It's a sad fact of growing older for the male species. Most men over the age of 60 (and some in their 50s) develop some symptoms of prostate problems. The three most common disorders are benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a noncancerous enlargement of the prostate; prostatitis, an inflammatory infection; and prostate cancer. BPH is so common that some physicians consider it a normal consequence of aging in males. 

The prostate's main role is to produce an essential portion of the seminal fluid that carries sperm. This walnut-shaped gland located just below a man's bladder starts to kick in near puberty and continues to grow and grow. This enlargement doesn't usually cause symptoms until after age 40, and it usually doesn't cause problems until age 60 or later.

An enlarged prostate is problematic because it presses on the urethra, creating difficulties with urination and weakening the bladder. Some of the symptoms of prostate problems include: 

• difficulty urinating
  
  
• frequent urination, especially at night
  
  
• difficulty starting urination
  
  
• an inability to empty the bladder
  
  
• a dribble of urine despite the urgent need to urinate
  
  
• a burning sensation when urinating
  
  
• uncontrolled dribbling after urination
  
  
• pain behind the scrotum
  
  
• painful ejaculation

©2007 Publications International, Ltd. Eating two servings of tomato per week can help men reduce their risk of  prostate cancer by half.

• Drink 8 glasses of water a day.
  
• Limit your intake of fatty foods and red meats.
  
• Schedule an annual prostate exam. Catching problems early is vital.
  
• Watch your alcohol intake. Studies have shown that beer can raise prolactin levels in the body, which in turn can eventually lead to prostate enlargement.   

************************************************************************************************

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Rumours are that He was asked to testify in a fraud case so they killed him. Who will ever have the nerve to do the right things . RIP. Mike Ajari. Brunnel Energy.

Mike Ajari, a sleepy street in Sabo area of Ojodu, Lagos on Tuesday witnessed a gory killing that shook the entire area.

After the close of work on the fateful day, the victim, Felix Adebayo, an accountant with Brunnel Energy, a foreign human resources and consultancy firm based in Victoria Island, Lagos, had returned to his residence at No 7, Mike Ajari Street, where neighbours said he had lived for close to six years.

As he approached the gates in his official car, however, he was oblivious of the danger that lurked in the corner. Unknown to him, a man had laid an ambush for him at the entrance to the house where he lived.

A neighbour who pleaded not to be named for security reasons, said as he came down from the Nissan car and proceeded to open the gate, the stranger walked up to him, pretending to have something to discuss with him. Then suddenly, he pulled a pistol and shot him in the neck.

A co-resident, who also pleaded anonymity for the same reason, said, “We were in the house and preparing to sleep around 9.45 pm when we heard the sound of a gunshot. We all rushed out to see what was happening, only to get to the gate and found Mr Adebayo struggling in a pool of blood.”

It was gathered that as soon as he was shot, his attacker entered Adebayo‘s car and zoomed off. And since then, all the efforts to retrieve the car have been abortive.

Neighbours rushed out only to find Adebayo gasping. “We kept shouting his name but there was no response. He continued to bleed profusely,” a resident said.

Confusion was said to have ensued as neighbours and passers-by made frantic efforts to save his life. Unfortunately, he he gave up the ghost there and then.

The attention of the policemen at Grammar School Police Station, Ojodu was drawn to the dastardly act. The policemen were said to have responded promptly and took the corpse to the morgue of Isolo General Hospital, Lagos.

”We had to take the body to Isolo General Hospital mortuary due to our inability to raise some money required to keep the body at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital mortuary. But later, the body was moved back to the Ikeja mortuary and the autopsy had already been done,” a family source said. It was a tragic end to the promising career of the 43-year-old employee of the oil and gas company, who only three months ago marked the christening of his youngest child with pump and circumstance. “His eldest child is two years old and he did the naming of his youngest child three months ago,” said a resident who identified himself simply as Olu.

A resident of the area told Saturday Punch that a few hours before the incident, three strange men in black cloths were seen surveying the area. Some people said they saw them making calls on their mobile phones.

Associates of the late accountant described him as an easy-going fellow who would not hurt a fly.

He was survived by his wife, with two children and an aged mother. ”The death has thrown the family into mourning because he was the breadwinner of the family. Three of his younger ones are still in school,” a source close to the family said.

His younger brother, Gbenga Adebayo who described the death as ‘shocking’ said that family members were learning to accept their fate. “He was the breadwinner of the family and we believe he had acted well his own part. What can we do? It is only God that can avenge for someone,” he said.

His wife, Mrs Tayo Adebayo, who was surrounded by sympathisers on Thursday was speechless. “What can I say? She asked rather rhetorically. “I have handed everything over to God. It is only God that can judge,” she said.

His co-tenants told our correspondent that he started living in the house as a bachelor.

“He was here before he got married. After marriage, he continued to live here. We are like one family and we are all touched by his death,” the landlord of the house, who simply identified herself as Adesuwa said. As learnt, Adebayo chose to live in Lagos because of his job, leaving his wife and children in Ibadan, Oyo State. “He goes to Ibadan to see his family every weekend,” said a co-tenant who did not want his name in print.

The news of his death was said

to have been broken to the

members of his family as well

as his employers the

following day. His wife, who is nursing a three-month-old baby, was said to have collapsed like a pack of cards, while his siblings also cried uncontrollably. Sorrow was also said to have enveloped the office when the news of his assassination was broken to his employers.

The office, where he was said to have occupied a strategic position before his death, was said to be helping the police to unravel the mystery beside his assassination.

When our correspondent called at he office on Tuesday, efforts to speak with some of his colleagues yielded no fruit. A foreigner and director of the company who pleaded not to be named, said the company would not want to comment on the tragic incident untl the police had concluded their investigations. He said, “Brunel Energy is unable comment at this stage because the matter is in the hands of the police.”

The director also said they had their lawyer’s instruction not to say anything so as not to jeopardise the investigations being carried out by the police. “We do not want anything to affect police findings,” the director said. He also would not volunteer a comment on the rumour that Adebayo uncovered a major fraud in the company shortly before he was killed.

It was also rumoured that while those who allegedly perpetrated the fraud had been nailed and arrested, Adebayo was about being used as the prosecution witness anytime the perpetrators of the fraud were made to face the wrath of the law. ”He has a lot of facts and documents and I want to believe he was to be used as a key prosecution witness. But before they could do that, he was cleared out of the way,” the source who sought anonymity said.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba said he was not aware of the killing when Saturday Punch contacted him on Wednesday. He promised to contact the appropriate police division for necessary information relating to the incident. However, several calls made to his telephone on Thursday were not answered.

It was gathered that arrangements were being made to bury the slain accountant at his residence in Ibadan.

WASHINGTON – BP will set aside $20 billion to pay the victims of the massive oil spill in the Gulf, senior administration officials said Wednesday, a move made under pressure by the White House as the company copes with causing the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.

The independent fund will be led by lawyer Kenneth Feinberg, who oversaw payments to families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In his current role, Feinberg is known as Obama's "pay czar," setting salary limits for companies getting the most aid from a $700 billion government bailout fund.

Obama was to announce the deal in a Rose Garden statement later Wednesday after wrapping up a meeting with BP executives at the White House.

The officials familiar with the details spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity before the announcement.

The still-unfolding disaster in the Gulf, as tens of thousands of gallons of oil continue to pour from the broken well daily, is jeopardizing the environment and ecosystems along with the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people across the coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Those affected ranged from fishermen to restaurateurs to oil rig workers idled by Obama's temporary halt to new deep-sea oil drilling.

BP spokesman Toby Odone declined to comment on the fund..

Several big questions remain unanswered, including when BP would start processing claims and paying people out of the fund; who and what would exactly be covered under the plan; how the White House and BP came up with a figure of $20 billion; and whether other involved companies will be required to chip in.

At $20 billion, the size of the fund is the same that was recommended by congressional Democrats.

BP has taken the brunt of criticism about the oil spill because it was the operator of the Deepwater Horizon rig that sunk. It also is a majority owner of the undersea well that has been spewing oil since the explosion.

But when the day of reckoning finally comes, it may not be the only one having to pay up. That's because Swiss-based Transocean Ltd. owned a majority interest in the rig. Anadarko Petroleum, based in The Woodlands, Texas, has a 25 percent non-operating interest in the well.

Feinberg ran the unprecedented $7 billion government compensation program for the victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks. It was a job that lasted nearly three years as he decided how much compensation families of the victims should get, largely based on how much income they would have earned in a lifetime.

As pay czar, Feinberg has capped cash salaries at $500,000 this year for the vast majority of the top executives at the five major companies that received bailout funding: American International Group, GMAC Financial Services, Chrysler Financial, Chrysler and General Motors.

The selection of Feinberg was praised by Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York. "He did an amazingly good job in New York for the families of those lost on September 11 and received plaudits from all sides. I believe when Feinberg completes his mission here, the people in the Gulf will feel the same way," Schumer said in a statement.

The development came as Obama was meeting on his turf with top BP leaders to press the London-based oil giant to pay giant claims.

BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg, CEO Tony Hayward, and other officials walked slowly as a group from the Southwest Gate of the White House, climbing the steps leading to the West Wing.

Joining the president in the room were Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and the secretaries of energy, interior, commerce, homeland security and labor.

The meeting came the morning after Obama vowed to an angry nation that "we will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused."

The crisis began with a deep water well that blew out on April 20, killing 11 rig workers and triggering the spill.

Obama in his speech to the nation on Tuesday night backed creation of a fund administered by an independent trustee to pay damages and clean up costs associated with the spill.

For the president, the tough diplomacy with a few officials behind closed doors is a bookend to his attempt to reach millions at once. Using a delivery in which even the harshest words were uttered in subdued tones, Obama did not offer much in the way of new ideas or details in his speech. He mainly recapped the government's efforts, insisted once again that BP will be held to account and tried to tap the resilience of a nation in promising that "something better awaits."

Obama's forceful tone about BP's behavior shows how far matters have deteriorated. The White House once had described BP as an essential partner in plugging the crude oil spewing from the broken well beneath nearly a mile of water. Now Obama says BP has threatened to destroy a whole way of life.

An Associated Press-GfK poll released Tuesday showed 52 percent now disapprove of Obama's handling of the oil spill, up significantly from last month. Most people — 56 percent — think the government's actions in response to the disaster really haven't had any impact on the situation.

For all his reputation as the nation's Top Talker, Barack Obama took his sweet time giving a maiden Oval Office address to the country. And waiting another nearly 60 days to speak nationally

about the oil spill that’s become the worst environmental disaster in

the nation’s history..

Obama, the first modern president to pass his first full year in office

without addressing the country from his historic desk, had the setting

right. Just back from a day-and-a-half on the gulf coast listening,

reassuring, talking tourism, eating seafood. He wore the proper suit,

had the requisite flags and family photos in the background.

For 18 minutes he delivered the words crisply and forthrightly, though too often distracting anxious viewers with his fidgeting hands like the lecturing professor he once was. Or wait! Was Mr. Cool nervous?

Obama had the firmness down OK: Make no mistake etc. We will hold BP accountable etc. He....

...had the God references. The talk of real live shrimpers devastated. An American way of life threatened. And though he likened the spill more to an epidemic, he also brought in the requisite battle

metaphors. And, in case anyone hasn't heard by now, Obama mentioned once

again the Nobel Prize winner in his cabinet, Stephen Chu,

who hasn't been able to stop the oil leak either.

But there was something wrong. The first two-thirds of the president's remarks read just fine (Full text over here on The Ticket as usual). By

golly, we’ll get the money, we’ll clean it up, no matter how long it

takes.

Barack walks to the Oval Office shortly before his national speech

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But watching the president and hearing him was a little creepy; that early portion of the address

was robotic, lacked real energy, enthusiasm. And worst of all specifics.

He was virtually detail-less.

After almost two months of waiting through continuously contradictory reports, an anxious American public wanted to know, HOW are you going to accomplish all this?

Even Obama's cheerleaders over at MSNBC were complaining. "Where was the How in this speech?" demanded Keith Olbermann. Seriously.

Everyone's assumed that fixing the leak was a given since Day Four, which was still five days before the Democrat got his big plane and presidential entourage down

there.

Local gulf coast officials are tearing out their hair trying to comprehend and comply with seventeen (as in seven more than 10) federal agencies falling all over

themselves to do The Boss’ bidding and help and impose and superimpose

their visions and regulations on what is a war zone with hundreds of

ships and some 30,000 people involved, many of them frightened. And all

of them inexperienced on a disaster of this scale.

Trust me, the president said, tomorrow I'm going to give those BP execs what-for. As CBS' Mark Knoller noted on his Twitter account, the president has allotted exactly 20 whole minutes this morning -- 1,200

fleeting seconds -- to his first-ever conversation with the corporation

responsible for the disaster.

Then, he's got an important lunch with Joe "I Witnessed the World Cup's First Tie" Biden.

Well, just-believe-in-my-change-to-believe-in may have been good enough to win Obama's party primaries and the general election in 2008 and drag along into office enormous congressional majorities of fellow

party travelers.

But after yelling "JOBS!" for a year and getting a protracted Democratic intra-party fight over Obama's beloved healthcare instead, Americans wanted some Oval Office specifics Tuesday evening on

stopping the uncontrolled undersea oil escape.

Instead, Obama was like a Harvard-trained nurse talking vacation to a new patient bleeding all over the ER floor. Hello, could we please stop the blood flow here before we discuss the long-term recovery?

Obama’s delivery did not really come alive until the end when the ex-community organizer got into his favorite Big Picture stuff. Memo to American Homeowners: Do not call

Obama over to fix your leaking roof – or

pipe. Have him design a new house, no, better yet an entire neighborhood

or city

from scratch.

Following the advice of his chief of staff, Rahm "I Got a Rent-Free Apartment from a BP Adviser" Emanuel, Obama is determined to leave no crisis unused. When he got into the decades-long

fossil fuel addiction rehab stuff, his eyes shone. His delivery punched

up.

Now, that is an issue that requires greatness. Another galactic reform out of Hyde Park. It sounds swell unless mega-trillion-dollar federal deficits are on your mind, which voter

polls now show ranks with terrorism as Americans' top fears.

Obama’s historic presidential campaign was not only big in terms of an

unprecedented three-quarters of a billion dollars to win. It was about

Big Promises. He was going to change America, radically reform the

entire education system, healthcare, comb the entire federal budget

line-by-line, oh, and change the 200-year-old partisan ways of the

capitol. About the only big change the White Sox fan didn't promise was

getting the Cubs a World Series ring.

It was all impractical, of course. But the country wanted to believe....

....in his change to believe in. And it did, handing complete control of the federal government over to Obama and his Democratic party. And today, after 17 months of lop-sided Democratic majorities now nervously

confronting midterm elections Nov. 2, about 60% of Americans would like

the new healthcare bill repealed. And they're hinting they'd probably

like some more Republicans in Congress too.

President Obama has said he doesn’t sense an appetite to address something as large as the

illegal immigrant issue this year. But suddenly – watch the left hand

over here because he wants you to not focus on how long it’s taken him

to take charge of the spill – he thinks there’s a compelling need to

spend a motorcade full of moola that the federal government doesn’t have

in order to change the country’s energy habits.

And we've gotta start that right now because of an underwater leaking pipe 40 miles off Louisiana that we haven't plugged and don't really understand how it broke in the first place. So let's do the electric car

thing and build more windmills now.

And if, by chance, the nation’s politicians end up fighting over an energy plan during the next five months until the voting, maybe the politically damaging healthcare regrets and hidden costs will drown in

all the words like so many thousands of seabirds in all the gulf’s

still-surging oil..

‘Blood And Oil’: BBC Drama on the Niger Delta Crisis

Nigeria's Acting President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the disbursal of $2 billion from windfall oil savings to the country's 36 states and government agencies, Minister of State for Finance Remi Babalola said on Friday.

"I have just gotten an approval this morning from the acting president for the sharing of $2 billion from the excess crude account," Reuters quoted Mr. Babalola saying after a meeting of the Federal Allocation Committee in the capital Abuja.