Photo: 7 Friends Die After Boat Capsize As They Take A Selfie

Seven friends drowned and another is feared dead after their boat capsized while they gathered at one end for a selfie.

The young men were filming for Facebook Live using a selfie stick and can be seen in the footage laughing and joking.

But moments later tragedy struck, as the men were so engrossed in playing up for the camera, that they didn't realise the were tipping over.

The men in their late teens and early twenties had been at the Mangrul Lake in Kuhi Taluka for a picnic when they fell in the water on Sunday evening.

Chandra Bhadure, the senior Inspector from Kalmeshwar police station in Nagpur said:

"The guys had got onto a small boat.

"They were so engrossed in taking selfies and doing the live-streaming in Facebook that they forgot
that all of them had come to one corner of the boat.

"That would capsize as a result of the imbalance caused by the uneven weight put on one side.

"India has become the capital of selfie death in the world, but our people still continue to risk their life and limb for a selfie,” he said.

The dead men were identified as Harshal Adamne, 18, his 20-year-old brother Chetan Adamne, Govardhan Thote 18, Rahul Walode, 23, Ram Shivarkar, 24, Maqsood Sheikh, 27 and Abdul Sayeed, 21, all from Ashirwad Nagar in Nagpur city.

Their friend Atul Bhoya is still missing.

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Omg! Car Crushes Baby to Death While Mom was Busy Playing with Her Phone

A mother has been left with painful guilt after her carelessness led to the daughter's death while she was busy playing with her phone.

The mother was busy playing with her phone as a car crushed the daughter to death

 

Here is a timely warning from China to mothers and everyone obsessed with the phone, while parenting, driving, or walking. A two year-old girl has died in Beijing, crushed by a car as her mother left her on the road to wander, while she was busy checking her phone. 

 

A 2-minute video clip, widely shared in Chinese social media, captured the horrific scene: the girl first of all being hit and then crushed by the car. When the accident took place, the girl was walking alone ahead of her phone-engrossed mother. The girl didn’t survive.

 

The incident has once again reinforced warnings to parents and all phone owners  over obsession with the smartphones and neglect of parenting.

 

Police investigation said that the girl walked into the driver’s blind zone.

 

Chinese netizens expressed their anger over the mother, saying that she should have kept an eye on her child.

“If the mobile phone was so much fun, then why had you given birth to the child?” asked web user“Xiaodingdangmaimaijimiqiu”.

“It is a bloody lesson. Everyone should be alerted not to play with a smartphone while walking. God knows how regretful the mother is,” a netizen in the username of “freeermiao” wrote on China’s twitter-like microblog Weibo.

 

The accident was not the first.

 

In April this year, a two-year-old boy ran into the centre of a road while his mother was mesmerized by her mobile phone in east China’s Anhui province.

 

The boy was hit by a car and died. In August last year, a similar tragedy happened in central China’s Henan province when a boy was hit by a car in a parking zone. His mother was checking phone somewhere else when the boy was knocked down.

 

Parents have been urged to curb their smartphone addiction.

 

In China, more than five in 10 adults own a smartphone. Over half of the people questioned in a poll conducted by Deloitte check mobile phone for 1 or 2 times per hour, and one fourth of the interviewees check their mobiles for over 50 times a day.

 

Child Accident Prevention Trust, a UK children’s charity, has warned that parents obsessed in their mobile phones are putting their children in danger of serious accidents.

 

Almost a quarter of parents were engrossed in their devices when their children suffered an accident or had a near miss, according to a new research it released.

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What Will Kill President Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari, the ruler of the most populous nation in the world might not see it coming as many have predicted he may soon shoot himself in the foot.

 

President Muhammadu Buhari

 

It is not within the power of any man to decide who will die or not, but a supreme being who knows it all dictates/decides when each man's life on earth is up. In view of this, it is foolhardy for any man to play God.

 

In the human circle, many have made different predictions but none have been able to forsee what will 'kill' President Muhammadu Buhari. As the number one citizen of Nigeria, it is pertinent at this difficult time that we discuss the man at the helm of Nigeria's political affairs. Here, I will attempt what no one has done.

 

President Buhari came to power with the goodwill of many Nigerians in an unprecedented election in which he defeated the then incumbent, former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. That alone showed the height of frustration Nigerians must have suffered in Jonathan's adminstration. There was a massive electoral revolt by the people who were tired of the numerous unfulfilled promises that had characterized the government of Jonathan.

 

The success of Buhari at the 2015 Presidential election was majorly because of his 1. Past record. 2. Perseverance. 3. Character. 4. A diabetic ruling party. 5. A society thirsty for real change. 6. Failure of Goodluck Jonathan to meet the expectations of Nigerians.

 

Many before had thought it was inconceivable, disgraceful and unthinkable for a former dictator, coupist and military leader whose coming to power in 1983 was bloody would ever emerge as the president of the most populous black nation in the world. How could a man who took power by force, for which he never accounted for, be elected into power after more than 20 years since the incident even as he had continuously denied his involvement in the coup?

 

Against all odds, Buhari defeated Jonathan in the 2015 Presidential election. The Jonathan-led government had made things very easy for Buhari. Jonathan's government considered by many as a terrible joke for its numerous failures - refusal to tackle corruption that has permeated the soul of its workforce, the politicians and army; his refusal to address the issue of electricity which has been a thorn in the flesh of all derelict past governments;  the lackadaisical manner in which he was fighting the war against Boko Haram; the ridiculous and shameful manner in which procurement of weapons in the war against Boko Haram was handled; the abduction of over 200 Chibok girls; increasing rate of unemployment and cost of living and the government's senseless hike of PMS in 2012.‎ All these worked together to send Jonathan out of Aso Villa to Otuoke after almost six years as President.

 

Buhari came to power as a corruption czar and the righteous messiah many Nigerians have been waiting for; this was mainly because of his past record as an outright disciplinarian and a no-nonsense military leader, at least from what many had perceived of him. So on that note, considering the pathetic manner corruption had eaten deep into the fabric of the society, it was a great delight for many to vote into power a man who would look corruption in the face and slap it without fear. So, it was like they washed him clean and brought him back to life as a new man and presented him to the people as a changed and spotless hero. All his past sins miraculously forgiven him by Nigerians because they were done with cowardly fellows who would make a softlanding and give a pat on the back for notorious government officials known for their pilfering skills. Nigerians needed a man who would send his son to prison and care less of his feelings if his son was found guilty of a crime. That was what Nigerians wanted - and they believed they got such a man in Buhari. His past record and the underperforming government of Jonathan contributed in sending Buhari to Aso Villa.

 

Buhari showed resilience and an untoward perseverance. Nigerians who were in need of real change and desired it needed a man of his character. Someone who had contested three presidential elections and failed until the fourth. Many believed for a man of his status to repeatly challenge himself even after numerous failures would surely not just have a good plan, but also have the hunger and thirst to change things in the country which he found has impeded progress over the years. Some people had said he was spurred by a desire to right the wrongs of his government as a military dictator who never accounted for his days in power. Buhari was considered as a man of character who wouldn't go back on his words, a man whose desires were to better the lot of his country men who have been battered over the years by dubious politicians who have continued to exploit the hunger in the land to perpetrate, steal and malnourish the same people who voted them into power. He was seen as the right choice whose years of experience in the army would bring about perfectly workable and offensive ideas to crush the terrorist group, Boko Haram that has claimed at least 20, 000 lives since 2009 and displaced 2.3 million people from their homes.

 

But in all these, something must be spelt out clearly: Buhari will die in the eyes of many Nigerians like his predecessors if he falls victim to the same things he condemned in the past. Some have began to express doubts over his much celebrated stance as an incorruptible leader who disassociates himself from anything that could dent his image. Consider for example, the president's Chief of Army staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai who bought two mansions in Dubai valued at $1.5 million (N456,750,000), many had wondered how an army officer could afford such a hefty amount just to buy properties in a faraway land, when many in his shoes wouldn't have afforded one of that legally after over 30 years of serving their fatherland. His critics claimed no investigation was conducted by relevant anti-corruption agencies before he was certified clean. The current structure of things defeats the president's good intentions which many believe have been compromised by his lieutenants. Many are still suspicious how a top military procurement officer who worked under the past administration in the Army now exposed as one of the most corrupt agency of government that perpetrated the most shocking arms acquisition gaffe in the land be free of guilt?

 

Buhari's silence in the face of gross violation of human rights by his appointees has become a source of worry. In December 2015, the army secretly buried over 350 Shiite members it massacred in a shallow grave without the consent of their family members after a confrontation with at least 350 dead bodies unaccounted for, according to Amnesty International. The leader of the group, El-Zakzaky was beaten, reportedly blinded and bundled away by military men who razed down his house, killed his wife and son and has since 2015 detained him incommunicado. Numerous protests by his members for his release has fallen on deaf ears that we have all now forgotten him.

 

Buhari's Chief of Staff, Alhaji Abba Kyari has been under severe criticism lately after he was implicated in a N500 million bribery scandal for which he has been called to quit his office and clear his name. Yet, the president has not made a decision on what step to take and repose the confidence invested on him by the people. More recently, his Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Ameachi who was a core member of the opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) before he defected to Buhari's All Progressives Congress was accused by two Justices of the Supreme Court of trying to bribe and influence judgement on his party's behalf. The revelation came after Buhari through the Department of State Security Service, DSS had staged a Gestapo sting operation and invaded the houses of the Judges and arrested them on corruption charges. The judges had alleged that their prosecution by the government was because of their refusal to help Amaechi who is a leading figure in Buhari's government. Nothing has been heard from the Presidency over the allegations against one of the leading men who made sure Buhari was elected into power. It has been silence as usual. Nigerians have been left to wander in perpetual ignorance on government's stance on the hefty allegations against one of its henchmen - this is in fact one of the many shortcomings of Buhari's government.

 

The fight against corruption must be holistic and less selective. The government must react to pressing and urgent discusses in the political space. Another example of default is the secrecy the Buhari's government has handled the monumental fraud allegations brought against the Speaker of the House Yakubu Dogara by a former chairman committee on Appropriation, Mr. Abdulmunim Jibrin who had accused Dogara and some prominent members of the House of fraud and padding the 2016 budget for which the president sacked many civil servants who had been thought to have participated. But, unlike the helpless civil servants, Dogara had been seen walking flambouyantly in and out of Aso Villa after visiting the President in the wake of the hefty allegations. The president has not uttered a word on it. Even the anti-corruption agencies seem clueless on what step to take even as Jibrin was suspended over the matter. The critics of Buhari see the silence of the president on this matter as a clear doublestandard, one of many that is capable of 'killing' him.

 

The national apprehension being experienced now is one joy-killer the president might not survive. The hardship in the land has increased over tenfolds. This many say was caused by an unreasonable decision of the government to hike the price of Petrol with the excuse that by hiking the price and stopping the payment of subsidy, the government would have enough money for its infrastructure development. It was a frustrating plan that instead of alleviating the suffering of the people, tripled it so much so that an average Nigerian cannot afford 2-square meal a day. Many were put out of business and companies folded up as a result of government's drastic decision without consultation from the people it is governing.

 

The abysmal performance of the naira has crippled the economy. Before Buhari's election in 2015, naira was a low performer at 200/$1. But as at October 29, 2016, the naira has seen a disastrous run of form that it is now languishing N470/$1 at the parrallel market. The result of this has been the astronomical rise in the prices of goods and services leaving Nigerians complaining bitterly. This has had a serious effect on Buhari's popularity as many have become disenchanted with him. The unemployment rate in Nigeria calls for spiritual intervention; it has gone beyond the physical. The number of unemployed graduates has brought about the need for people to engage in more skilled and vocational training. In a country where companies are massively sacking its staff with many folding up, being your own boss is the best decision ever and that's what skill training does. It is still not clear apart from bogus paper talk, how government plans to rescue the country and change the future of its people for the better.

 

But, Buhari still offers hope as he still has time, by stroke of a miracle to redeem himself.

 

How he plans to tackle the shameful and epileptic power situation, defeat and ostracise remnants of Boko Haram in the northeast, appease the irate Niger Delta militants, fix his battered human rights image and the use of security agencies to intimidate people, battle corruption and fix the economy are the many things that would either kill or vindicate him. If the former succeeds, he will go down in the history of Nigeria as a pretender who wanted power so badly that when he got it, he became more clueless than his predecessor.

 

 

About The Author

Alexander Thandi Ubani writes from Lagos

He's an Editor at Tori.ng

Twitter: @thandiubani

Email: thandiubani@yahoo.com

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UK Appeals To Nigeria To Abolish Death Penalty

The United Kingdom on Monday appealed to Nigeria to abolish the death penalty, saying that capital punishment cheapened human life.

The UK made the appeal in a statement issued by the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright, on the 2016 World Day against the Death Penalty.

Mr. Arkwright said the British Government believed the death penalty had no place in the modern world and its use undermined human dignity.

According to him, there is no conclusive evidence of its deterrent value, adding that any miscarriage of justice leading to its imposition is irreversible and irreparable.

He explained that the past two decades had seen a significant rise in the number of countries that had abolished capital punishment.

“I am concerned therefore that Nigeria, a model for democracy in Africa, still retains the death penalty in its laws.

“In 2013 Nigeria carried out four executions, the first since 2006.

“At the time of the execution, all four individuals still had appeals to halt their executions, a violation of international law and I believe Nigerian law too.”

He said while no death sentence had been implemented since 2013, Nigeria had more than 1,000 prisoners on death row, the highest number of death sentences in Africa.

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Outrage After Girl Dies From 68-Day Fast

Indian police are investigating the parents of a 13-year-old girl who died last week after undertaking a religious fast for 68 days.

Police in southern Hyderabad city told BBC Hindi they want to know if Aradhana Samdariya was forced to fast.

Her parents have insisted she voluntarily fasted as prescribed in Jainism, one of the world's most ancient religions. The case has sparked a debate about the practice of religious fasting in India.

Reports said Aradhana lived for 68 days on boiled water. Two days after she called off her fast last week, she was dead.

Experts believe it is possible for the human body to survive without food for up to two months.

A police spokesperson said a case had been registered against the parents after a child rights organisation filed a complaint.

"The parents - Laxmi Chand and Manshi Samdariya - have been booked under culpable homicide [causing death by negligence] and Juvenile Justice Act [cruelty against minors]," the spokesperson said.

The parents, wealthy jewellers based in Hyderabad, have denied that they forced their daughter to fast.

"She asked permission for upvaas [fast that involves renouncing food]. We asked her to stop after 51 days but she would not give up. Her fast was voluntary. No one forced her," Mr Samdariya said.

But social activists have rejected the family's claim.

"The entire nation should be ashamed that such a practice still exists. Her father's guru advised the family that if she fasted for 68 days, his business would be profitable," activist Achyut Rao told BBC Hindi.

"The girl was made to drink only water from sunrise to sunset. There was no salt or lemon or anything else."

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35-Year Old Dies A Month To Wedding As Family Blames Fiancé (Pictured)

A 35-year-old woman, Loretta Ewere, has been electrocuted at her fiance’s home on Ajoke Kazeem Street in the Idimu area of Lagos State.

Punch Metro learnt that Ewere’s fiancé, Segun Tolani, was fixing an electrical fault when the incident happened.

She was said to have been rushed to a private hospital in the area but was rejected before being confirmed dead at the Igando General Hospital.

A Punch correspondent, who visited the area on Tuesday, gathered that Ewere and Tolani had scheduled their wedding for November and preparation was in top gear when tragedy struck.

A resident, who did not want to be identified, said the incident happened around 1pm on Saturday, adding that it created chaos in the neighbourhood.

He said, “The man had wanted to change his old cable TV decoder and antenna. When power was restored, he discovered that he didn’t have electricity in his house.

“He wanted to do it himself, but neighbours advised him to get the service of an electrician. He contacted an electrician who billed him N2,500. But he said the charge was too high. He decided to go and rent a wooden ladder from someone in the area.

“He mounted the ladder on the wall and called the lady from inside the room to assist him in holding the ladder. She held the ladder with one hand and held an iron pole beside the room with the other hand.

“While he was working, the wire fell and touched the pole she was holding and that was how she was electrocuted.”

Punch Metro learnt that Tolani called for help from a next-door neighbour, whose wife reportedly rushed to the scene to pull out the victim with her bare hands.

She was reportedly flung by the electric current.

An electrician was said to have been invited, who then disconnected the power.

“The woman fell down and hit her head against the concrete floor. People tried to resuscitate her by giving her milk; but she didn’t come round. A lot of time had been wasted. She was rushed to a private hospital in the area, but she was rejected.

“We took her to the general hospital, where she was confirmed dead. Her corpse was deposited in a mortuary,” another resident said.

Punch Metro gathered that Ewere, an indigene of Ewuru, Delta State, worked in Union Diagnostics, a medical lab in Ikeja, while Tolani, who hails from Ekiti State, worked with an insurance company.

When our correspondent visited the victim’s family house on Ogidan Street, Idimu, they said the family was too distraught to talk about the incident.

However, a relative, who identified himself simply as Charles, blamed the incident on Tolani’s stinginess.

He explained that the duo had been living together for the past four years, adding that the two families had started preparation for their wedding.

He said, “They did their introduction four years ago and since then, they had been staying together. Their marriage was slated for November and the two families have bought clothes and sent invitation to people.

“Around 1pm of the day that she died, she called one of her friends that she would be going to shop for the wedding, not knowing that she would die that day.

“It was the man’s stinginess that killed her. If he had paid someone to fix the electrical fault, this would not have happened.”

Meanwhile, friends of the victim have started paying tributes to her on the social media.

One of them, Kehinde, wrote on Facebook, “Loretta (Ewere), a member of the Purchasing and Supply Students Association, The Polytechnic Ibadan, was kind-hearted, brilliant and reserved.  The industrious lady was preparing for her last two exams (slated for October 4 and 6) left for her to become a graduate when she died.  We love you, but God loves you most. I pray He accepts your soul and comforts your household.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the incident.

She said the corpse had been deposited in a mortuary for autopsy.

 She said, “The woman, Loretta Ewere, was electrocuted around 9am. She was living with one Segun Tolani, to whom she was supposed to be married next month. They were fixing a GoTV antenna when power was suddenly restored. Ewere, who was holding the antenna wire, was electrocuted. The corpse has been deposited in a mortuary for a post-mortem examination.”

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Sad! Hundreds Die In Ethiopia During ‘Peaceful’ Protest

Dozens have been killed and injured in Ethiopia's Oromia region after security forces confronted protesters at a festival, witnesses say.

Some people died in a panicked stampede after police employed tear gas and baton charges, they said.

Thousands had gathered for a religious festival in Bishoftu, 40km (25 miles) from the capital Addis Ababa.

Some reports said police responded after anti-government protesters threw stones and bottles. Others said demonstrators were entirely peaceful.

Ethiopia's government said in a statement that "lives were lost", adding: "Those responsible will face justice".

An Oromo activist, Jawar Mohamed, is quoted as saying nearly 300 people were killed and many more injured. He said troops and a helicopter gunship had opened fire, driving people off a cliff and into a lake.

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25 People Injured After Explosion In Manhattan

An explosion has ripped through Manhattan leaving more than a dozen people injured on Saturday night. 

The blast at 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue in Chelsea around 8.30pm is thought to have come from a dumpster and could have come from an explosive device. 

The Fire Department reported that there were at least 25 people injured in the blast, but their injuries don't appear life-threatening. 

It comes just hours after a pipe bomb in a trashcan blew up near a fun-run for the military in New Jersey - but no one was injured. 

The victims of the explosion have been taken to several different hospitals.

The FBI and NYPD Counterterrorism Unit are investigating but there is no confirmation on what caused the blast yet.

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Pictured! 3-Year Old Dies From Sudden Infant Death

“Goodnight, I love you” were the last words little Bryan-Andrew Lock uttered before he died.

The three-year-old, who loved dinosaurs and animals, died from sudden infant death syndrome, otherwise known as ‘cot death’, leaving his family devastated.

His mother Jasmine Shortland said her “bright and smiling” boy had been staying with his grandparents with her bidding him goodnight over the phone the night before he died.

The toddler had been diagnosed with mumps, with he and his little brother sent to stay with their grandparents to avoid it spreading to the family’s four-month-old, Ivan.

Reliving the tragic moment she realised her little son, was gone, she said: “At about 8.15am we were awoken by a loud banging on the front door.

“It was my step-dad David, he was crying, saying “Bryan’s gone.

“I just fell on the floor screaming and crying.”

His family has now been left grappling with Bryan’s death with Jasmine saying: “I just can’t believe he’s gone.” The former retail worker, who is now a full-time mum, said she could remember her last conversation with her eldest boy clearly.

It was then that she heard his last words: “Good night, I love you.”

The 23-year-old mum said she had told her little boy she would see him when he got better. Jasmine said his final words were “clear as day but achy” meant the world to her.

She said: “It is so nice that those were his last words – it is much better than him crying or anything like that. He sounded happy.

“I will never, ever forget that phone conversation.”

Jasmine said she was now struggling to keep herself together, only trying to for the sake of her young family, including her one-year-old Austin, newborn Ivan and partner Josh Westcott.

Jasmine said she was now living through every parent’s worst nightmare.

She said: “I would love to wake up and it all be a dream and him be back home. I would do anything for that.

“No mum should ever have to go through this.” 

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