Touching Photos: Pope Francis Halts His Weekly General Audience To Kiss And Hold A Sick Man Covered In Boils

New pictures of Pope Francis embracing and comforting a severely disfigured man have gone viral on the internet.

Last Wednesday, the leader of the world’s 1.3billion Catholics was greeting pilgrims following his weekly public audience when the man covered in neuronal tumors approached him, asking for a blessing.
The man suffers from a rare and painful disease called neurofibromatosis, which causes boils, impaired vision and in some cases cancer.
Patients suffering from the ailment, which is genetic and not contagious - are often shunned by society because of their appearance.

People were amazed when Pope Francis instead, kissed the man on the face and blessed him with the sign of the cross.
He was photographed with his eyes tightly shut in prayer for the man.

More pics after the cut

Failed asylum seeker kills three on bus

The man accused of stabbing to death a woman and two men on an express bus in western Norway was an asylum seeker from South Sudan who was due to be deported from Norway on Tuesday, VG has reported. The 31-year-old, who was living at an asylum reception centre in Årdal, was due to be deported to Spain on Tuesday, after having his application rejected in June.

"This person had applied for asylum, and come to Norway in April," a spokesman for Norway's immigration directorate said. "He was rejected in June, and was supposed to be returned to Spain under the so-called Dublin Regulation."

The man is accused of killing the bus driver, Arve Haug Bagn (55) and Margaret Molland Sanden, a 19-year-old biotechnology student at the Oslo and Akerhus University College of Applied Sciences. The third victim, a Swedish man in his 50s, has not been named.

Police believe that the three victims were the only people on the bus when the man attacked.

Bente Dalåker, who runs the reception centre where the killer was housed, said that staff had not noticed anything unusual about him in the time since he arrived on 26 August.

"We did not notice that he could do such a thing. No one has reported that he could be dangerous," Dalåker said.

The killer was disarmed without a fight once the authorities arrived,and has been flown by helicopter to hospital in Bergen, where he is being treated for knife injuries.

The emergency services first received reports of a traffic accident involving a bus at 5.30pm. Once the fire services arrived, however, they realized that the situation was more serious.

"The bus was on the side of the road, so we stopped our car and ran over," one of those on the scene told TV2."It was impossible to open the doors."

"Then we saw a dark-skinned person inside the bus. At first, we thought he was trying to get out but then saw he was moving around with a knife, and we realized that the situation was quite different."

According to police, the man was held by firemen until 6.45pm when the first police arrived,one hour and 15 minutes after they were first notified.

"The person came out voluntarily from the bus and was arrested by the firefighters. He had already thrown down the knife," Magne Knutsen of the Årdal police told VG.

The bus, the Valdres Express, travels the four-hour journey from the mountainous region of Valdres to Oslo ,and was hijacked between the towns of Årdal and Tyin in Sogn og Fjordane county.

The attack marks the second time the Valdres Express has been hijacked. In 2003, it was hijacked by a mentally disturbed 26-year-old Ethiopian man who stabbed the driver to death.

A 2012 report from the Pew Research Centre estimated that 60.5 percent of South Sudan’s population was Christian, 32.9 percent were followers of traditional African religion, and 6.2 percent were Muslim.

Norway bus murders spark criticism of police

The murder of three bus passengers in Norway rekindled criticism Tuesday of the Norwegian police's ability to react to violent crimes two and a half years after the Breivik massacre. Police said the man suspected of hijacking a bus on Monday evening, killing all on board, was a 30-year-old asylum seeker from South Sudan whose application had been rejected and who was due to be deported.

Fire fighters and medical personnel were first to arrive on the scene, ahead of police, and used a fire extinguisher to disable him.

At the time of the attack the nearest police patrol was 55 miles (90 kilometres) away and it took an hour and a quarter for them to arrive.

That fact has re-awakened criticism of the police which surfaced after the brutal massacre carried out by the right wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik on July 21, 2011.

"The reaction time seems to be long, seeing as the fire brigade and ambulances were the first at the scene. That's troubling," Arild Ingar Laegreid, the mayor of Aardal, said on Norwegian television.

Medical personnel took a quarter of an hour to alert the police, who then took a 25 mile detour to the crime scene -- first thought to be a traffic accident -- as they wrongly thought the most direct route was impassable due to weather conditions.

Breivik killed 69 young Labour Party members on the island of Utøya on a 75-minute shooting rampage which was preceded by a bomb attack killing eight in central Oslo.

The police came under intense scrutiny at the time for reacting too slowly to the killings.

Since arriving in power last month, Norway's new centre-right government has promised to increase police resources and step up security in the country.

One election promise high on the agenda of conservative prime minister Erna Solberg was reorganising the police and improving their reaction times.

Indonesian Spa Offers Snake Massage Services

Lying on a massage table at a spa in Jakarta, Feri Tilukay closed his eyes and smiled blissfully as three enormous snakes slithered all over him. He is one of a small band of customers brave enough to try the “snake massage,” in which the gentle hands of a professional are swapped for the cold, scaly skin of 1.8-meter pythons. “It is a very unique sensation,” Tilukay, 31, told AFP, as the snakes slid over him during a recent session, adding that it “gives you an adrenaline rush.” Dressed only in a pair of shorts, he seemed completely relaxed as three reptiles named Jasmine, Muscle and Brown got to work on him. They draped themselves over his neck, rolled around on his stomach and back and occasionally arched their necks and stuck out their forked tongues. Two masseuses also attended the session to ensure safety and to encourage the snakes — whose mouths are kept shut with sticky tape — to move around, making sure they didn’t just coil up and stay put in one spot. Before the 90-minute treatment, which costs 480,000 rupiah ($43), the snakes are taken out of the plastic boxes where they are kept and cleaned with anti-septic. While many people who get the massage at the center, called Bali Heritage Reflexology and Spa, are thrill seekers or just looking for a new experience, a handful, like Tilukay, are trying to get over a life–long fear of snakes. “I used to be afraid of snakes, I had a phobia. But after getting this treatment several times, the phobia started going away and now I like snakes,” said Tilukay, an accountant, who has had three of the sessions. He is one of the few Indonesian customers with most coming from Europe, Japan or South Korea, according to spa general manager Paulus Abraham. The spa, which is decorated with wooden furniture in the style of a traditional house on the resort island of Bali, keeps five snakes which are fed a diet of live rabbits. The snake massage is just one of 300 treatments offered by the center — and many others are equally off–the–wall. In one a staff member dressed in a gorilla suit performs a massage and in another, the customer sits in a bathtub of beer receiving a massage while enjoying a Lager. But it is the snake massage, which started around a year ago, that has been attracting the most attention as well as a steady stream of customers. However, animal rights groups have raised concerns, with the Jakarta Animal Aid Network describing the treatment of the snakes as “exploitation.” “We are angry to hear about any kind of animal exploitation, including snakes,” group spokesman Benvika, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told AFP. Abraham insisted that the snakes were not being ill-treated — and that they enjoyed the contact with humans that came from the massages. “We don’t treat them like workers, we treat them like our friends or family,” he said. “We kiss them, we hug them, we take good care of them.” http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/features/jakarta-spa-offers-snake-massage/ www.celeb-bella.blogspot.com/2013/11/in-indonesia-snake-spa-offers-python_9576.html?m=1

Foods That Can Whiten Your Teeth Naturally.

 

Products and services that promise to instantly brighten your smile can easily be found on grocery shelves or at the dentist’s office. But before reaching for that home whitening kit or enduring another hour sitting on your dentist’s chair, consider these 13 natural, sometimes unconventional (but often delicious!), tooth-whitening alternatives:

1. Oil (sesame oil or virgin coconut oil)

Oil, or more specifically, oil pulling, is when oil is used for gargling, not cooking. Sesame oil or virgin coconut oil is swished around inside the mouth and then spat out after fifteen minutes. As the substance is vigorously “pulled” back and forth between your teeth, the mucous membranes inside your mouth absorb nutrients from it.

Sesame oil has omega-3 fatty acids, iron, calcium, and vitamins A, B and E; while virgin coconut oil has antibacterial properties that promote healthier gums and cavity-free teeth. Just make sure not to swallow any of the spittle that will form as you gargle.

2. Strawberries
Malic acid is a natural astringent that acts as a bleaching agent, and it is present in most commercially available tooth-whitening products. Strawberries are filled with this key ingredient, which will whiten your teeth naturally, so make sure to add them to your basket on your next trip to the farmer’s market. The vitamin C in strawberries also aids in removing plaque.

3. Apples

Apples also contain high levels of malic acid. The act of biting and chewing on this crunchy fruit gently scrubs away debris, stains, and bacteria from your mouth.

4. Celery

Say goodbye to tooth stains as you snack on that piece of celery during your break! The fibrous cellulose act as a natural toothbrush, while the high water content stimulates saliva production, your natural mouth cleanser.

5. Carrots

Chewing on these rabbit favorites raw will increase the amount of saliva in your mouth, cleaning it further. The vitamin A in carrots is good, not just for your eyesight, but helps strengthen tooth enamel as well.

6. Broccoli

When eaten raw, this vegetable gently abrades tooth surfaces, which removes unsightly stains. The iron found in broccoli protects tooth enamel by coating it with an invisible barrier that keeps cavity-causing acids away.

7. Cheese

Being devoid of color, most cheeses will not stain teeth. They also contain calcium and phosphorus, which help strengthen teeth and gums through re-mineralization. Those properties also help in insulating teeth from harmful acids in the mouth.

8. Water

Drinking water helps you stay hydrated and prevents stains from forming on your teeth. Swish it in your mouth after eating or drinking pigment-rich foods and beverages to keep your smile white and bright. Water also reduces your mouth’s overall acidity, lessening the likelihood of damaging your tooth enamel. Just make sure you stick to flat water, as the sparkling variety increases the chances of eroding tooth surfaces.

9. Pineapple

Pineapple contains an enzyme called bromelain, which is a natural stain remover that also helps separate plaque from the surface of your teeth. This prevents tooth erosion and discourages cavities from forming, resulting in healthier and whiter teeth.

10. Shiitake Mushrooms

This fungi is filled with lentinan, a type of sugar that does not promote tooth decay, but instead curbs its formation by preventing plaque-building bacteria from proliferating in your mouth.
11. Salmon

The vitamin D found in salmon helps the body absorb calcium and phosphorus, nutrients that strengthen your teeth and contribute to a beautiful smile.

12. Basil

As a natural antibiotic, this herb has bacteria-inhibiting properties that prevent the formation of cavities.

13. Onions and Garlic

The key is in eating these raw. Doing so releases bacteria-reducing compounds called thiosulfinates and thiosulfonates, promoting healthier teeth by reducing the production of plaque. Being colorless, these foods will also not stain teeth.

Do you have other ideas on how to help whiten teeth naturally? Share them in the comments below!

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