Doctor dies from Ebola Virus in Sierra Leone

The doctor leading Sierra Leone's fight against the worst Ebola outbreak on record has died from the virus, the country's chief medical officer said.
The death of Sheik Umar Khan, who was credited with treating more than 100 patients, follows the deaths of dozens of local health workers and the infection of two US medics in neighbouring Liberia.
Ebola is believed to have killed 672 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since the outbreak began in February, according to the World Health Organisation. The contagious disease has no known cure. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea and internal and external bleeding.
Khan, 39, hailed as a "national hero" by the health ministry, had been moved to a treatment ward run by the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières in the far north of Sierra Leone.

He died on Tuesday afternoon, less than a week after his diagnosis was announced, and on the same day that the president, Ernest Bai Koroma was due to visit his treatment centre in the north-eastern town of Kailahun.
"It is a big and irreparable loss to Sierra Leone as he was the only specialist the country had in viral haemorrhagic fevers," said the chief medical officer, Brima Kargbo.
The west African airline Asky has suspended flights to and from Sierra Leone and Liberia as concern over the spread of the virus has increased since the first death was reported last week in Nigeria's coastal city of Lagos, home to 21 million people.
Togo-based Asky said it would no longer take on food in Guinea, where the outbreak was first identified. It said passengers leaving the Guinean capital, Conakry, would be checked for signs of the disease before departure. The airline added that medical teams would be deployed to screen passengers in transit through its Lome hub. The Lagos victim was a Liberian who travelled to Nigeria on Asky via Lomé.
Nigeria's largest carrier, Arik Air, has suspended flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone because of the Ebola risk.
The fatality rate of the current outbreak is around 60%, although the disease can kill up to 90% of those who catch it.

Bush Meat Vendors Close Shops In Abidjan...due to Ebola Virus

Most bush meat vendors in Abidjan, have closed shops following the fear of outbreak of the dreaded Ebola virus, the News of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The closure was ordered by Cote d’Iviore government as a precautionary measure against the spread of the virus. NAN survey at Abobo Palmerer, an Abidjan settlement that hosts several bush meat and palm wine spots, showed that most of them have closed down.Abobo Palmerer, for instance, which used to be a beehive of activities before the outbreak of Ebola, is currently a shadow of its self.Bush meat which used to be a common sight even in the open markets, especially in Ajame, Belleville and Angre are no longer found on the vendor’s table.

Some vendors who spoke to NAN said that the patronage for bush meat had seriously dwindled do to the fear of the disease.

Mr Koassi Noel, a major bush meat dealer told NAN that the government’s directive stopping the consumption of bush meats forced him to pull out of the business.

“The government directed people to stop consuming bush meat since some of it are said to be carrying the Ebola virus,’’he said.

Mrs Awa Dramane, also a vendor, said she stopped for fear of contacting the disease, saying“ they said that bush meat are sources of Ebola virus, so I don’t want to contact it’’

“If you can contact it by eating an animal that has the virus, there is no way one who handles it for sell will not contact it,’’ she said.

Also speaking to NAN, a meat seller Mr Saleef Rahim said he stopped the business because government officials burnt all the bush meat he had displayed for sale in his shop.

“They came here and I was unlucky, they destroyed all the meat I had dried and displayed for sale, so I decided to stop,’’he said.

Meanwhile, the government of Cote d’Ivoire had said it would undertake surveillance measures at the borders to prevent the outbreak of the disease in its territory.

The Director-General, National Institute for Public Hygiene, Simplice Dagnan, said the risk of Ebola spreading in the country was high, as a result of the massive movement of people from already affected countries.

Ebola fever, a contagious disease whose cure has yet to be discovered, appeared for the first time in a northern town of former Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976.
Current statistics say the disease which resurfaced in Guinea in April 2014, had spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone resulting in hundreds of deaths. (NAN)

Photos-- 4-yr old Boy Dragged To His Death By Carjackers

 A four-year-old who was dragged to his death when carjackers sped off with his leg still trapped in his seat-belt in Johannesburg pleaded for his mother to save him in the moments before he died.

'Mommy help me,' were the last words Chantel Morris heard from her panicked son Taegrin as he struggled to free himself before the car sped off with him hanging helplessly out of the door on Saturday night.

                  According to MailOnline, Morris had loaded Taegrin and his eight-year-old sister into their VW Golf outside their grandmother's house in Boksburg east of Johannesburg when three hijackers held guns to her head.In tears the heartbroken mother,   Morris told she to Eyewitness News....

'I asked them to let me get my children out, they could take whatever they wanted, but please let me have my children. I went to the back to pull out Taegrin,''I grabbed him and I held him and I pulled him,' ' but he was stuck in the seat belt.I don't know how many times they drove over him. They drove over my child. 

Her daughter managed to climb out of the car, but as Morris tried to free the boy from his seatbelt his foot became stuck and the hijackers sped off, ripping him out of her hands.

Morris and witnesses to the hijacking ran after the car screaming, but it did not stop. It was later found four kilometres away, with the boy's battered body next to it.

Police have offered a reward of 50,000 rand ($5,000 or £2,750) for information leading to the arrest of the hijackers.

The little child’s father, Elwin, promised that if police didn’t find those responsible he would find them himself and kill them.

'I feel like killing these people,' he said. 'God must help the police catch them first before I do.'

Nigerian teen arrested after his mum is found hurt & younger brother dead

An 18 year old Nigerian teen has been arrested after his doctor mum was found seriously injured and his younger brother found dead beside her at their home in Dix Hill, Long Island, New York.

Their dad returned home on Saturday night July 19th to discover 15 year old Bradley Okonkwo (pictured centre) dead in their apartment, and his wife, Dr Chinwe Okonkwo (pictured left) suffering from severe head wounds. He immediately called the police who arrived the scene shortly afterwards.

Charles Okonkwo jnr (pictured right), who'd left the home shortly after the incident, was eventually arrested near the family home, and has been charged for attacking his mother. He is yet to be charged for his brother's death, though he confessed to 'hurting his mother and his brother'.

Dr Okonkwo is currently receiving treatment at Stony Brook University Hospital, but is said to be in serious condition. She sustained serious trauma including facial fractures and loss of consciousness. She had been badly beaten.

Charles Jnr is said to have a history of psychiatric issues and the family had been trying to help him before the vicious attack. I bet the brother was trying to protect his mum when he was killed. Sad!

During his arraignment yesterday, Charles kept his head down throughout and did not enter a plea.

SARKODIE STILL REMAINS GHANA's NUMBER 1

There are numerous great rappers in Ghana now, who can equally hold the mic and kill beats just like the one time BET winner and two time BET nominee,Sarkodie.  Rappers like C-Real,EL,Manifest,Gemini,D-black,Trimatic, Paydee, Criss Waddle and more. Just few of these great rappers are recognized in the international world. Some have not even cross the borders of Ghana yet. So what exactly is the Africa's finest rapper Sarkodie doing right that other great talents are not doing ? Will definitely ask him, the next time i meet him. Any way Big Ups Sark...you make Africa proud, will not be surprise that Kanye or Jay-z will be searching for you soon. 

My parents initially didn't want me to marry Soyinka'- Mrs.Soyinka

Wife of Prof. Wole Soyinka, Folake Soyinka recently opened up on their love story in an interview with The News magazine where she revealed how she and the Nobel laureate met and her parents initial objection to their relationship.

"There were objections from everywhere except from my sisters and brother who were happy if I was. I also had the support of his siblings here. My parents along with most of my relatives objected, not because of anything, they just felt he was too famous and too accomplished. They worried about that. But within a few months after we were married, my parents had changed their mind and they loved him until they passed away. His close friends didn't have a problem with it but also everyone had an opinion. Then came the Nobel Prize in 1986 and that derailed everything for a couple of years. More than a quarter of a century later, those opinions didn't count, we are still trudging along. I have enjoyed love because of him" she said

On how they met;

"I knew he liked me from when I was in the University of Ife but I was young and he was so accomplished so I was kind of worried. After I left Ife and went to do my NYSC in Kaduna state, Dr Biodunjeyifo came to visit me and said Kongi (Prof Wole Soyinka) had been looking for me. After the service year, Dr Yomi Ogunbiyi who was at the Guardian got me a job there and one day, Wole stopped by. Our courtship was interesting" she said

She also revealed that the Nobel laureate, who turned 80 recently, is a great cook;

"He cooks and he is quite good at it. He even cooked about two days ago. When the boys were really little, one day in California, he called all of us to the kitchen and said he wanted to have a family meeting. They were so young I don't even think they had any concept of what a family meeting was. He lined all three according to their heights and asked me to sit. He said he has something to tell us and he was only going to say it once. He whipped some cooking utensils, moved them around noisily in the pot, threw some up, caught them performed a few tricks and then told us to listen. He said there were only three people in the world who can cook pasta like he does; one is dead, the other is in Silica, Italy and he is the third one and he is going to cook something that we have never eaten. He cooked pasta that day and we truly enjoyed it. True dramatist." she said

Mikel Obi..."Super Eagles have nothing to be ashamed of----

             Nigerian midfielder John Mikel Obi has said that the Super Eagles have nothing to be ashamed of following their defeat to France at the 2014 World Cup tournament in Brazil.

               Les Blues defeated Nigeria 2-0 in Brasilia on Monday evening to progress to the quarter finals of the tournament. The first goal came through Paul Pogba in the 79th minute while Joseph Yobo scored an own-goal in the added minute of the game.
In a chat with Fifa.com after the game, Mikel said: “Honestly, I don’t think that we should be feeling bad right now.

“We’ve had a great tournament and today we showed the whole world just what we’re capable of, even when up against a great team.

“I think that we played really well from the start, right up until we conceded the opening goal.”

The Chelsea midfielder admitted that they lost hope after France got the first goal: “From that moment on, I’ll admit that we let our heads drop a bit.

“We couldn’t drag ourselves back into it, but none of that should take the shine off our performance.”

The midfielder said that his team were more than a match for France but believes that key mistakes in defence cost them.

“We were very well-organised. We knew exactly what we needed to do in defence against a strong team like France and, on top of that, whenever we had the ball we weren’t afraid to attack.

“We even had good chances to go in front ourselves. We got so much right, but mistakes do happen. What else can we say? We need to forget it and move on,” he added.