Gist Coven

HisHoliness, Pope Francis, has said he has been praying for the peace and stability of Nigeria. The Pope made this known when he met with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, in Saint Peters Square, Vatican City, yesterday. Dogara had led the Nigerian delegation to the Holy See, for a morning mass, where nationals and leaders from different countries of the world gather to join the Pope for the mass and receive blessings from him. The speaker, who described the meeting with Pope Francis as “awesome,” stated in a statement by his media adviser, Turaki Hassan, that he was surprised and delighted to know that the pontiff is well-informed about happenings in Nigeria. “The moment I was introduced to him as the speaker of the Nigerian parliament, he said: ‘how is Nigeria and how  are you working for the peace of Nigeria? Pray for me also.’ The speaker was accompanied by the Nigerian ambassador to the Holy See, General Goerge Godwin Umo, who disclosed that ...

Apple supplier Foxconn has admitted to using illegal intern labour to assemble the iPhone X. Students said they worked 11-hour days, which is a breach of Chinese labour law. The scandal comes after Apple reportedly faced delays in getting the iPhone X to customers. Apple supplier Foxconn has said that it will stop using illegal intern labour in its factories that are used to assemble technology products for some of the world's biggest companies, according to a report by BBC News. Foxconn's use of interns on its production lines was first reported by The Financial Times. Six students told the newspaper that they regularly work 11-hour shifts assembling Apple's new iPhone X, which is a breach of Chinese labour law. The Financial Times said that a group of 3,000 interns worked in Foxconn's factories. The students, who were reportedly aged between 17 and 19, told The Financial Times that their work at Foxconn was work experience that they had to do in order to co...

When you hit the gym, chances are you're thinking more about how your body will benefit rather than how your brain will. But as it turns out, all that time spent on the treadmill is doing your noggin a serious favor. New research from Australia's National Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM) at Western Sydney University and the Division of Psychology and Mental Health at the University of Manchester in the U.K. shows that aerobic activity can improve your memory and overall brain health as you age. The study, published in NeuroImage, looked at brain scans of 737 people who were either totally healthy, had mild brain deterioration (like Alzheimer's), or had a diagnosed mental illness like depression or schizophrenia. Their ages ranged from 24 to 76 years old (the average being 66). Participants in the study did all types of cardio—the stationary bike, walking, and running—two to five times a week for anywhere between three months and two years. By the end of ...

Google admits to collecting Android users’ locations even when devices are disabled, a Quartz investigation reported on Thursday. “It seems quite intrusive for Google to be collecting such information that is only relevant to carrier networks when there are no SIM card or enabled services,’’ Matthew Hickey, a security expert and researcher, told media in London. Since the beginning of 2017, Android phones have been collecting the addresses of nearby cellular towers and sending the data to Google’s system, according to a Google spokesperson. Therefore Google has access to data about individuals’ locations and movements, even when their phones are turned off or disconnected from the Internet, which violates the privacy of smartphone users. The spokesperson said the collected data was never used or stored and promised that by the end of November, Android phones would no longer send cellular tower location data to Google.

As if you didn’t have enough bodily fluids to handle, here’s one more: belly button discharge. Whether you have an innie or an outie, you’ve likely experienced the common phenomenon of belly button crust, says dermatologist Aditi Jha, M.D., head physician at online medical consultation company JustDoc.com. That’s because your skin cells regenerate regularly, she says, and the old stuff is washed away when you bathe. But because some may get trapped in the folds of your belly button, it can accumulate as dried skin—with a feel and look that’s similar to crusty eye stuff you get overnight. But if you’re dealing with something that’s more ooze than crunch, it could be a sign that something’s not right, says Dr. Jha. And if that’s the case, it’s not something you should pick at to try to determine what the heck is going on down there. “It is strongly advised by all doctors to avoid meddling with the belly button, because it has the highest blood drainage in the body,” Dr. Jha say...

Do you have trouble inhaling through one or both nostrils? Are you subject to frequent nose bleeds? Do your partners accuse you of being a noisy sleep-breather? A deviated septum might be to blame, but fear not: it's treatable. A deviated septum results when the cartilage-and-bone barrier wall between the nostrils strays to one side such that one nasal passage is bigger than the other, potentially making it harder for air to flow in and out of the nose. In most cases, you're born with a deviated septum or you acquire on through nasal injury: Because facial anatomy isn't perfectly symmetrical in the vast majority of humans, many noses show some degree of septum deviation, according to Abtin Tabaee, M.D. associate professor in the department of otolaryngology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. Treatment is typically only considered in cases of significant nasal obstruction, and while deviated septum surgery can correct the condition, whether or not it's worth the ...

While Bill Gates has a schedule that’s planned down to the minute, the entrepreneur-turned-billionaire-humanitarian still gobbles up about a book a week. Aside from a handful of novels, they’re mostly nonfiction books covering his and his foundation’s broad range of interests. A lot of them are about transforming systems: how nations can intelligently develop, how to lead an organization, and how social change can fruitfully happen. We went through the past five years of his book criticism to find the ones that he gave glowing reviews and that changed his perspective. 1. Tap Dancing to Work: Warren Buffett on Practically Everything, 1966-2012 by Carol Loomis Warren Buffett and Gates have a famously epic bromance, what with their recommending books to each other and spearheading philanthropic campaigns together. So it’s no surprise that Gates enjoyed Tap Dancing to Work, a collection of articles and essays about and by Buffett, compiled by Fortune magazine journalist Carol ...