Time2win:


If you forgot your i20, they will send it together with your stamped passport.

Oh great. Thank you!

Thanks man. Most likely a great mood.He approved the guy before me too.

Happiness67:

Congrats bro, it seems the V.O already fell in love with the fact that it was RIT and it helps that he was obviously in a good mood also

My approved transcript today. 6:30 appointment in Lagos.

VO – Why are you going to the United states?
Me – For a master’s degree in Computational Finance at Rochester institute of technology, New York.
VO – Can you say the school again? *Apparently he didn’t hear.
I Say it and he goes oh RIT
VO – Why RIT?
Me – Firstly, its in the same state with the worlds financial capital
VO – Laughing... are you aware its not so close?
Me – Yes, I know its about 5hrs drive
VO – Okay.. continue
Me – The cost of living in Rochester is relatively cheap compared to other cities in the US. I am already paying a lot on tuition. RIT also prides itself as a career focused university and the main reason I am going to grad school is to improve my career... he cuts in..
VO – What other schools did you apply to?
Me – Hult International Business school and New York Institute of Technology
VO – Hult London?
Me –No, The san Francisco campus.
VO – What’s your highest academic Qualification?
Me – A BSc
VO – In what?
Me – Petroleum Engineering from the university of Lagos
VO – Okay... I see you have some scholarship , can I see the letter?
Me – I pass the letter saying it’s a 30% tuition waiver.
VO – Who will be sponsoring you?
Me – My Brother. My half brother actually
VO – What does he do? Let me see his sponsorship letter and bank statement.
Me – I tell him and pass them. He just looks at the front page and I tell him there are two bank statements oh
VO – Does your brother have a child?
Me – No!
VO – How old is he?
Me – I tell him his age
VO – Oh. He’s not so much older than you
Me – Yes
VO- Why is he sponsoring you?
Me – Firstly, He can afford it and he has also been taking care of me for the past three years .
VO – What will you do when you are done?
Me- I will be joining NNPC – NAPIMS where I had my undergraduate internship. They give preference to former interns. *He cuts in
VO – That’s the Nigerian Petroleum Company?
ME – Yes the Investment and management part.
VO – Okay please take all your documents and he presents the white paper. You’ll get a message on when to pick up your passport. Congratulations

By the way, I think he forgot to give me I-20 or I lost it. sigh

Visa approved this morning in Lagos. Going to RIT for a masters program.

Had a deficit of 51k after 30% tuition waiver and it was still approved. So.. It’s not just fully funded people that are getting approved.

Should share a transcript later.

Thank you.

Time2win:


Yes but personal account is preferable

Time2win:


No, they must not be the same

But can I use a company account at the embassy?

Abdulrahmon68:


Statements of account for the school or the embassy?

For both school and embassy. I hear they have to be the same.

Haryor3:
Hello, I’ve recently been admitted into a Masters program. I want to use my uncle as sponsor but his money is usually in his company account, is it okay to apply with the company account? And as sponsorship letter from the company?

Someone please answer.

Hello, I’ve recently been admitted into a Masters program. I want to use my uncle as sponsor but his money is usually in his company account, is it okay to apply with the company account? And as sponsorship letter from the company?

Hi guys, is it possible for me to use a company as a sponsor?

Because you are chuck Norris

SuperSuave:
no one dares touch my car

Let me book space in this FP Material.

lalasticlala, Marpol oya get to work

Mr Marpol Do the needful

Great Post!

oga lalasticlala let's help educate more people.

Lassa fever is an acute viral illness that occurs in West Africa. The illness was discovered in 1969 when two missionary nurses died of it in Nigeria. The Lassa fever virus (LFV) was named after the town where the first cases occurred, Lassa a village in Borno State located in the North Eastern region of Nigeria.

The virus, a member of the virus family Arenaviridae, is a single-stranded RNA virus and is zoonotic, or animal-borne. In areas of Africa where the disease is endemic (that is, constantly present), Lassa fever is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. While Lassa fever is mild or has no observable symptoms in about 80% of people infected with the virus, the remaining 20% have a severe multisystem disease. Lassa fever is also associated with occasional epidemics, during which the case-fatality rate can reach 50%. Lassa fever is an endemic disease in portion of West Africa and is recognized in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. However, because the rodent species which carry the LFV are found throughout West Africa, the actual geographic range of the disease may extend to other countries in the region.The number of Lassa virus infections per year in West Africa is estimated at 100,000 to 300,000, with approximately 5,000 deaths. Unfortunately, such estimates are crude, because surveillance for cases of the disease is not uniformly performed. Approximately 15%-20% of patients hospitalized for Lassa fever die from the illness. However, overall only about 1% of infections with Lassa virus result in death. The death rates are particularly high for women in the third trimester of pregnancy, and for fetuses, about 95% of which die in the uterus of infected pregnant mothers.

The first case of the current outbreak was reported in Bauchi state in November, 2015. It has now extended to at least 17 states claiming at least 63 lives in the process.

Symptoms of Lassa fever typically occur 7 – 21 days after the patient comes in contact with the LFV. These include fever, retro-sternal pain (pain behind the chest wall), sore throat, abdominal and back pain, cough, vomiting, diarrhea, conjunctivitis (red eyes), facial swelling, protein in the urine and mucosal bleeding. Permanent hearing loss, tremors and encephalitis have also been described.

There are a number of ways in which the LFV may be spread to humans. The reservoir, or host, of LFV is a rodent known as the “multi-mammate rat” which shed the virus in their urine and droppings. LFV can be transmitted through direct contact with these materials, through contaminated objects or food, or through cuts or sores. Infection can also occur when a person inhales tiny dust particles in the air contaminated with infected rodent waste. LFV may also spread person-to-person. This type of transmission occurs when an uninfected person comes in contact with the virus in the blood, tissue, secretions, or excretions of an infected individual.

Ribavirin, an antiviral drug, has been used with success in Lassa fever patients. It has been shown to be most effective when given early in the course of the illness. Patients should also receive supportive care consisting of maintenance of appropriate fluid and electrolyte balance, oxygenation and blood pressure, as well as treatment of any other complicating infections.

Primary transmission of the Lassa virus from its host to humans can be prevented by avoiding contact with Mastomys rodents, especially in the geographic regions where outbreaks occur. Putting food away in rodent-proof containers and keeping the home clean help to discourage rodents from entering homes. Using these rodents as a food source is not recommended. Trapping in and around homes can help reduce rodent populations. However, the wide distribution of Mastomys in Africa makes complete control of this rodent reservoir impractical. When caring for patients with Lassa fever, further transmission of the disease through person-to-person contact or nosocomial routes can be avoided by taking preventive precautions against contact with patient secretions (together called VHF isolation precautions or barrier nursing methods). Such precautions include wearing protective clothing, such as masks, gloves, gowns, and goggles; using infection control measures, such as complete equipment sterilization; and isolating infected patients from contact with unprotected persons until the disease has run its course.

Further educating people in high-risk areas about ways to decrease rodent populations in their homes will aid in the control and prevention of Lassa fever. Other challenges in developing countries include increasing the number of diagnostic centres and isolation units in designated hospitals and putting in place national protocols on how to handle high risk patients and identified cases. Also developing more rapid diagnostic tests and increasing the availability of the only known drug treatment, ribavirin. Research is presently under way to develop a vaccine for Lassa fever.

Source:http://www.untoldafrique.com/2016/02/04/facts-on-lassa-fever/

cc: Freiburger, r231

More images.

In a world that has gone Virtual, Africa and Africans albeit late to the party are making sure they are not left out. Innovative Africans are everyday developing applications that can help improve the life of the increasing tech savvy Africans.
Some of the Apps that caught our fancy are,

1. Find-a-med – Developed in Nigeria, Emeka Onyekwe’s Find-a-med allows its users find the closest medical centres to them with complete turn by turn directions. It also allows them store and track their basic health information, search based on proximity and filter through specific healthcare providers; pharmacies, eye care centres, dental clinics and the like and, write reviews about any centre they have visited, helping other users identify highly rated health centres in their areas. The app is available on the IOS and Android plaforms at no cost.

2. M-farm – Founded in 2010 by a Kenyan Computer scientist, Jamila Abass after she read up on the ways Kenyan farmers are being cheated by middle men and buyers because of their ignorance on market prices. M-farm is available as a mobile app for internet enabled phones and via text, cutting away the cheating middlemen, and allowing buyers purchase produce from farmers who are aware of the worth directly. Over time because the company discovered that many small scale farmers don’t make enough sales as most buyers purchase in large scale, they developed a platform that allows farmers drop off the little produce when buyers show up and are being paid in mfarm credits that can be cashed or transferred to their bank accounts directly. Mfarm farmers have testified to have doubled their sales with the help of the application


3. Kidsfirstaid – An idea that was born in Capetown, South-Africa by Steve Morris and Paul le Roux. The application provides people and parents with quality first aid tips anywhere and anytime they need it, from step-by-step instructions on how to administer first aid, a voice guided walk-through for CPR, provision of the nearest health care centres with the help of the GPS and also the South-African emergency numbers that can be called directly from the app, this is definitely a life saver.


4. Okadabooks – with over 71,000 users signed up on this platform, Founder Okechukwu Ofilli’s aim, to improve the writing and reading culture of Nigerians, has sure been achieved to an extent. The app provides solutions to the publishing problems faced by African authors as well as piracy, authors can now publish their books on the application and sell for a set price, guaranteeing them returns on each purchase. It also provides readers with Over 10,000 African books and classics.


5. Afrinolly – the innovation behind Afrinolly that earned it the $25,000 cash prize for the Entertainment category of the 2011 Google Android Developers Challenge – Sub-Saharan Africa has also earned it over 4 million downloads in 2015. Founded in Nigeria by Fans Connect Online, a digital marketing agency headed by Chike Maduegbuna, it enables users watch African movie trailers, music videos, online comedy, celebrity gist and gossip, the latest entertainment news and other content. Afrinolly is available on virtually all internet connected platforms.


6. M-Pedigree – Moving from Ghana to over 12 countries including India and Bangladesh, Bright Simons’ M-pedigree was founded with the sole purpose of fighting counterfeit drugs in the market. Manufacturers can now label their products using m-pedigree software’s, which can be verified by final consumers when they purchase by texting the random code that appears under a scratch to a toll free number.


7. IrokoTv – Although Headquartered in London, what has been dubbed The Netflix of Africa allows its users stream paid for Nigeria’s Nollywood movies – the world’s third largest movie producing industry. An idea that came when Founder Jason Njoku found it hard getting Nollywood movies for his mother outside the Country, IrokoTv has so far raised over $25million in investment.


8. Wumdrop – Founded in 2014 when founders, Simon Hartley and Roy Mathieu Borole were looking for a reliable and affordable Courier service for their diaper delivering company. The South-African Uber of delivery uses freelance drivers, who take 70% of the delivery charge, to deliver products to buyers in no time. It’s available on smartphones for both drivers and buyers, allowing buyers pick up the closest drivers to them for speed.

Source : http://www.untoldafrique.com/2016/02/08/apps-for-africans-by-africans/

More Images.

In a world that has gone Virtual, Africa and Africans albeit late to the party are making sure they are not left out. Innovative Africans are everyday developing applications that can help improve the life of the increasing tech savvy Africans.
Some of the Apps that caught our fancy are,

1. Find-a-med – Developed in Nigeria, Emeka Onyekwe’s Find-a-med allows its users find the closest medical centres to them with complete turn by turn directions. It also allows them store and track their basic health information, search based on proximity and filter through specific healthcare providers; pharmacies, eye care centres, dental clinics and the like and, write reviews about any centre they have visited, helping other users identify highly rated health centres in their areas. The app is available on the IOS and Android plaforms at no cost.

2. M-farm – Founded in 2010 by a Kenyan Computer scientist, Jamila Abass after she read up on the ways Kenyan farmers are being cheated by middle men and buyers because of their ignorance on market prices. M-farm is available as a mobile app for internet enabled phones and via text, cutting away the cheating middlemen, and allowing buyers purchase produce from farmers who are aware of the worth directly. Over time because the company discovered that many small scale farmers don’t make enough sales as most buyers purchase in large scale, they developed a platform that allows farmers drop off the little produce when buyers show up and are being paid in mfarm credits that can be cashed or transferred to their bank accounts directly. Mfarm farmers have testified to have doubled their sales with the help of the application


3. Kidsfirstaid – An idea that was born in Capetown, South-Africa by Steve Morris and Paul le Roux. The application provides people and parents with quality first aid tips anywhere and anytime they need it, from step-by-step instructions on how to administer first aid, a voice guided walk-through for CPR, provision of the nearest health care centres with the help of the GPS and also the South-African emergency numbers that can be called directly from the app, this is definitely a life saver.


4. Okadabooks – with over 71,000 users signed up on this platform, Founder Okechukwu Ofilli’s aim, to improve the writing and reading culture of Nigerians, has sure been achieved to an extent. The app provides solutions to the publishing problems faced by African authors as well as piracy, authors can now publish their books on the application and sell for a set price, guaranteeing them returns on each purchase. It also provides readers with Over 10,000 African books and classics.


5. Afrinolly – the innovation behind Afrinolly that earned it the $25,000 cash prize for the Entertainment category of the 2011 Google Android Developers Challenge – Sub-Saharan Africa has also earned it over 4 million downloads in 2015. Founded in Nigeria by Fans Connect Online, a digital marketing agency headed by Chike Maduegbuna, it enables users watch African movie trailers, music videos, online comedy, celebrity gist and gossip, the latest entertainment news and other content. Afrinolly is available on virtually all internet connected platforms.


6. M-Pedigree – Moving from Ghana to over 12 countries including India and Bangladesh, Bright Simons’ M-pedigree was founded with the sole purpose of fighting counterfeit drugs in the market. Manufacturers can now label their products using m-pedigree software’s, which can be verified by final consumers when they purchase by texting the random code that appears under a scratch to a toll free number.


7. IrokoTv – Although Headquartered in London, what has been dubbed The Netflix of Africa allows its users stream paid for Nigeria’s Nollywood movies – the world’s third largest movie producing industry. An idea that came when Founder Jason Njoku found it hard getting Nollywood movies for his mother outside the Country, IrokoTv has so far raised over $25million in investment.


8. Wumdrop – Founded in 2014 when founders, Simon Hartley and Roy Mathieu Borole were looking for a reliable and affordable Courier service for their diaper delivering company. The South-African Uber of delivery uses freelance drivers, who take 70% of the delivery charge, to deliver products to buyers in no time. It’s available on smartphones for both drivers and buyers, allowing buyers pick up the closest drivers to them for speed.

Source : http://www.untoldafrique.com/2016/02/08/apps-for-africans-by-africans/

cc: dragnet, lalasticlala

allawizzow:


father wey don disown you

Lol thunder fire you.

axortedbabe:
u dey sell agege bread?

E be like say na the way oh

FTC
father do my own too oh.

wow there's always a new way to scam in this country. She should just reach out to Airtel, they have the best customer care.

FlirtyKaren:
My name is Adetoke Oluwo. I feel it is necessary I share my story so as to shed light to the way fraudsters dupe unsuspecting Nigerians and also to expose the shady AIRTEL STAFF who aided them.

My purse with other documents and ID cards were stolen last year April and as usual, I got an affidavit for it.
This year January, I got a call from Airtel Ibadan concerning a sim swap I wanted to do in Ibadan (I work and live in Lagos). I immediately informed them that it's fraud when
they told me the person brought one of the id cards that was stolen.
I immediately went to AIRTEL IKEJA CITY MALL to report and told them to flag and fortify security on my sim as my Airtel line is connected to all my Bank accounts. I even asked how it was possible for anybody to walk in and almost swapped my sim without any form of security . The staff said they will do something about it.
On Thursday night, 4th of February, I noticed my network was down and I waited till Friday to go report and they told me to wait for hours. THEY DID NOT TELL ME MY SIM HAD BEEN SUCCESSFULLY SWAPPED BY FRAUDSTERS, The Staff tried to hide it and told me to fill a form of sim replacement. I did not know at that point that my money was being moved as I sat there!!!
I left the Office and discovered on my other phone that 400 THOUSAND NAIRA HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED FROM MY GTB ACCOUNT THROUGH MOBILE MONEY WITH THAT NUMBER ALL THE WHILE MY SIM WAS DOWN FROM THURSDAY NIGHT TO FRIDAY AFTERNOON.
My email address must have been seen in one of the documents stolen,and the number is where Yahoo would send my recovery password to. All it took them was to SWAP MY SIM and click on forget password to access my email that had my Bank details saved.
It was when I went back to AIRTEL IKEJA CITY MALL to shout that the Staff told me my Sim had been Swapped. Before they lied that it was damaged and told me to fill a form for REPLACEMENT! !!

I requested for the Staff who swapped my sim for this FRAUDSTERS and they refused to say anything. They even harassed me and sent me out of their store for causing nuisance.

This money is meant to be part of the Course I saved a Year for to go study in London, I was maltreated and duped and an AIRTEL STAFF AIDED THE FRAUDSTERS. EVEN AFTER I COMPLAINED SINCE JANUARY FOR MY SIM TO BE FORTIFIED!!

BECAUSE HOW IS IT POSSIBLE FOR SOMEONE WHO ISN'T ME TO SUCCESSFULLY SWAP MY LINE WHEN THEY HAD MY PICTURE RIGHT INFRONT OF THEM!!!

PLEASE SHARE SO I CAN GET MY MONEY BACK, SO JUSTICE CAN BE DONE, SO OTHER NIGERIANS TOO CAN LEARN FROM MY EXPERIENCE AND PROTECT THEMSELVES. PLEASE SHARE.

http://www.lailasblog.com/2016/02/scam-alert-lady-cries-out-after.html

Feminism is not a new word or movement, but it sure has been used a lot more lately, with everybody from men to women crazing over gender equality. Firstly, I don’t classify myself a feminist neither do I downplay the importance of women in the society, I believe that importance –which is the main drive behind feminism- cannot be forced on people. It’s earned. Albeit we cannot trace the source of the erroneous belief that men are superior to women, many believe religion plays a very important role in it as most texts - the bible, the Koran, and other holy books - directly or indirectly downplay the role of the female gender. No wonder some religious zealots have taken advantage of this. These beliefs have been passed from generation to generation, and men are not the only firm believers. Women who expect men to approach them first even when they are interested are equally guilty. You have indirectly passed the role of Alpha (leader) to the man. It’s not your fault though, you fear the society will label you loose, call you a hoe, and the man will not respect you if you make the first move. Too bad, you are the society and you are not just afraid, you are acting based on the aforementioned belief. Approaching people (especially the opposite sex) isn't a task designated based on hormones, it’s more of a psychological thing, so a man can just be as shy as a woman, doesn't make him less of a man.. Another reason equality has not been achieved, especially in Africa are the women that depend on men financially, they believe the man has to take charge of all their expenses and won’t go Dutch on dates. I recently cut a female off for expecting too much from me, money for hair, lunch, dinner, a new phone and what have you, knowing fully well that I am a student. Men too have conformed to these “norms”, therefore cannot go on dates if they cannot afford to pay for the woman, because if they do not, chances are that they will be labelled broke and also lose the woman. Where is the equality in this? You make as much as I do, but I have to spend mine on you to get your love? And you get to keep yours? Then I am the boss in this, because I have indirectly bought your allegiance and love. We live in a society where a woman who went shopping with her boyfriend and paid for her own stuff was seen as Rude by other women, this explains how it has become a cultural thing. May I also explain how the Ministry of Women affairs in Nigeria is doing more harm than good? A ministry aimed at fighting for the right of women and improving the well-being of women in the society has indirectly labelled women Vulnerable, although we may argue that this ministry is fixing prejudices that have been set over the years, it’s still wrong. We have no Ministry of Men affairs to improve the standard of living of men in the society, or do we assume that all men are well and not vulnerable? The worst part is that most states have these ministries tagged alongside poverty alleviation. This explains what the government and the society think women are synonymous to. Till women decide to be independent as a means of showing equality rather than the needless noise, gender equality will still be an issue.

cc: lalasticlala

A couple of days ago I listened to a podcast about the
human memory, the guest Daniel Kahneman a
psychologist who has a Nobel prize in Economics
stressed the importance of endings in man’s ability to
remember events. We remember an event as
awesome if it has a happy ending, ignoring the
shortcomings that may have preceded the happy
ending while an event with a tragic ending leaves a
sad memory even though interesting events may have
preceded the tragic ending.
The guest talked about how he and his wife had gone
on a holiday to celebrate their wedding anniversary 
— the last day of their holiday was really interesting
so they decided to end it albeit they had one more
day left according to plan. The reason he explains has
to do with the memories — they had no idea what the
next day was going to be like and didn’t want to take
risks with memories they’ll live with for many
year’s. They wanted a happy ending.
Humans love and crave happy endings and it shows
in books and movies we love — I remember having
conversations about movies with tragic endings with
friends and we all concluding they didn’t end well.
Most stories we read growing up ended with
sentences like “and they lived happily together ever
after” but are happy endings real? Do we live happily
ever after? Albeit we have different tastes in
happiness — things that interest me may positively
influence my happiness and have no influence on
yours — we have similar if not the same tastes in
sadness. Failure, losing loved ones, poverty, becoming
dependent on other adults when we become much
older, death and a host of other things most of which
are inevitable in life especially close to the end of our
lives. Losing loved ones are inevitable occurrences no
thanks not to death only but distance and other
things that separate loved ones. We complain about
how cruel the world is but never consider death as an
option because we fear it; we hardly even want to talk
about it till we are much older when it becomes
imminent. Some people request to be euthanized
because they are in pain that is beyond their control,
so they see death as the only way out, that’s a sad
ending although they may have been successful all
their life and spent every day happy. The thought
about those happy times has no influence on their
decisions, the pain they feel does — this is also the
case of those who commit suicide, many times we
hear about public figures who we expect to be happy
committing suicide.
The mistake we humans make is we expect happy
endings to occur naturally, forgetting that life isn’t set
up that way — instead we should learn from the guest
on the podcast, force happy endings ourselves and
cherish good times we have with loved ones.

After reading the December 14 post on thenationonlineng.net titled ‘violence stalls kosofe house of representative primaries’ I was appalled and disappointed in the APC, a party that has consistently thrown jibes at the PDP led federal government and also not hesitated in criticizing the violence that almost ensued during the PDP gubernatorial primaries, the attack is a typical case of what Jesus had warned against in the Holy Bible ‘’remove the log in your eyes before removing the speck in your neighbors eyes’’.

The APC House of Representatives primaries had been scheduled to hold on December 7th & 8th, it held on both days but had recorded violence in Mushin, Ifako Ijaiye and Kosofe(the first of the many that will subsequently occur) causing damage to properties worth millions of naira. Violence had erupted in Mushin when suspected thugs outside had received information that voting wasn’t going in favour of a particular aspirant, they took to damaging properties in the secretariat where the election was holding and also smashing wind shields and cars parked outside the secretariat (probably belonging to innocent citizens) and took the help of the Department of State Security to return it to normalcy, similar cases were recorded in Ifako Ijaye and kosofe, albeit elections eventually held in both Mushin and Ifako Ijaiye – it wasn’t the same in kosofe where the struggle for the ticket is between incumbent house of Representatives member Dayo bush- Alebiosu (who has been there for eight years), Rotimi Agunsoye and Bosun Jeje. The election was subsequently postponed to Tuesday, December 9 but sadly suffered the same fate as the previous one this time in presence of the state chairman Otunba Henry Ajomale and women leader Mrs Kemi Nelson , due to the same reason – violence and disagreement between the candidates and their supporters. The electoral officer after listening to complaints from the candidates decided they were going to send reports to the national secretariat in Abuja, showing the incompetence of the Kosofe APC and the Lagos APC at large. The chairman of the Lagos APC suggested the rescheduled election will not hold in Ogudu and moved it to a neutral ground. It was scheduled to hold for the third time on Saturday December 14th at a neutral ground, the APC state secretariat in Ikeja, but was stalled for the third time due to violence yet again, this explains how disorganized the ‘’house’’ of the Apc Kosofe is and also how selfish the candidates are – it also goes a long way to describe how they will go to any length to get their desired results at the expense of the general public. An election that has been cancelled on three different occasions obviously stinks of corruption and proposed rigging, another reason I’m disappointed in the APC who have consistently painted themselves as self-righteous and it is absolutely disappointing having members of such disorganised party represent the constituency at the federal level.

Before writing this article, I took time checking how the PDP House of representatives election went in the state and especially Kosofe, surprisingly unlike the APC primaries it had recorded no form of violence or protest from its members who lost. In the kosofe LGA all 38 delegates had endorsed Mrs Olusola Hassan, portraying the high level of organization within the party, she is expected to battle whoever wins the violent and corruption ridden APC primaries in the federal constituency at the polls come February 2015.

There's a top notch club on the island that's allowing you hold your events and birthdays at a very great deal.