Pope Suspends German ‘Luxury Bishop’.

Bishop Franz-Peter (Left) and Pope Francis (Right).

Pope Francis has suspended indefinitely a German prelate, Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, for spending $43 million of Church funds on his residence. The Vatican, in a statement on Wednesday, said that "The Holy See deems it appropriate to authorise a period of leave from the diocese for Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst". It did not specify how long the bishop would have to stay away but added that this would depend on an analysis of the finances of his Limburg diocese and the responsibilities for its high costs.

Bishop Franz-Peter in a vintage BMW.

The Bishop has been dubbed "the luxury bishop" by the German media after an audit of his spending, ordered after a Vatican monitor visited Limburg last month, revealed the residence cost at least six times more than planned.

German media, citing official documents, said the residence had been fitted with:

• A free-standing bath that cost 15,000 euros.
• A conference table that cost 25,000 euros.
• A private chapel for 2.9 million euros.

The Central Committee of German Catholics, a body that brings together all the Catholic lay associations in the country, said it was satisfied with the decision to suspend the bishop. The group’s president, Alois Glueck said that "Pope Francis' decision offers a chance at a new beginning in the diocese of Limburg where the situation has become heavy in recent weeks both for believers there and for the Church in Germany as a whole".

The scandal has also put pressure on German bishops for more financial transparency in the entire Church in their country, forcing them to scrap centuries of secrecy over the reporting of the value of their private endowments.

Source: ALJAZEERA.

Apple Launches Lighter and Smarter iPad Air.

The latest apple tablet is thinner, lighter and even smarter than the previous one. The new iPad Air weighs just one pound (i.e. 28 percent lighter) and is 20% thinner than its predecessor. The screen is 9.7 inches and with Retina Display gives a 2048 ӿ 1536 resolution (3.1 million pixels) display.

iPad Air runs on iOS 7 and is powered by a new A7 chip (plus an M7 coprocessor) that makes it eight times faster than iPad 4.

            

With two antennas and MIMO technology, iPad Air delivers about twice the Wi-Fi performance of its predecessor. And the Wi-Fi + Cellular model supports much more LTE bands.

This new tablet comes with some free apps like iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, Pages, Numbers and Keynote. However, it doesn’t have any TouchID fingerprint sensor.

Apple also introduced the first iPad mini with Retina Display, laterally called iPad mini Retina. Its 7.9 inch screen provides a 2048 ӿ 1536 resolution display and is also powered by the new A7 chip.

Source: Apple, PhoneArena.

BEHOLD! The First Nokia Tablet --- LUMIA 2520.

Nokia has joined the league of tablet makers by introducing Nokia Lumia 2520. Nokia lunched its first tablet during the Nokia world event in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, 22^nd October.

The 10.1 inch screen Lumia 2520, just like other Lumia devices, runs on Windows operating system --- Windows 8.1 RT, and supports 4G LTE. (Windows 8.1 RT is limited variation of Windows 8).

The tablet has a smooth polycarbonate unibody chassis. Its screen provides a full HD 1,920 ӿ 1,080 pixel display. The screen is built with a ClearBlack Display filter, which reduces glare and allows you to comfortably watch videos and read from it in sunlight. It carries a 6.7-megapixel rear camera featuring Zeiss optics plus a 2-megapixel HD front-facing camera.

The Lumia 2520 uses an 8,000mAh battery that, when fully charged, will last for 10 hours with normal use. And you won’t be using a micro-USB charger for it as the device is provided with a proprietary charger that will quickly power up your battery to 50% charge in 30 minutes.

Nokia Lumia 2520 is powered by a Snapdragon 800 processor (2.2GHz Quad Core).  The apps featured in this tablet include: a free full suite of Microsoft Office as well as other preinstalled Microsoft apps; and a few Nokia apps like Nokia Camera that is a merger of Smart Cam and Pro Cam and Video Director that lets you edit and join video clips. To go along with the tablet is a keyboard cover with a full touch pad. And Nokia promises that the keyboard will provide an extra 5 hours to the battery life.

Source: CNET, engadget.

IS THIS A SNAKE OR A LEGLESS LIZARD?

Do you know that some of the “snakes” you have seen may not really be snakes? They may be lizards that have lost their limbs through years of evolution. They look a lot like snakes --- they slither and have long, slender, cylindrical bodies; forked tongues and scaly exteriors. But these lizards evolved from four-legged lizards, the ones you already know, while snakes evolved from four-legged snakes that you most likely haven’t seen.

Photo By Marek

It is when you look at a legless lizard very closely, that you will notice the physical characteristics that make it different from a snake. Unlike a snake, a legless lizard has moveable eyelids; external ear openings and an inflexible jaw. It also has chisel-like teeth instead of fangs.  Whereas a snake can move with its sides and belly scales, a legless lizard moves with only its sides.

In terms of behaviour, a legless lizard has a defensive mechanism that is similar to that of a legged lizard. It sheds off its tail, which wiggles and breaks into smaller pieces, to distract any predator that is after it and then runs away.

Although this lizard is long, the tail makes up about two-third of its length while the remaining one-third is the actual body (a snake’s tail is two-third of its length).

“Legless Lizard” is the common name for the family Pygopodidae but is also often used to refer to other groups of limbless lizards such as anguids.

Source:

• Layton, Julia.  "What\u0027s the difference between a snake and a legless lizard?"  01 July 2008.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/zoology/reptiles-amphibians/legless-lizard-vs-snake.htm> 22 October 2013.
•    Wikipedia

UMUAHIA MAIN MARKET TO BE DEMOLISHED TODAY.

Sunday, the 20^th day of October 2013, was the last day the main market of Umuahia served the residents of the city as well as its visitors.

The traders of Umuahia Main Market were advised to move into the new Ultra-modern Market Ubani, which is about 5 kilometers from the old one.

 

Although traders have packed into this new market, some of them prefer going the opposite direction --- 8 kilometers away from Umuahia, to the market in Onuimo.

Uber Paragon: The Effect of Spiritual Consolation and Desolation...

Uber Paragon: The Effect of Spiritual Consolation and Desolation...: Spiritual Consolation and Desolation. Beloved! When God give you spiritual consolation, accept it gratefully. Remember always that it is...

TOP 5 WAYS TO GET SMARTER.

It is a common saying that “examination is not a true test of intelligence” but some people still believe that intelligence can be measured by IQ-test scores and grade point averages. Others see it as common sense and the ability to outwit the other person. Regardless of how you judge intelligence, it always centers on the human brain.

You can improve your intelligence or, in other words, become smarter by increasing your brain power. And there are five special but simple ways to do this.

     1. Take Care of your body.

Physical exercise helps to improve the health of both the body and the brain because it increases the blood flow through your body (including the brain) thereby increasing the oxygen and glucose levels in your brain. Also, the coordination it takes to perform exercises gives the brain a workout especially if you are trying something new.

Eating the right food is important. Foods like fish oil, eggs, vegetable and herbal tea nourish the body as well as the brain.

     2. Exercise your Brain.

The brain, like many other parts of the body, requires regular exercise in order to maintain strength and vitality. There are various brain exercises you can to perform to strengthen your brain. They include games like cross puzzles, scrabble, soduko and other word– and number–based brain teasers; and academic exercises like reading and solving mathematical problems. If you prefer methods that don’t necessarily require academic skills, you can try brushing your teeth with the opposite hand or walking a different way to work.

     3. Have some sleep.

During sleep, your brain does a little night-time filing and the information from the previous day is catalogued and put in the proper mental folders. This enables you to recall this information easily in future.

     4. Meditate.

No matter what your style may be, meditation generally involves quiet and focused breathing in which the practitioner is able to achieve a state of mental calm. Basically, this state of mental calm is believed to be an enlightened state of consciousness. A study has shown that regular meditation can increase the size of parts of the cerebral cortex and it is believed that memory, attention span and focus are enhanced through meditation.

     5. Ingest Bacteria.

This is ridiculous, isn't it? But some scientists believe that a common, harmless soil bacterium can increase human brain power. However, you don’t have to eat dirt to ingest these bacteria. There are certain things you can do in which you’ll be exposed to the bacteria, for instance: gardening and merely walking past a garbage dump.

Source: Bryant, Charles W Bryant.  "Top 5 Ways to Get Smarter" 21 December 2010.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/5-ways-get-smarter.htm> 19 October 2013.