Richard Lee Norris, 37, who suffered horrendous injuries in a gun accident in 1997, is recovering well and already brushing his teeth and shaving after last week's surgery, according to doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Centre in United States. Pictured (left) is Mr Norris before his accident, (center) shortly after his accident and (right) as he now looks following his face transplant.

Officials at the University of Maryland Medical Center announced today that Richard Lee Norris is recovering well after last week's 36-hour surgery.He is beginning to feel his face and already brushing his teeth and shaving. He's also regained his sense of smell, which he had lost after the accident.

For 15 years, Mr Norris lived as a recluse, hiding behind a mask and only coming out at night time. The transplant will give him his life back, said Dr Eduardo Rodriguez, the lead surgeon.

'It's a surreal experience to look at him. It's hard not to stare.

'Before, people used to stare at Richard because he wore a mask and they wanted to see the deformity,' Rodriguez said.

'Now, they have another reason to stare at him, and it's really amazing.'

The surgeons are calling it the world's most comprehensive face transplant which allowed the Virginia man to emerge from behind his mask after 15 years.

When he shot himself in the face in 1997 he lost his nose, lips and most movement in his mouth. He has had multiple life-saving, reconstructive surgeries but none as successful as this.

He received the new face from an anonymous donor last week whose organs saved five other patients' lives on the same day.

The Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment, Mr Tunji Bello, said at press conference yesterday that Lagosians should prepare for 236 days of heavy rain in 2012. What he said:

    The natural phenomena that controlled 2011 rainfall are still in force and as such it has been predicted that rainfall will commence from Thursday, March 22, with a margin of error of four days. To a large extent we will agree that this prediction is true as the rains have started in Lagos. It has also been predicted that the end of the season for 2012 is November 12 with a margin of error of two days; with between November 10 and 14 as probable days. The total length of rainy season for the year is approximately put at 236 days with a margin of error of two days. Like last year, Lagos will experience heavy rainfall with serious intensity.

236 days of rain? This won't be nice!!!

Archaeologists exploring a 1st century Christian burial chamber have discovered an ancient inscription on a coffin lid which they believe could prove the site is the final resting place of Jesus.

Using a remote-controlled camera connected to a robotic arm to probe below a tower block in Jerusalem, the archaeologists were staggered to discover a set of 1st century ‘bone boxes’.

The lid on one of these limestone boxes, also known as ossuaries, carries an inscription in Greek which could be translated as ‘Divine Jehovah, raise up, raise up’.

Another carries a drawing of a fish with a stick figure in its mouth which is believed to refer to the story of Jonah and the Whale – one of the very first biblical stories.

The find is 200ft away from an earlier discovery known as the Jesus Family Tomb, which caused a huge amount of controversy after it was uncovered in the 1980s.

Archaeologists then claimed it contained ossuaries inscribed with names associated with Jesus’s family.

That discovery sprouted amazing theories including one that maintained Jesus had been buried there alongside Mary Magdalene who he had married and raised a family with.



However many leading theologians and archaeologists rubbished such claims as being completely unfounded.

The Jesus Family Tomb was only examined briefly before protests by Orthodox Jews, concerned about the disturbance of a grave site, ended the excavation.

It was then sealed up, and a tower block built over it.

However James Tabor, a scriptural scholar at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici were determined to continue the research.

The pair obtained permission from the Israeli government in 2010 to use the robotic arm to drill holes allowing them to explore the surrounding area.

This led to the discovery of a separate chamber which they named the ‘Patio Tomb’, as it sits almost directly below the patio of the building.