US: A man named Moses Gibson aged 41 from Minnesota, spent extravagantly around $1,70,000 to increase his height by five inches through two leg-lengthening surgeries.
Gibson’s dating life was not so colorful because of his 5-foot-5-inch frame. He tried various things including medication and a spiritual healer to increase his height.
Mr. Gibson in talk with Kennedy News and Media said, "I just didn't feel good about myself”.
Further, he said he was subjected to “heightism”.
He tried all possible ways to increase his height, he took pills that promised to make him taller, and spoke to a spiritual healer who told him that he could increase his height if he properly put his mind to it. But none worked and that is when he decided to go for a pricey and painful leg-lengthening surgery.
“I was unhappy about it most of the time, it was my self-confidence in general, and with the ladies. It affected my dating life. I used to put things in my shoes to gain a little bit of height, but it wasn't very much”, said Mr. Gibson.
According to the reports, Gibson underwent his first surgery in the year 2016 which added 3 inches to his height.
He managed to save $75,000 for the surgery by working as a software engineer and an Uber driver for three years.
After the first procedure, I was happy with it to some extent, but it was always in my mind that I wanted to do a second one to complete it." the man shared. "I'm a high achiever. I've got the money and I can finish the journey."
In March 2023 Gibson underwent second surgery which added 2 inches to his height, he spent $98,000.
"I'll be happy at 5-foot-10," he declared. "But if my body and everything else allows me to go 3 inches to get to 5-foot-11, then even better!", said Gibson.
Addressing the media, Gibson said that the surgeries have boosted his confidence to talk to women.
After the first surgery, I became less hesitant and less worried about the result when talking to women. I now have a girlfriend," he proudly proclaimed. "I also started wearing shorts and taking full-body pictures, which I never used to.
He further said, "In my mind, when I'm done with this part I can just be free," he said of the extra inches he's expected to gain following the second procedure. "I just won't care about my height anymore. I'll be satisfied with what I have."
Mr. Gibson does not regret his decision to a pricey and painful leg-lengthening surgery.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Cairo (AP): Iran has offered to end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the US lifting its blockade on the country and an end to the war, while proposing that discussions on the larger question of its nuclear programme would come in a later phase, two regional officials said Monday.
US President Donald Trump seems unlikely to accept the offer, which was passed to the Americans by Pakistan and would leave unresolved the disagreements that led the US and Israel to go to war on February 28.
With a fragile ceasefire in place, the US and Iran are locked in a standoff over the strait, through which a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas passes in peacetime. The US blockade is designed to prevent Iran from selling its oil, depriving it of crucial revenue while also potentially creating a situation where Tehran has to shut off production because it has nowhere to store the oil.
The strait's closure, meanwhile, has put pressure on Trump, as oil and gasoline prices have skyrocketed ahead of crucial midterm elections, and it has pressured his Gulf allies, which use the waterway to export their oil and gas.
The closure has also had far-reaching effects throughout the world economy, raising the price of fertilizer, food and other basic goods.
The proposal would push off negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme to a later date. Trump said one of the major reasons he went to war was to deny Iran the ability to develop nuclear weapons.
The two officials, who had knowledge of the proposal, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations between Iranian and Pakistani officials this weekend. The Axios news outlet first reported Iran's proposal.
It came as Iran's foreign minister visited Russia, which has long been a key backer of Tehran. It's unclear what, if any, assistance Moscow might offer now.
Strait of Hormuz remains blocked
===================
Iran's ability to choke off traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, has proved one of its biggest strategic advantages in a war that has often boiled down to which side can take more pain.
Oil prices have risen steadily since the war began and tankers full of crude became stranded in the Persian Gulf, unable to safely transit through the strait and reach global distribution points.
On Monday, the spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at around $108 per barrel, nearly 50 per cent higher than when the war began.
Iranian foreign minister holds talks as negotiations with US stall
===============================
Trump last week indefinitely extended the ceasefire the US and Iran agreed to on April 7 that has largely halted fighting. But a permanent settlement remains elusive in the war that has killed thousands of people.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi landed in St. Petersburg on Monday morning ahead of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“It is a good opportunity for us to consult with our Russian friends about the developments that have occurred in relation to the war during this period and what is happening now,” Araghchi said in a video interview posted by IRNA.
It comes as Pakistan has been seeking to revive stalled talks between Iran and the US, and negotiations had been expected in Islamabad over the weekend. Instead, Trump called off a trip by his envoys and suggested the talks could take place by phone instead.
Over the weekend, Araghchi made two stops in Pakistan and a visit to Oman, which shares the strait with Iran. He also spoke by phone with counterparts in Qatar and Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
Iran wants to persuade Oman to support a mechanism to collect tolls from vessels passing through the strait, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the matter.
Oman's response wasn't immediately clear.
The official, who is involved in mediation efforts, also said Iran insisted on ending the US blockade before new talks and that Pakistan-led mediators are trying to bridge significant gaps between the countries.
Trump says Iran has offered a much better proposal
===========================
Trump told journalists Saturday that after he called off a trip by his envoys to Pakistan, Iran sent a “much better” proposal.
He did not elaborate but stressed that one of his conditions is that Iran “will not have a nuclear weapon”.
Iran insists its programme is peaceful, but the US wants to remove Tehran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which could be used to build a bomb, should Tehran choose to pursue one.
Since the war began, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran and at least 2,509 people in Lebanon, where fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group resumed two days after the Iran war started. Another 23 people have been killed in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, 13 US service members in the region and six UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon have been killed.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has been extended by three weeks. Hezbollah has not participated in the Washington-brokered diplomacy.
