One of the world most respected fashion designer Oscar de la Renta has passed away. De la Renta who was battling Cancer for eight years, is reported to have died on Monday, October 20, 2014, surrounded by family and friends at his Connecticut home in US. ‘While our hearts are broken by the idea of life without Oscar, he is still very much with us. Oscar's hard work, his intelligence and his love of life are at the heart of our company’, a handwritten statement signed by his stepdaughter Eliza Reed Bolen and her husband, Alex Bolen confirmed. ‘All that we have done, and all that we will do, is informed by his values and his spirit. Through Oscar's example we know the way forward. We will make Oscar very proud of us by continuing in an even stronger way the work that Oscar loved so much’, it further read. Born in the Dominican Republic in 1932, De la Renta travelled to Madrid to study painting at the age of 18. It was there he developed a love of fashion design and began an apprenticeship with Cristóbal Balenciaga, who became his mentor, and then, landed a job with Lanvin in Paris. Soon after, he moved to New York City.

GENERAL Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, yesterday, defended the national president of the Christian Association, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, following the controversy surrounding the seizure of $9.3 million arms purchase funds by South Africa. Pastor Adeboye who spoke in London during an ecclesiastical visit said, “Pastor Ayodele Joseph Oritsejafor is a man of God I trust and I can personally vouch for him. I believe on the issue of his aircraft being chartered and the purpose it was used for he had no prior knowledge. I’m sure God will continue to build his church and the gates of hell will not prevail in Jesus name. One anointed cannot attack another anointed. A pastor cannot attack another pastor. Touch not my anointed is what God said. Some Nigerians have questioned the use of Pastor Oritsejafor’s private jet by the Federal Government to convey the money to South Africa, accusing him of involvement in money laundering.” - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/10/9-3m-arms-deal-adeboye-defends-oritsejafor/#sthash.X9a4WZFS.dpuf