amorphous group of
political leaders, serving and former governors and National Assembly
members of both parties, as well as retired military leaders who have
been meeting in places like Dubai, Saudi Arabia and London to fashion
out a modus vivendi for the new party that will challenge both the APC
and PDP,” he said.
The source, however, explained that even
though the political leaders had bought into the formation of a third
major party and were waiting in the wings to step out once it is formed,
they are conscious of the fact that there may be insufficient time to
get it registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) before the elections.
“Since time is of the essence and most of the politicians who want to
dump the APC and PDP for this new party know that there might not be
enough time to get it registered, they are also on the hunt for one of
the already registered political parties that they can use as a platform
to actualise their goals,” he said.
Providing more insight into what may
have galvanised some politicians from the two main parties to push for
the formation of another party, the source said those from the APC are
unhappy with the trajectory of the ruling party and the fact that it has
lost legitimacy, especially in the Middle Belt region of the country.
“As you know the clashes between herdsmen and farmers, especially in
Benue and Taraba States, and its mismanagement by the Buhari
administration, has caused outrage and left many people in both states
and the rest of the region bewildered.
“Key supporters of Buhari in Benue,
Taraba and other Middle Belt states like General T.Y. Danjuma are
bewildered over the way these conflicts have been handled. They believe
the president could have intervened promptly, but he has failed to do so
and has allowed the problem and killings to get out of control,” he
said.
Another source further explained that Benue is the archetypical swing
state in the North-central zone that has always voted with the winning
party.
“In 1979 to 1983, Benue people backed
the then ruling party, National Party of Nigeria (NPN), and it formed
the government; in the current Republic, the state also backed the PDP
and it formed the government; it also voted for APC and it has formed
the government.
“But the killings in Benue State have caused its political leadership to
reassess their support for the APC, because Buhari has been slow to act
and has allowed the problem to fester,” he said.
Furthermore, he disclosed that several
APC leaders desirous of a new platform are also unhappy with the Kaduna
State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, and the Minister of Transportation,
Rotimi Amaechi, who have been accused of taking over the Buhari
political machinery, and have used divide and rule tactics to sideline
many members of the ruling party.
He added that several APC politicians
have read the writing on the wall and know that the party has eroded the
goodwill on which it rode to win the 2015 elections.
“As such, they are seeking a new platform which is not the PDP, because
both the APC and PDP are not popular with the Nigerian people.”
Continuing, the source said the reason
PDP was not considered as an option stemmed from the fact that the
opposition party had become too “toxic” and has been hijacked by the
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and his Ekiti State counterpart,
Ayodele Fayose.
“Even Obasanjo alluded to their procurement of the Supreme Court
judgment and how one of them is now dictating the tune in the PDP to do
his bidding.
“Also many familiar with the move to
form the new party know that the South-west is a no-go area for the PDP
because of the way it treated its South-west leaders at the last
national convention of the party.
“The PDP is a tainted brand and is deemed by millions of Nigerians as a
corrupt party, so there is no way it can be factored as an alternative
platform for aggrieved APC members,” he added.
Thisday
Thursday, 18 January 2018
Men are still paid more than women in EVERY single occupation
Differences in pay are small at younger ages, but from 40 onwards they widen, reaching a peak between 50 and 59
Occupations with the smallest pay gap have almost equal employment levels between men and women (Image: Taxi)
The gender pay gap for full-time workers is entirely in favour of men in every occupation, a new study reveals.
Differences
in pay are small at younger ages, but from 40 onwards they widen,
reaching a peak between 50 and 59, said the Office for National
Statistics (ONS).
Occupations with the smallest pay gap have almost equal employment levels between men and women, the research found.
Between 2011 and 2017,
men's pay has increased by 10.4% to a median rate of £14.48 an hour
compared with a 12% rise for women to £13.16 (Image: Image Source) Between 2011 and 2017, men's pay has increased by 10.4% to a
median rate of £14.48 an hour compared with a 12% rise for women to
£13.16, said the ONS.
On average, men were paid £1.32 an hour more than women last year, a gap of 9.1%.
Almost three out of four employees in the highest paid occupations, such as chief executives, were men, said the report.
The increased pay gap for older women could be explained by having time time off work to have children.
Labour's women and equalities chief Dawn Butler has slammed the government's record on tackling the gender pay gap (Image: PA)
Almost three out of four employees in the highest paid occupations, such as chief executives, were men, said the report (Image: Aurora Creative) Dawn Butler, Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities,
said: "The findings are a damning indictment on the Government's failure
to tackle the gender pay gap.
"While
the Government claims progress, this latest analysis exposes severe
work inequalities faced by women across the country and it is clear that
we need urgent action to address it.
Thursday, 11 January 2018
Ayes to the Left podcast: Theresa May's terrible start to 2018
The
Mirror’s Jason Beattie, Ben Glaze and Nicola Bartlett discuss the
reshuffle, Theresa May’s cringeworthy PMQs and whether we have reached
peak Corbyn
The Prime Minister's reshuffle did not go according to plan (Image: Getty Images Europe)
Theresa May had hoped to use this week's reshuffle to relaunch her faltering government.
But
the Prime Minister’s best plans quickly fell apart when she delivered
one of the most disaster-strewn ministerial shake ups in recent memory.
It
started with Chris Grayling being named as Party Chairman for 27
seconds, saw Jeremy Hunt refuse to move jobs and ended with the
resignation of Justine Greening.
In the latest Ayes to the Left
podcast, the Mirror’s Jason Beattie, Ben Glaze and Nicola Bartlett
discuss why it went so wrong and what are the implications for May’s
government.
They also talk through the first PMQs of the New Year which saw Mrs May trip up again.
The Mirror team discuss if we have reached “peak Corbyn” and why this year may not be plain sailing for the Labour leader.
And they name the politicians to watch in 2018.
Mirror
Tuesday, 9 January 2018
Obasanjo: It’s Not Yet Ripe to Say If I’ll Support Buhari for Second Term
• Blames Yar’Adua for dismantling anti-corruption structures
Agha Ibiam in London
A former Nigerian president and chairman
of the panel of advisors of the Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG),
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that it is not yet ripe to determine
if he will support President Muhammadu Buhari’s bid for a second term in
office or not.
Having ditched the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP), which brought him to power for eight years, Obasanjo in
2014 threw his weight behind Buhari and invariably the All Progressives
Congress (APC) as against the PDP administration led by former President
Goodluck Jonathan.
However, Obasanjo, whose response was
brief when confronted with the question by THISDAY after delivering a
speech titled, “Leadership in the African Context – How to Drive
Transformational Change in African Countries,” at the Blavatnik School
of Government, University of Oxford, Monday, retorted that the time was
not ripe to answer such a question.
Having given his terse response, Obasanjo was hurriedly ushered into his
car and driven off for a dinner event at the university college.
The event, which was organised by AIG to
announce the 2017/18 scholarship recipients, attracted hundreds of
people from the university community and beyond.
His speech, nonetheless, drew a lot of questions bordering on why the
African continent is governed by bad, corrupt and inexperienced leaders.
Obasanjo, who was well equipped and
prepared to make the event an interactive one, responded to all the
questions thrown at him by the audience.
On fighting corruption in Nigeria, he
said it was a hydra-headed monster, which was deeply entrenched in the
system, adding that fighting corruption was not a one-day affair but
something that must be fought continuously.
“The man (leader) on top must be above
board and be seen to fight corruption. Those around him must also be
upright and various institutions such as the police, judiciary, the
executive and other bodies must make it an all-inclusive affair because
it is an endless process,” Obasanjo said.
He then went on to blame the late
President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua whom he said had dismantled some of the
structures he had put in place to check and curtail corruption, such as
the pioneer chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission
(EFCC).
He noted that Yar’Adua had allowed
former Delta State governor, Mr. James Ibori, to push for the
replacement of the former EFCC chairman, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, whom Obasanjo
claimed was poisoned but eventually survived it.
On achieving good governance in Africa and particularly Nigeria, Obasanjo urged Nigerian youths to participate in politics.
He, however, expressed regret that the
amount of money required in politics was obscene, noting that something
must be done about it.
“Politics in Nigeria has been dominated
by people that have stolen money, that have godfathers or even drug
barons, the type we have now at the National Assembly. So youths should
pool resources to become politically active in order to replace the
present crop of leaders and provide better alternatives,” he added.
Obasanjo told the audience that he was
satisfied with what AIG was doing by collaborating with the Blavatnik
School of Government to ensure that young minds are produced in West
Africa to take up the mantle of leadership in the near future.
He remarked that Africa’s time to
develop was now, but maintained that African leaders needed to implement
transformational change agendas if things must happen.
“There must be far reaching reforms to ensure we remove the old order
and introduce the new order because Africa is viewed by the Western
world as a liability.
“For the eight years I was in power, I tried to reach out to other world
leaders using my shuttle diplomacy which attracted positive actions. I
campaigned for debt relief which we got and Africa was no longer treated
with disdain,” he recalled.
He said transformational leadership
abhors complacency by thinking outside the box, thinking strategically,
and refuses to take no for an answer.
The former president added that policy development and honesty would
push the reforms that the African continent was yearning for, adding
that leaders needed to wake up for the paradigm shift.
The inaugural recipients of the AIG scholarships for 2017/18 are
Emokiniovo Akpughe (Nigeria), Efosa Trevor Edobor (Nigeria),
Abdul-Fatawu Z. Hakeem (Ghana), Chukwunonso Iheoma (Nigeria),
Oluwapelumi Simpson (Nigeria) and Emmanuel Taiwo (Nigeria).
Before his speech, Obasanjo arrived at
the university college at 14.07GMT and went straight into a meeting to
discuss the partnership between the Blavatnik School of Government and
AIG.
Others at the meeting included the Dean of the Blavatnik School of
Government, Prof. Ngaire Woods; Director of Development, Dr. Kirstine
Knox; Head of Executive Office, Hillary Coyne-Bar; and the Head of
Partnerships and Fellowship Office, Gail Allan.
Members of the AIG advisory panel
present at the meeting included Obasanjo, Chairman of the THISDAY
Editorial Board, Mr. Segun Adeniyi, and Mrs Yemisi Ayeni, while the AIG
board members present were former President of Council of the Nigerian
Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Mrs. Ofovwe
Aig-Imoukhuede, and the Group Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank Plc,
Mr. Herbert Wigwe.
Culled from Thisday
Thursday, 26 October 2017
Mel B claims husband Stephen Belafonte DRUGGED her throughout their 10 year marriage as bitter divorce battle rages on
The Spice Girl has also accused her estranged husband of tormenting her with mental and physical abuse.
Mel B claims she was drugged by her estranged husband throughout most
of their 10-year marriage, their bitter divorce battle has heard.
The former Spice Girl, real name Melanie Brown, has accused Stephen
Belafonte of domestic violence as they undergo an acrimonious split in
court in Los Angeles.
And in the latest development, Los Angeles Superior Court was told on Wednesday that she now claims he drugged her too.
One of Belafonte's lawyers, Philip Cohen, said: "Miss Brown now takes
the position she was drugged by Mr Belafonte throughout the course of
the marriage."
Mel B and Stephen Belafonte are currently locked in a divorce battle (Image: PA)
Mel B and Stephen Belafonte are divorcing after 10 years of marriage (Image: Getty) The America's Got Talent judge, made the allegation that
she was drugged throughout "much to most" of the relationship during a
recent deposition, Mr Cohen added.
Belafonte, also 42, is accused of tormenting Melanie with years of mental and physical abuse.
So far the preliminary hearings ahead of their full divorce trial have heard a series of damaging allegations.
Belafonte has claimed the singer has suffered from cocaine and alcohol
addiction, saying they were a "major issue" in their marriage.
Mel appeared as a judge on America's Got Talent (Image: NBCUniversal)
It has also been said that Melanie led an "extravagant"
lifestyle and had "wiped out" her 50 million dollar (£39 million) Spice
Girls fortune.
The couple married in Las Vegas in June 2007.
She filed for divorce on March 20, citing "irreconcilable differences" and detailing allegations of domestic abuse.
Belafonte's lawyers previously dismissed her claims as "nothing more than a smear campaign". A trial on the domestic violence allegations has been delayed and will now begin on November 6 ahead of the full divorce case.
Culled from Mirror
Friday, 20 October 2017
Lupita Nyong'o claims Harvey Weinstein 'tried to remove his pants after offering massage while his kids were in house'
The actress has described a number of encounters with the producer when she was just starting out in Hollywood
Lupita Nyong'o is the latest actress to come forward to describe her encounters with disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Writing in an op-ed in the New York Times,
she alleged that not only did Weinstein attempt to ply her with alcohol
when she met with him at a restaurant, but after they moved the meeting
to his home to watch a film screening, tried to give her a massage.
At a later meeting, the 34-year-old Oscar-winning actress claimed Weinstein, 65, propositioned her in a hotel restaurant.
According
to Nyong'o, she met with Weinstein for the second time - after having
initially met him in 2011 at an awards ceremony in Berlin while she was
still in school at Yale - when he asked her to attend a screening at his
home after sharing lunch at a restaurant.
When she arrived at
the restaurant in Westport, Connecticut, close to where Weinstein lived,
Nyong'o told of how he ordered her a vodka soda and insisted that she
drink it, despite her protests.
The actress has opened up about her experience with Weinstein (Image: AFP) After finishing their meal, she and Weinstein relocated to
his home, where Nyong'o was introduced to his domestic staff and
children.
Nyong'o wrote that she, Weinstein, and his children all
began watching the film together. About 15 minutes into the film,
however, Weinstein asked her to accompany him outside the room.
"I
protested that I wanted to finish the film first, but he insisted I go
with him, laying down the law as though I too was one of his children. I
did not want another back-and-forth in front of his kids, so I complied
and left the room with him. I explained that I really wanted to see the
film. He said we'd go back shortly.
(Image: Splash News) "Harvey led me into a bedroom - his bedroom - and announced
that he wanted to give me a massage. I thought he was joking at first.
He was not. For the first time since I met him, I felt unsafe. I
panicked a little and thought quickly to offer to give him one instead:
It would allow me to be in control physically, to know exactly where his
hands were at all times."
Nyong'o alleged that after he removed his shirt and she began giving him a massage, he asked if he could remove his pants.
She said she would prefer that he didn't and that it would make her extremely uncomfortable if he did so.
Despite her protests, Weinstein allegedly got up to remove them, at which point the actress moved toward the door.
Emma Watson, Margot Robbie and Lupita at last year's Met Gala (Image: REX) "I opened the door and stood by the frame. He put his shirt on and again mentioned how stubborn I was," she wrote.
"I
agreed with an easy laugh, trying to get myself out of the situation
safely. I was after all on his premises, and the members of his
household, the potential witnesses, were all (strategically, it seems to
me now) in a soundproof room."
Nyong'o wrote that she "didn't quite know" how to process the massage incident, and rationalised it.
His wife, Georgina Chapman, announced she was leaving him after the allegations surfaced (Image: REX/Shutterstock) "I reasoned that it had been inappropriate and
uncalled-for, but not overtly sexual. I was entering into a business
where the intimate is often professional and so the lines are blurred."
Nyong'o
continued that after the encounter she met up with Weinstein once more,
this time accompanied by friends as well as some of Weinstein's
colleagues, for dinner and a staged reading of his new Broadway show
Finding Neverland.
Harvey Weinstein has seen his empire collapse following allegations made against him (Image: REX/Shutterstock) During this meeting, Nyong'o experienced no untoward
attention, and the fact that Weinstein was accompanied by other female
actresses made her even more inclined to brush off the previous incident
as an awkward encounter.
A couple of months later, Nyong'o wrote, Weinstein invited her to have drinks with him after a screening of W.E.
According
to the actress, a male assistant arranged her transportation from the
reading to the Tribeca Grill, where she would meet Weinstein for drinks.
Weinstein, 65, meteorically
fell from grace after the claims were made public and has had ties
severed with his own firm, The Weinstein Company (Image: REUTERS) Although she assumed it would be a group of people, as it
had been for the reading, when she arrived at the restaurant, she was
informed by a female assistant that it would just be her and Weinstein.
The assistant waited with her until Weinstein appeared, at which time she left.
She
alleges that before their starters arrived he suggested that they go
upstairs to where he had a private room to have their rest of their
dinner.
"I told him I preferred to eat in the restaurant. He told
me not to be so naive. If I wanted to be an actress, then I had to be
willing to do this sort of thing. He said he had dated Famous Actress X
and Y and look where that had gotten them."
Lupita Nyong'o at the Queen of Katwe film premiere in Los Angeles (Image: Rex Features) The actress declined his offer and they left the restaurant and she went to get into a taxi.
"Before
I got in, I needed to make sure that I had not awakened a beast that
would go on to ruin my name and destroy my chances in the business even
before I got there," she wrote. "'I just want to know that we are good,'
I said. 'I don't know about your career, but you'll be fine,' he said.
It felt like both a threat and a reassurance at the same time; of what, I
couldn't be sure."
(Image: REX/Shutterstock) The next time she saw him was in 2013 at an after-party for
the premiere of 12 Years a Slave. Weinstein found her and commended her
for her rapid progress in the industry.
She alleges that he apologised for the way he had treated her in the past and he promised to respect her moving forward.
The actress thanked him, but says she made a promise to herself never to work with Weinstein.
Nyong'o
finished by explaining that she had no idea at the time that this
behaviour from Weinstein was something other women were dealing with as
well.
Nyong'o finished by
explaining that she had no idea at the time that this behavior from
Weinstein was something other women were dealing with as well (Image: Rex Features) The fact that he was one of the first people she'd met in
the industry also prevented her from coming forward sooner, and the fact
that no one else seemed to be challenging him.
In a statement to E! News, a spokesperson responded to the star's op-ed piece.
"Mr.
Weinstein has a different recollection of the events, but believes
Lupita is a brilliant actress and a major force for the industry.
He has "unequivocally denied" allegations of non-consensual sex through his spokeswoman (Image: AFP) "Last year, she sent a personal invitation to Mr. Weinstein to see her in her Broadway show Eclipsed."
A
number of actresses have come forward in recent weeks to accuse
Weinstein of sexual harassment, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Lena Headey,
Angelina Jolie, Cara Delevingne, Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd.
Weinstein
meteorically fell from grace after the claims were made public and has
had ties severed with his own firm, The Weinstein Company.
He has "unequivocally denied" allegations of non-consensual sex through his spokeswoman.
Police in London, Los Angeles and New York are investigating the 65-year-old.
