Barclays boss gives up his £2.7m bonus

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Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins will not collect his annual bonus for 2013 after the bank faced 'very significant costs' over a series of scandals.

Mr Jenkins, who took over after Bob Diamond resigned in the wake of the Libor rate-rigging scandal, said legacy and conduct issues had hit the bank hard last year - and so he would not accept his multi-million pound payout.
Mr Jenkins would have been entitled to a payout of up to £2.75 million, although he was not likely to have been offered this maximum amount, calculated as 250 per cent of his £1.1 million salary.
Antony Jenkins will not collect his annual bonus for 2013 after the bank faced 'very significant costs' over a series of scandals, it was announced today. It is the second year in a row the CEO has not collected the payout.
He also declined his annual bonus last year, meaning he has yet to receive the payout since taking over at the bank in August 2012.
Mr Jenkins is still in line for long-term incentives which will not have been affected by today's announcement.
Mr Jenkins said today: '2013 has been a year of considerable positive change for Barclays, and I am particularly proud of the progress we have made in starting to rebuild trust, in defining and implementing a common culture, in repositioning the business for the future, and in significantly improving our balance sheet.
Mr Jenkin's predecessor Bob Diamond received around £18 million in salary, bonus, benefits and vested long-term share awards in 2011, including a near-£2 million annual bonus.
'While all of these actions are in the long-term interests of our shareholders, I am aware of the very significant costs which have been required to address legacy litigation and conduct issues in 2013, as well as to exit assets and businesses we no longer wish to participate in.
'When combined with the substantial rights issue we completed in the autumn, I have concluded that it would not be right, in the circumstances, for me to accept a bonus for 2013, and I have therefore respectfully declined the one offered to me by the Board.'
Mr Jenkins' predecessor, Mr Diamond received around £18 million in salary, bonus, benefits and vested long-term share awards in 2011, including a near-£2 million annual bonus.
His decision comes after a year in which the bank added £2 billion to its bill for customer mis-selling scandals - which has gone up by £1.35 billion to £3.95 billion.
Furthermore, the sum put aside for small business that were sold complex financial products known as interest rate swaps has risen by £650 million to £1.5 billion.
Large costs have also been incurred as a result of the bank's Transform plan to restore faith in Barclays.
Mr Jenkins is leading an overhaul to improve results and repair the bank's image following the group's £290 million fine for rigging the Libor rate. He is expected to update on the project on presenting full-year results next week.
The chief executive said at last year's results that at least 3,700 jobs were being cut to reduce costs by £1.7 billion and revealed in shareholder meetings last March that the bank was considering using technology to reduce its workforce further.
Barclays tapped shareholders for £5.8 billion in a rights issue in the autumn after revealing a £12.8 billion hole in its finances.
Last week, the bank denied it was planning a significant reduction in its branch network after speculation that up to a quarter of its 1,600 sites in the UK could close.
It also said it would be setting aside an extra £330 million to cover litigation and regulatory costs when it reports results next month.

Larger sums have been set aside by state-backed lenders Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group over the last week.
RBS said it was allocating more than £3 billion in additional funds, including £1.9 billion to cover mainly US action over mortgage-backed financial products, while Lloyds today increased PPI provision by £1.8 billion.

Komla Dumor’s body arrives home

              Hundreds of sympathisers including family members and government officials converged at the Kotoka International Airport where the mortal remains of the late Komla Dumor arrived in Ghana, Monday.

The iconic broadcaster with the BBC suddenly died at his London residence on January 18, 2014 leaving his family and friends in Ghana, as well as his admirers across the globe in a state of shock.

According to Myjoyonline.com's David Andoh the body arrived aboard a British Airways flight few minutes after 8:00 pm.

The body is yet to be taken from the cargo as mourners solemnly look on. There is a display of tradition as performers drum and dance.

Rituals will be performed at the airport to receive the body after which the mortal remains will likely be taken to the Lashibi residence, Joy News' reporter Stephen Anti reported.

A delegation of chiefs from Aflao led by Togbui Fiti Amenya is also present at the airport to witness the solemn return of their son whose career in journalism has inspired millions of youth across the globe.

Komla until his death was a Youth Development Chief in Aflao.

Fifi Kwetey, Minister of State at the Presidency in charge of Financial and Allied Institutions and the MP for Ketu South is also present at the airport.

Rites
The body of the late Komla Dumor has now been handed over to the royal guards of the Aflao traditional area with the traditional leaders performing the necessary traditional rites.

Wife of Komla, Kwansima Dumor, and the siblings of the iconic broadcaster as well as the father, Professor Ernest Dumor all look on.

Right after the ritual performance the Catholic Priest also said the Christian prayers after which the body was handed to the undertakers to take charge of subsequent funeral proceedings
 

Home Komla Dumor’s body arrives home

government officials converged at the Kotoka International Airport where the mortal remains of the late Komla Dumor arrived in Ghana, Monday.

The iconic broadcaster with the BBC suddenly died at his London residence on January 18, 2014 leaving his family and friends in Ghana, as well as his admirers across the globe in a state of shock.

According to Myjoyonline.com's David Andoh the body arrived aboard a British Airways flight few minutes after 8:00 pm.

The body is yet to be taken from the cargo as mourners solemnly look on. There is a display of tradition as performers drum and dance.

Rituals will be performed at the airport to receive the body after which the mortal remains will likely
Hundreds of sympathisers including family members and be taken to the Lashibi residence, Joy News' reporter Stephen Anti reported.

A delegation of chiefs from Aflao led by Togbui Fiti Amenya is also present at the airport to witness the solemn return of their son whose career in journalism has inspired millions of youth across the globe.

Komla until his death was a Youth Development Chief in Aflao.

Fifi Kwetey, Minister of State at the Presidency in charge of Financial and Allied Institutions and the MP for Ketu South is also present at the airport.

Rites
The body of the late Komla Dumor has now been handed over to the royal guards of the Aflao traditional area with the traditional leaders performing the necessary traditional rites.

Wife of Komla, Kwansima Dumor, and the siblings of the iconic broadcaster as well as the father, Professor Ernest Dumor all look on.

Right after the ritual performance the Catholic Priest also said the Christian prayers after which the body was handed to the undertakers to take charge of subsequent funeral proceedings
 

Beyoncé Fires Her Manager For Jay Z so he can manage her and Expand Their Family?!

We like, no, LOVE the sound of this!
Back in 2008, Beyoncé set up Parkwood Entertainment where Live Nation Executive Faisal Durrani has been managing the superstar.
Not anymore though!
Reportedly, Bey has let Faisal go so that her hubby Jay Z can manage her!
An insider gave some deets about the move, saying:

“Jay has been heavily involved in Beyoncé’s career for years, and was instrumental in organizing the Mrs Carter Show World Tour. But he isn’t officially regarded as her manager – she really is independent… Now the couple have Blue, she wants to make sure her family come first at all times, especially as there’s talk of them adding to the brood. The best way to do that is to make sure all managerial decisions are made by her and her husband – together.”

zOMG! Blue Ivy is going to have a sibling! We hope it’s sooner than later!
It’s also super fab how Bey and Jay spend so much time together! We see relationships fall apart way too often because work gets in the way, but these two find a way to keep the magic alive!
And we have a feeling that Faisal won’t have a problem finding another gig after managing Bey for all of those years!

Source: PerezHilton

How This Attractive Woman Lay Dead in Her Flat For 3 Years With The TV On (MUST READ)

On 25 January 2006, officials from a north London housing association repossessing a bedsit in Wood Green owing to rent arrears made a grim discovery. Lying on the sofa was the skeleton of a 38-year-old woman who had been dead for almost three years. In a corner of the room the television set was still on, tuned to BBC1, and a small pile of unopened Christmas presents lay on the floor. Washing up was heaped in the kitchen sink and a mountain of post lay behind the front door. Food in the refrigerator was marked with 2003 expiry dates. The dead woman’s body was so badly decomposed it could only be identified by comparing dental records with an old holiday photograph of her smiling. Her name was revealed to be Joyce Carol Vincent.

I first heard about Joyce when I picked up a discarded copy of the Sun on a London underground train. The paper reported the gothic circumstances of her death – “Woman dead in flat for three years: skeleton of Joyce found on sofa with telly still on” – but revealed almost nothing about her life. There was not even a
photograph of her.

Joyce Carol Vincent in a studio photo

The image of the television flickering over her decomposing body haunted me as I got off the train on to the crowded platform. In a city such as London, home to 8 million people, how could someone’s absence go unnoticed for so long? Who was Joyce Vincent? What was she like? How could she have been forgotten?
News of Joyce’s death quickly made it into the global media, which registered shock at the lack of community spirit in the UK. The story ran on in the British press, but still no photograph of Joyce appeared and little personal information.
Soon Joyce dropped out of the news. I watched as people discussed her in internet chatrooms, wondering if she was an urban myth, or talking about her as though she never mattered, calling her a couch potato, and posting comments such as: “What’s really sad is no one noticed she was missing – must have been one miserable bitch.” And then even that kind of commentary vanished.
But I couldn’t let go. I didn’t want her to be forgotten. I decided I must make a film about her.
At this point all that had been revealed in the press was that Joyce Vincent was 38 when she died, had been born in west London to parents who were from the Caribbean, and that some of her family had attended her inquest. Some reports suggested Joyce was, or had been, engaged to be married, and that before living in the bedsit she had been in a refuge for victims of domestic violence. But she didn’t fit the typical profile of someone who might die and be forgotten: she wasn’t old without family; she wasn’t a loner, or an overdosed drug addict; nor was she an isolated heavy drinker. Who she was and the circumstances of her death were a mystery.
I placed adverts with various publications and internet sites. On a poster on the side of a black cab I asked: Did you know Joyce Vincent? Meanwhile, as I waited for any response, I contacted people who were involved with bringing Joyce’s story to light.

Joyce Carol Vincent in an undated photo

I met Alison Campsie, news editor for the Tottenham & Wood Green Journal, whose journalist David Gibbs had reported on Joyce Vincent’s inquest. She told me that while the paper would have liked to have pursued the background to the story, they didn’t have the time or money, and that even the BBC with all its resources had tried and failed to run an item on Joyce.
In the Three Compasses pub below her office, I talked to Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, Joyce’s constituency. Lynne had urged the police to reopen their investigation into Joyce’s death but they decided there was nothing to answer to in terms of foul play. The coroner recorded an open verdict, with the cause of Joyce’s death “unascertained”. “We don’t know how big a part Joyce played in her own isolation or whether it was more down to society neglecting her,” Lynne told me.
Lynne wrote to the local council, the utility companies, and the housing association about Joyce’s unpaid bills, questioning why alarm bells didn’t ring earlier – but she either received no reply or little insight. “The point is, Joyce Vincent is dead, no one murdered her, and no one seems to care that much. I gather she was very beautiful, which for reasons totally spurious makes it more poignant because we always think beautiful people have everything go their way.”
On the way to her next appointment Lynne drove me to Wood Green, to the back of Shopping City, where lorries rumbled in and out of a delivery depot. She pointed to the housing estate above the mall known locally as Sky City, where Joyce had lived and died. I looked at the red brick walkways and tiers of water-stained grey concrete, interspersed with metal grilles, indistinguishable from the car park or the shopping centre below. “I suppose, in a way, we all walked by,” Lynne said. As I stepped out of her car she wished me luck.
Dominating the skyline was a round blue sign for Shopping City – a beacon to commercialism. In one of the flats I saw an open window with a billowing net curtain and I thought of the window in Joyce’s bedsit that had been open for the two years she lay dead, insects crawling along the windowsill, the escaping smell of her decomposing body attributed to the rubbish bins below. I walked around to the other side of the complex – to the high street, hectic with shopping activity and traffic. The main door Joyce used to access her part of the estate is here, sandwiched between the usual chain of shops.

Source: The Guardian UK

#Believe It Or Not: This 4-YEAR-OLD is already a member of Al Qaeda terrorist group (WATCH)

Shocking revelations have emerged of child soldiers being used to fight the deadly war in Syria which has already claimed thousand of lives.
Photos show a 4-year-old boy standing behind an AK-47 as he fires two shots amid shouts of ‘Allahu Akbar’
The young boy is believed to be part of a group of terrorists known as ‘Cub jihadists’
Daily Mail reports:

Counter-terrorism officials say it is further evidence of how jihadists are grooming children to become fighters, as Al Qaeda factions strive to establish a Taliban-like Islamic state in Syria.
The disturbing footage was posted on YouTube and is believed to be that of a son of a jihadist from Albania who is one of thousands of foreigners fighting with Al Qaeda in Syria.
The youngster, who wears a black ski mask, can be seen firing shots from a black AK-47-style
automatic assault rifle with a folding stock.
He is so small that the barrel of the gun has to be supported by a section of road block so that he can cope with its weight.
The child opens fire to shouts of Allahu Akbar – Arabic for ‘God is Greater’ – before an arm reaches down and retrieves the weapon.

Children of war: The boy will have lived almost his whole life through the Syrian conflict, though with his high voice and chubby cheeks, he belongs more in infants’ school than on a battlefield

FOUR-YEAR-OLD firing an assault rifle in Syria

Warfare: The footage comes amid warnings that up to 700 young British extremists are fighting in Syria

War games: The video shows the child smiling and talking in his native language with the adults filming him.

The video of the four-year-old first emerged on January 21 on a YouTube channel operated by a jihadist who claimed to be based in northern Syria. It was entitled in Arabic: ‘A message from one of the cubs of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.’
The footage was removed after it was exposed by an American-based ‘anti-jihad’ activist who claimed it was evidence of child abuse.
Copies of the video, however, remained in circulation on other online channels.
Suspected British Al Qaeda fighters in Syria have been circulating other images showing children being trained to use deadly weapons in a jihad training camp.

Watch the video below:

Actress Yvonne Nelson Proposed To John Dumelo On His Birthday.....lol

Today is John Dumelo's birthday and Yvonne Nelson swallowed her pride and poped the question! She shared the photo above on Instagram professing her love for him. No word yet from John Dumelo to know if he accepted her proposal. They will make a cute couple.....hehe

‘How I Got Married To My Own Father And Only Found Out 6 Years After His Death’

 Valerie Spruill

AKRON, Ohio -- It was a dark secret. The kind that destroys lives, devastates families and decimates faith.
Nobody shared it with Valerie Spruill while her husband was alive. For years after his death, she heard bits of the story. It was something about an absentee father, something about her husband.
None of it made sense, she said. That's not until her uncle finally told her what no one else had: She had unknowingly married the father she never knew.
"It is devastating. It can destroy you," Spruill told CNN late Thursday by telephone. "It almost did."
Spruill, 60, of Doylestown, Ohio, went public with her story this month, first published in the Akron Beacon Journal, with the hopes that it would help others facing what seem like insurmountable problems.
It's a story that has gone viral, attracting attention as faraway as Australia and India where the questions are always the same, she says: How could that happen?
It's a question that Spruill said she has been grappling with since she first learned the truth in 2004, six years
after her husband Percy Spruill died.
"I don't know if he ever knew or not. That conversation didn't come up," she said. "I think if he did know, there is no way he could have told me."
She confirmed that her husband was indeed her father through a DNA test, hair taken from one of his brushes.
The aftermath of the secret was devastating emotionally -- and physically, Spruill suffered two strokes and was diagnosed with diabetes.
All of it, she believes was brought on by learning the family secret.
"Pain and stress will kill, and I had to release my stress," Spruill said. "I'm just telling the story to release my pain."
She has a deep, abiding faith in God, who she believes has guided her through the experience -- and others that have shaped her life.
"You have to have faith," she said. "If God brought me this far, he's not going to leave me now."
Spruill met and married her husband-father in Akron and settled in Doylestown, a working class suburb of about 2,300.
It was her second marriage. Spruill was a nice man, a good provider. He was kind to her three children from her previous marriage.
"We had a good life," she said.
She initially struggled with anger, with hating Spruill for what happened.
But therapy taught her what happened wasn't her fault. Her faith taught her to forgive.
Initial response to her story has been mixed: "More positive than negative," she says.
In recent days, she has been in contact with a couple who found out after they were married that they were brother and sister.
They told her, she said, that her story is helping them deal with their own experience.
"They are trying to be friends now," Spruill said.
Others, though, have been less kind.
"They've said things like 'Some secrets should stay secrets,'" she said. "I can't do anything about what they think. I just know what I think. God is always mighty, and he teaches you to tell the truth no matter what."
Spruill knows not everybody tells the truth. It's a lesson she learned as a child the hard way.
By all accounts, Spruill's mother got pregnant as a teenager while dating her then 15-year-old father.
She was 3-months-old when she was sent to live with her grandmother and grandfather, who she initially believed as she grew up was her father.
Spruill said at about age 8 or 9, she discovered that the woman who often visited the house was not a family friend but her mother.
But nobody, she said, talked about her father.
There's nobody left to give her the answers about her husband-father. Her mother, Christine, died in 1984. Her grandparents have long since passed. So, too, have a number of Percy Spruill's relatives.
Spruill knows her mother worked as a prostitute and even got caught up in 1980 high-profile corruption scandal surrounding James Barbuto, a probate judge who was convicted of intimidating investigators and gross sexual imposition for attacking a courthouse clerk in his chambers.
"My mother showed me lots of love. All said and done, I have no regrets in my life at all," she said.
She believes she has siblings or half-siblings from Spruill's previous relationships, including the one with her mother.
She said she wants to find them and let them know they are not alone.
Spruill, herself, has three children and eight grandchildren. She struggled with telling her children that the man they believed was their step-father was their grandfather.
A therapist "advised me to tell my kids," she said. "I told them about two years ago. They are remarkable. They are handling it better than I am."
In recent days, shortly before the news broke, she also told her grandchildren.
"They have been so supportive. They are telling me they love me, telling me they will do whatever I need," she said.
In her spare time, since retiring from the accounting department where she worked for 34 years at Goodyear, she has been writing down her story with the hopes of publishing it.
"I thank God that he gave me a chance to live through all of this," she said. "It is nothing short of a miracle that I'm still here. I want people to know that they can survive something like this."

Source: CNN

PHOTOS: Lady steps out without Bra, Hit or Miss?

 

Hit or Miss?

Pdiddy proposes to Cassie on Instagram? (Photos)

 44year old Piddy who has been dating 27 year old Cassie for years now posted this on instagram with the caption " The caption read, 'Baby do you like it? I just want to get you wat you Like! I just wanna Mk you smile :) #takeDat. !' [sic]

Later Keysha Cole posted a photo of Cassie wearing the ring inthe photo indicating she said yes. 

However Mailonline claims Piddy's rep denied the news of their engagement 

Hope it's not a publicity stunt 

D’Banj’s Brother, KaySwitch Dumps Nigerian Babes For Liberian Ex-Beauty Queen

The younger brother of pop star, D’Banj, KaySwitch, has found love in a neighbouring West African country, Liberia.

The Ogun State-born wannabe star by-passed many Nigerian girls to fetch love and affection from a former Liberian beauty queen called Meenakshi Monica Subramani.

It was gathered that KaySwitch has been seeing the black and pretty chic for the past one year now, which was confirmed few days ago by the lady and was celebrated.

“1 year and still going strong. I love you baby. Always n forever,” Subramani posted on her Instagram page.

Recall that few months ago, the twin sister of KaySwitch, Taiwo, married Cool FM’s presenter, Dotun in Lagos.

Tuface Babymama, Sumbo Sends Annie Idibia a Message

2face Idibia's wife Annie, her daughter Isabel and Tuface's younger brother, Charles were having fun at the Hollywood walk of fame in Los Angeles, California and shared pictures and One of Tuface's babymama, Sumbo who bore him a child but is now happily married to Pastor Adeoye of Royalty Christian centre stormed into the pictures and sent Annie Idibia, wife of Tuface a sweet message, saying they all looked good. But it was tuface who replied her saying I see you. That was a really kinda too straight reply...he would have replied her better...or what do you think about 2face's reply to sumbo?

Wizkid's Lover, Tania Omotayo Shows off Diamond Ring

Love in the air, Afro pop singer, Wizkid and his long time love Tania Omotayo deceived many by playing pranks on many people as their relationship is believed to have ended last year. But to break the hearts of many, they are still strong as ever. The music star shared photos with Tania rocking a very large ring set with diamonds. Looks like an engagement ring, but we really don't know, hoping for the best from this two love birds.

Accra records 2,570 ‘Okada’ accidents

The Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) recorded 2,570 motorbike accidents between January and December last year.

As of the middle of January this year, the department had recorded 36 of such motorbike accidents.
The Accra Central Commander of the department, Chief Superintendent of Police, Mr Anderson Fosu–Ackaah, told the Daily Graphic that  it was difficult to tell whether the accidents involved commercial motorbike operators, popularly called Okada.
Challenges
He said the major challenge confronting the police in the fight against the booming Okada business was how to differentiate between a private motorbike user and a commercial one.
“It is difficult knowing which motorbike rider was using the bike for commercial or private use,” he said.
Measures
Mr Fosu-Ackaah said the police had identified a number of operating joints for the Okada riders and would take appropriate steps to halt the practice.
He mentioned Odorkor, Abossey Okai, Circle, Railways, Ghana Post and the central business district of Accra as areas where many of them operated.
He, however, said because of the mobility of the riders, they shift locations from time to time, as well as move away from their locations upon seeing the police approach.
Advice
Mr Fosu-Ackaah advised members of the public to desist from patronising the Okada business because it was risky.
Besides, he said, the operation was not covered by law.

Nelson Mandela 'left $4m estate'

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela left an estate valued at more than 46 million rand ($4.13m; £2.53m), a public reading of his will has revealed.

Executor Justice Dikgang Moseneke, summarising what he said was a 40-page document, said he was "not aware of any contest" to the will.

Close personal staff each get 50,000 rand. Schools the former South African president attended are due to receive 100,000 rand.

Mr Mandela died in December, aged 95.

University of Ghana students threaten demo over road tolls

Students of the University of Ghana say they will be embarking on a demonstration in protest against the introduction of road tolls by the University's authorities.
The students took the decision at a Students' Representative Council (SRC) meeting Monday.
Joy News Sammy Obeng Apah, who followed the meeting, reported that the students have vowed to embark on series of demonstrations to press home their demand for a suspension of the policy.
The introduction of the road tolls by the university is being opposed by the students who say the tolls would put untold financial hardships on them.
The students say the demonstration will be preceded by a press conference Tuesday where they provide details of their grievances pertaining to the introduction of the road tolls.
Meanwhile, two students of the university have filed a legal suit against the University in respect of the tolls at the Supreme Court, questioning  the Constitutionality of the action.
A private legal practitioner has warned the University to push for an out of court settlement.
Speaking on Joy FM's Super Morning Show, Mr. David Ofosu Dortey noted "the Ministry of Finance and Government must step in and speak to the lawyer on the other side to solve this issue. I don't think it is a matter for the courts".
While supporting moves by the university to raise funds through various means for development, he said that must be done in such a way that public assets will not be put at risk of confiscation by creditors.
There has also been stiff opposition from the general public to the introduction of road tolls.
Depite this opposition, the university has started implementing the tolls.
Until the court or the university itself reverses the policy, private vehicles entering the Univrsity of Ghana campus will pay one cedi; commercial vehicles will pay two cedis while trucks as expected to pay three cedis.

WATCH PHOTOS: Essien, Balotelli, Asamoah visit Sulley Muntari’s luxury car company

[PHOTO ]: Oya Turn Up! Ladies Can You Rock This Dress?

Oya ladies how far?

Miley Cyrus totally transformed and naked for W magazine

Miley is totally different in this new shoot for W magazine. Here is what she said about haters"

"I don't give a s--t," she said, when asked about the bad press surrounding her tour, including accusations that she is exploiting her minority backup dancers. "I'm not Disney, where they have, like, an Asian girl, a black girl, and a white girl, to be politically correct, and, like, everyone has bright colored T-shirts.  You know, it's like, I'm not making any kind of statement. Anyone that hates on you is below you, because they're just jealous of what you have."

"Is it not the money I worked hard for"?-Chika Ike on why she flaunts her shopping trips

If you recall, Chika Ike came under fire for posting photos of her day to day shopping spree in Abu Dhabi..Speaking to the Sun,she said....

Usually, every year, I take a vacation, because I feel have worked so hard all through , I deserve a break. As they say all work and not play makes “Chika a dull girl”. I just had to take a time out and whenever I do, I make sure I rest very well. I don’t know why it has been all over the whole nation, but I had fun..
Whose money? Is it not the money I worked hard for? Did anybody give me? I have worked hard and I deserved every bit of the luxury I enjoyed over there and I can proudly say that. I will do it over and over again because I deserve it.

I guess she is dispelling rumours her trip was sponsored by a big wig.. she is an independent woman...