Vanguard (Nigeria)

The Vanguard is a daily newspaper published by Vanguard Media, based in Lagos, Nigeria.

Vanguard Media was established in 1983 by veteran journalist Sam Amuka-Pemu with three friends. The paper has an online edition. The newspaper is one of the few in Nigeria that is considered independent of political control, the others being Thisday, The Punch, The Sun and The Guardian. In June 1990, the paper was briefly suspended by Col. Raji Rasaki, Military Governor of Lagos State.

In December 2008 the US-based Pointblanknews.com published a story that alleged the wife of the publisher of Vanguard Newspapers was involved in a ritual killing. The Vanguard took the reporter to court, claiming he was attempting extortion. In December 2009, a Niger Delta peace activist commended Vanguard Newspapers for its reporting on the government's intentions, which he said helped persuade the militants to accept amnesty.

References

Ulmus 'Morton Plainsman' Vanguard

Ulmus 'Morton Plainsman' (selling name Vanguard™) is a hybrid cultivar raised by the Morton Arboretum from a crossing of the Siberian Elm U. pumila (female parent) and a specimen of the Japanese Elm U. davidiana var. japonica grown from openly-pollinated seed donated by the Agriculture Canada Research Station at Morden, Manitoba.

Description

Vanguard has modest upright growth, increasing in height by an average of 0.8 m in an assessment at U C Davis, with leaves much the same size and colour of the American Elm. However, its performance in the southern United States has not impressed, and it was dismissed, along with its Morton stablemates Commendation and Triumph, as "ugly" by Michael Dirr, Professor of Horticulture at the University of Georgia , on account of its "wild" growth and splaying branches.

Pests and diseases

Although resistant to Dutch elm disease, Vanguard remains very susceptible to pests such as the elm-leaf beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola , Japanese beetle, and cankerworms.

List of Marvel Comics characters: V

Vagabond (Scourge of the Underworld V)

Priscilla Lyons (Vagabond) is a superhero in the Marvel Universe. Created by Mark Gruenwald and Paul Neary, the character first appeared in Captain America #325 in January 1987. Within the context of the stories, Priscilla is an ally of Jack Monroe.

Vague

Vague is a mutant in the Marvel Universe. Created by Peter David and Larry Stroman, the character first appeared in X-Factor #80. Within the context of the stories, Vague could become transparent or invisible. She lost her abilities due to events of M-Day.

Vakume

Vakume is a magical supervillain in the Marvel Universe. Created by Len Wein and George Pérez, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #186 in September 1977. Within the context of the stories, he is a member of Salem's Seven and is able to control air.

Valinor

Valinor is the Black Knight's steed in the Marvel Universe. Created by Steven Parkhouse and John Stokes, the character first appeared in Hulk Comic #1 in March 1979. Within the context of the stories, Valinor is a magically enhanced horse from the extra-dimensional realm of Avalon. He serves as a steed of the Black Knight after he had given his previous steed Aragorn to the Valkyrie, and the Blood Wraith in battle against the Black Knight and the Avengers.

Pureza (Lins do Rego novel)

Pureza is a 1937 Portuguese-language novel by the Brazilian writer José Lins do Rego. The novel has been translated into English and published twice as Pureza - A Novel of Brazil translated Lucie Marion 1947, and again Pureza 1968

The novel was immediately successful in Brazil and almost immediately was made into a film, Pureza (1940). The film was produced by Adhemar Gonzaga, and directed by the Portuguese director Chianca de Garcia.

References

Ritual purity in Islam

Purity (Arabic: طهارة‎, Tahara(h)) is an essential aspect of Islam. (The same term taharah is also found in Hebrew — see tumah and taharah— applying to purity in Ancient Israel and modern Judaism also). It is the opposite of najis, things which are considered ritually impure are in the state of najāsa.

In the Quran

The Quran says: "In it there are men who love to observe purity and Allah loves those who maintain purity."^{[Quran 9:108]} and also there is one verse which concerned with Taharah or purity and impurity of Human as follow:"O you who believe! The polytheists are certainly impure[najas]: so let them not approach the Holy Mosque after thistheir year. And if you fear poverty, Allah will enrich you out of His grace, if He wishes. Indeed Allah is all-knowing, all wise."^{[Quran 9:28]}

Importance in Islam

Observing cleanliness of the soul, the clothes, and the surroundings is obligatory upon every Muslim, and this is considered as one of the pillars of Islam.

Before offering prayers, it is necessary to perform wudu, and in certain cases, both wudu and ghusl. The purifying agent is always clean water. However, during times when water is not available or is scarce, symbolic wudu and ghusl can be performed with clean dry earth which is known as Tayammum.

Purity (novel)

Purity is a novel by American author Jonathan Franzen. It was published on September 1, 2015 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Plot summary

The novel tells the intersecting stories of several different people.

Purity in Oakland

Purity Tyler, who goes by the name "Pip" and is in her early 20s with $130,000 in student loan debt, was raised by her reclusive mother Penelope in Felton, California, south of the Bay area. Her mother tells her nothing about her own background, not even her original name or age. The one time she reveals that she and Pip are in hiding from her abusive ex turns out to have been cribbed from someone's memoir. Over her mother's objections, Pip is recruited by Annagret, a German anti-nuclear activist, to work for Andreas Wolf, the charismatic leader of The Sunshine Project, a fictional competitor to WikiLeaks, headquartered in Bolivia. Among other things, Wolf promises to help search for Pip's father.

The Republic of Bad Taste

Andreas Wolf, born in the 1950s in East Germany, the son (or so he thinks) of an important SED Central Committee member and his flighty wife Katya, gets himself kicked out of university for publishing embarrassing poetry and lives for years in a church basement, helping troubled youths. After seven years, when he was 27-year-old, a 15-year-old girl, Annagret, comes to him with the problem of her stepfather, a Stasi informant who is molesting her. He falls in love with her. Together, they kill the stepfather, burying his body in the backyard of Andreas' parents' dacha. They separate for a time, to not draw attention to themselves. When nothing happens, Wolf becomes convinced that the Stasi is keeping the regular police away to spare his father trouble.