INDIA Hit Hard by Coronavirus second wave which is set to kill 5,700 people a Day: Already Swamped hospitals turn away patients , victims suffocate to death on wards amid oxygen shortage

Medics fear Covid-19 infections in India could climb to 500,000 per day before the virus-stricken nation reaches the peak of its second wave - as those who delay oxygen deliveries to New Delhi were today threatened with the death penalty. Another 2,624 deaths and 346,786 cases were reported in India on Saturday, although limited testing means this is likely to significantly underestimate the total. The infection total again marked the highest one-day tally of any nation since the start of the pandemic - the third time in as many days India has broken this record. However, leading virologist Shahid Jameel today warned that India has still yet to hit the peak of its second wave, with studies suggesting it may record 500,000 cases per day in the first week of May. 

 India's current fatality rate per 100,000 cases is 1.14 per cent, meaning if the nation reaches this anticipated peak there is the potential for 5,700 deaths per day. Overwhelmed hospitals have continued to beg for supplies today as Covid-19 infections soared overnight in a 'tsunami' of disease, with medics warning: 'Every hospital is running out [of oxygen]. We are running out'. At least 20 coronavirus patients died overnight at New Delhi's Jaipur Golden Hospital on Friday as the 'oxygen pressure was low,' the hospital's medical superintendent Dr Baluja said. He added: 'Our supply was delayed by seven-eight hours on Friday night and the stock we received last night is only 40 per cent of the required supply.' Elsewhere, at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, some 25 Covid-19 patients died on Thursday with reports suggesting low oxygen supplies were again the cause of the fatalities.

Guinness heiress, 19, dies in pool tragedy: Family mourn ’darling angel’ whose organs have saved four lives after freak accident at summer barbecue

 

She was their ‘darling angel’ with a heart of gold and everything to live for, But tragedy has struck the aristocratic Guinness family with the death of teenage heiress Honor Uloth in a freak swimming pool accident. Last night her ‘utterly devastated’ family paid an emotional tribute – and revealed how the 19-year-old’s wish for her organs to be donated has saved other lives. They said: ‘She always made it clear that if anything happened to her, she would like her organs to be donated to those in need.‘The doctors say that, with the matches they have found, it looks like she is going to help save four lives and seriously enhance ten more.’

Miss Uloth was found unconscious at the bottom of a swimming pool during a family barbecue in the summer. This week a coroner ruled it was a tragic accident.Her family said: ‘We have lost a daughter and sister who brought untold light and joy into our lives. She was so full of fun, laughter, kindness and adventure. She had this knack of bringing people together and making them feel good.’

The eldest daughter of Rupert Uloth and Lady Louisa Jane Guinness, whose father Benjamin Guinness was the 3rd Earl of Iveagh, she was spotted in the pool by her 15-year-old brother Rufus. He dived in to help her, the inquest heard. He pulled her out, but doctors were unable to save the Oxford Brookes University history of art student. She had suffered a broken shoulder and brain injuries, and she was pronounced dead in hospital six days later.The current Earl of Iveagh and the Guinness brewery family have an estimated worth of around £906million, and Miss Uloth’s death is the latest of a series of tragedies to strike the dynasty.

Woman Killed Her Boyfriend With Breasts

A Washington woman is accused of using her breasts to smother and kill her boyfriend after an altercation at their mobile home.

Donna Lange, a 51-year-old woman from Everett, Washington, is believed to have suffocated her boyfriend to death with her breasts on Saturday, Jan. 12. Deputies, called to the Airport Inn trailer park at 12:45 a.m. for a disturbance report, found medics performing CPR on Lange's 51-year-old alleged boyfriend, who was later pronounced dead at Swedish Hospital. 

Witnesses claims they saw Lange throw her boyfriend down in the back of the mobile home. She was later found by witnesses with her chest covering the victim's face. Police noted the size difference between Lange and her boyfriend - she was 5-feet, 6-inches and 192 pounds, he was 5-feet, 7-inches and 175 pounds. 

Other women around the world are known to have allegedly used their breasts as weapons.

In November, German lawyer Tim Schmidt claimed his girlfriend tried to smother him with her breasts. Schmidt said she pretended it was a sex game. I asked her why she wanted to smother me to death with her breasts and she told me: "Treasure – I wanted your death to be as pleasurable as possible.

Exclusive Interview with Chief Pete Edochie on 4th Jan 2013

Veteran Nollywood Actor Chief Pete Edochie gives an exclusive interview to debunk rumors of his death. Rumors had gone around last week that Pete Edochie had fallen and died in a movie location in Austria. As we can see from the video, Pete Edochie is alive and well.

Kidnap Suspects Shot During Police Rescue Operation

On Friday, three suspected kidnappers were killed and three others arrested by the police during the rescue operation of the treasurer of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, Delta State University, Abraka chapter, Mr. Martins Denedo.

Denedo was abducted in the early hours of January 1, 2012, on his way home from New Year’s eve church service. Some gunmen had reportedly laid siege to Denedo’s residence in the university community and attacked him when he got out of his car to open his gate. He was immediately driven away in his car, a Nissan Pathfinder Sports Utility Vehicle with registration number BKW 18 AA.

Spokesman for the Delta State Police Command Mr. Famous Ajai, while confirming the rescue, said, "Teams of policemen on Friday morning rescued Denedo from the kidnappers’ hideout at Elumo in Abraka, close to Ughelli.

"Three of the kidnappers were killed during the exchange of gunfire with the police while three others were arrested. About two others are still on the run. We are on them and I’m positive that more arrests would be made soonest."

A few weeks before, the mother of Nigeria’s Finance Minster was kidnapped at the gate of her husband’s palace in Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State.

Kidnappers, numbering about 10, were said to have pushed the 82-year-old Prof. Kanene Okonjo into a waiting vehicle when she came down to offer drinks to workers at the gate. Although there have been dismissals of a ransom paid to secure Okonjo’s release as with other high profile cases, reports of kidnapping have continually emanated from the oil-rich state almost on a weekly basis

61-Year-Old Grandmother Rises From The Dead For The Third Time

A grandmother has been brought back from the dead twice - and has even survived spending three days in a morgue.

The 61-year-old Russian woman has been declared dead twice by doctors, but each time has come back to life - and once was minutes away from being cut open for her autopsy. Hardy Lyudmila Steblitskaya spent 3 days laying in a freezing cold morgue, while her family mourned the retired cook.

Lyudmila Steblitskaya, her daughter Anastasia, and granddaughter Nelli, all had a horrific shock. The mother's eery habit of returning to life has not only left her family torn between grief and hope that she may come back to life, but perplexed doctors too, The Siberian Times reported.

She has scared both doctors, friends and family once in November last year and in October this year. The initial confusion began last year, when Lyudmila was taken to Tomsk Regional Clinical Hospital and spent days in hospital because she felt unwell.

When her 29-year-old daughter Anastasia, who has a daughter Nelli, nine, called on a Friday evening to ask about her mother's condition, she was informed by doctors that her mother had died. The devastated woman began planning her mother's funeral and breaking the bad news to friends and family.

She spent 60,000 roubles (£1,223) buying flowers, a casket, arranging for a grave to be dug, and buying food for the mourners who planned to attend the funeral on the Monday morning, according to the newspaper.

On the Monday, she went to the hospital to collect her mother's body - only to be told to wait as doctors had not performed an autopsy. She told the newspaper that a startled doctor then approached her and said that her mother was not dead, but was in her bed breathing and alive. Anastasia started arranging the funeral of her mother after being told by doctors that she was dead Anastasia could not believe it when doctors halted an autopsy and discovered her mother was alive.

A disbelieving Anastasia went in to the room to find her mother calling her name, and screamed and dropped her bag.

"My head was so fuzzy that I didn't even think about getting back into the room, and hugging mum. Or asking her about what happened. Instead I started calling everyone, saying things like 'Er, sorry. Can you please stop digging the grave. Ah, is it done? OK… well, there won't be a funeral, my mother is alive'," she said.

Her mother cannot remember what happened, only that she was in hospital on the Friday and then woke up in a morgue on Monday to discover that her skin was peeling off from the cold. Mostly, she is just grateful to be alive and be able to see her friends and family.

In October 2012, Lyudmila - who has a history of heart problems - had another 'apparent death' during a hospital stay but this time doctors brought her back to life after several hours.

On the morgue incident, chief doctor of Tomsk Regional Clinical Hospital Maksim Zayukov, said: "As of now I cannot explain why this mistake happened. This sad procedure has always worked in our hospital like clockwork: the moment of death is always registered by the intensive care doctor. Proper checks are always conducted. This all happens before the family are informed about the death."

A hospital spokeswoman said: "The checks were carried out and she was dead - or so it seemed. The papers could not have been signed unless this is what the doctors establish. We are still trying to understand what went wrong in Lyudmila's case".

Ms Steblitskaya is not the only person to be given a second chance at life.

Earlier this year, mourners in Egypt cheered when the 'dead' body they were burying woke up. Hamdi Hafez al-Nubi, a 28-year-old waiter, had been declared dead after suffering a heart attack at work.

His body was being prepared for burial when another doctor, sent to sign his death certificate, discovered he was still warm and managed to revive him. And in April a 95-year-old Chinese woman climbed out of her own coffin six days after she was declared dead following a fall.

Under Chinese tradition, Li Xiufeng was placed in a coffin kept in her house so friends and relatives could pay their respects. But the day before the funeral, neighbours found an empty coffin and later discovered her in the kitchen cooking.

How LASTMA Cut Short Lagos Family’s Christmas Celebration; Kill Breadwinner

At Isaac Popoola’s home in Lagos, the guests arrived one week early. Every New Year Day, relatives, as well as friends, fill his expansive compound in Egbeda to celebrate with the family.

But the steady stream of human traffic – grim-faced sympathizers and tearful relatives – that arrived on Christmas Day had nothing to celebrate.

On Christmas Eve, Mr. Popoola, 54, died after a fierce struggle with an officer of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA.

The traffic officer, who accused him of committing a traffic offence, allegedly banged his head, repeatedly, on a metallic part of the bus as they struggled for control of the steering wheel.

“He told his mechanic that he’d do just two trips yesterday (Christmas Eve) and he’d rest today,” said Ibukun, 26, Mr. Popoola’s eldest son.

“If he was here, he’d probably be taking a bottle of beer or Five Alive,” he added.

Born in 1958, Mr. Popoola tried his hands in various meagre jobs, including working at a petrol station at Mushin, before delving into the transport business in 1984.

Baba American, as he was popularly known at the motor parks where he worked largely due to his funny character; the Modakeke-born commercial bus driver rose through the ranks, completing his two bedroom apartment in 1991 and moving in with his family.

“Everyday, he leaves the house by 5 a.m. He comes back anytime. Sometimes he does one trip and comes back. Sometimes he returns by 6 p.m. or 9 p.m.,” said Ibukun.

Aremu Salau, his bus conductor, said that the bus left their garage at Egbeda, early Thursday, with 17 passengers and headed towards Oshodi.

Mr. Popoola never made it to Oshodi.

Ibukun said that when he got wind of his father’s death, “it was a total shock.”

“The vulcanizer at the bus stop came to the house and was asking for the mechanic’s – my dad’s friend – number. I was sleeping then, so I woke up,” said Ibukun, a graduate of Accounting from the Federal Polytechnic, Offa.

“He (the vulcanizer) didn’t want to tell me. He said I should stay cool. I called Mr. Sunday, the mechanic; he was the one that told me.

“I was shocked. I never had any premonition,” Ibukun added.

Inside Mr. Popoola’s compound, worn out vehicle engines and used tyres litter the premises.

A medium sized goat teetered to a Guava tree struggle to shield itself from the hot, afternoon sun.

“My father bought the goat for this year’s celebration. We’d never celebrated Christmas since I was born. We do the celebration every January 1,” said Ibukun.

“But for this year, my father said we’d do it on January 2nd because he’d planned to go to work on New Year Day.”

Distanced by the state

After Monday’s fatal incident, authorities of the state’s traffic agency quickly stepped out to disown the officers allegedly involved.

In a statement issued after the incident and signed by Bola Ajao, the Public Relations Officer, LASTMA stated that the officers, identified as Adesanya Olatunde and Ogunride Oludele, “acted on their own contrary to the operational guidelines of the agency.”

Ibukun said that neither LASTMA nor officials of Lagos State government had reached out to his family as they mourn their breadwinner.

Before his remains was deposited at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital mortuary, on Monday night, the family was forced to make an initial deposit of N21, 000.

“They said we’ll be the one to bear every cost until government intervenes,” said Ibukun. “His friends from the motor park contributed money and we paid the bill,”

At the Area F Police headquarters, where Mr. Popoola’s lifeless body was first taken to, on Monday; his wife’s periodic cry of anguish punctured the relative quietness at the station.

“He is very gentle, humble. I don’t know why the LASTMA man killed my husband. Now I’m a widow,” Dupe Popoola, the deceased’s wife, said.

“From where will I start? My children do not have father again. Who’s going to render the help? Very terrible; I can’t bear it. Who’s going to help me?”

‘We want justice’

Ibukun said that their traditional New Year Day celebration had been cancelled and the family would focus on burial preparations.

His mother’s petty trading business would be insufficient to cater for the needs of the family of five children – three of them seeking admission into the university.

“He is not a pillar. He is pillars. He handles the crazy NEPA (electricity) bills, feeding, the land charge bills and every other thing.

“Nigerians must know. Lagosians must know how my father was killed. Justice must be done.

“On the 24th of every blessed year till the rest of my life, I’ll always remember that my father left us,” Ibukun said.

Mastermind Of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala's Mother Kidnap Shot Dead

The mother of the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who was abducted from her home in Ogwashi-Ukwu in Delta State on Dec. 9, 2012, has been released.

IT was gathered that the kidnap victim, 82-year-old Prof. Kamene Okonjo, was dropped off near her home at about 10 am on Friday after spending five days in the kidnappers’ den.

A few hours after Okonjo reunited with her family at the palace of the Obi of Ogwashi-Ukwu, the police in Delta State shed light on the circumstances that led to her release.

Related Article: How Okonjo-Iweala’s Mother Was Released - Gov. Uduaghan

The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ikechukwu Aduba, said there had been a bloody shootout between his men and the kidnappers in Asaba, the state capital, which had resulted in the rescue of the kidnap victim.

During the encounter, a suspected kidnap kingpin, Mr. Nwazor Nwose, aka Bolaji, believed to have masterminded the abduction, was shot dead by security agents.

In a meeting with journalists in Asaba, Aduba described Nwose as a notorious kidnapper who had been arraigned in court on a previous kidnap charge in Delta State and granted bail.

The CP said, “Nwose was arrested a few months ago, investigated and arraigned in court for kidnapping and was released on bail by the court. But he returned to Asaba and continued his nefarious activities.

“This time, he met his Waterloo. Combined detectives from the IGP taskforce and that of the State Police Command swung into action and invaded his hideout. Immediately he sighted the police he jumped a very high fence. Our men had no option; we had to obey the rule of engagement and opened fire on him.

“He continued, but eventually we got him by trailing the blood stain. We rushed him to Federal Medical Centre, Asaba where he gave up the ghost.

“Notwithstanding, four members of the gang were picked up. Two have been indicted so far. Another notorious criminal called Bright is in our custody. The names of the other gang members are Hard Rock, Tse-tse fly, and Tipper Boy.”

Saturday PUNCH learnt that Nwose had previously been involved in the abduction and murder of an oil magnate in Asaba in 2011.

Aduba said the operation to rescue the queen began on Dec. 13, stressing that it was concluded in the early hours of Dec. 14.

He said the police refrained from attacking the hideout of the kidnappers in Kwale, Ndokwa West LGA on account of the frail and advanced age of the victim.

Aduba said Prof. Okonjo was brought to the palace on a motorcycle early yesterday morning hale and hearty.

“We knew the victim was in Kwale, but we were very cautious not to invade the town so that she would not be harmed. We waited patiently and continued to monitor the area. Mama was brought in this morning by a motorcycle,” he said, adding that the two vehicles used in the abduction of Okonjo, a Toyota minibus with registration number KPP 64 XA and a grey Volkswagen Golf car registration number ASB 697 AA, had been impounded.

Unidentified Man Falls From Sky

Police believe he was from Africa, probably from Angola, but they don't know his identity.

The mystery began in September when residents of a suburban street in the Mortlake neighborhood of West London woke up on a quiet Sunday morning to find the crumpled body of a black man on the sidewalk of Portman Avenue, near a convenience store, an upscale lingerie shop and a storefront offering Chinese medical cures.

Detectives believed at first the man was a murder victim and cordoned off the area. Within a day, however, police concluded the man – probably already dead – had fallen to the ground when a jet passing overhead lowered its landing gear as it neared the runway at nearby Heathrow Airport.

The apparent stowaway had no identification papers – just some currency from Angola, leading police to surmise that he was from that African nation, especially as inquiries showed that a plane from Angola was beginning its descent into Heathrow at about that time.

The macabre explanation made perfect sense to residents, who are familiar not only with the roar of the jets descending, but are also able to see the planes lower their landing gears as they pass overhead, said Catherine Lambert, who lives a few doors down from the spot where the man landed.

"You could see him, his body was contorted," she said. "It was a beautiful blue day, really sunny, but we had to keep the children inside. I didn't want the children to see, and to have to explain to them and put fear into them every time a plane goes over."

A post mortem conducted two days after the body landed listed the cause of death as "multiple injuries."

In the days afterward, some neighbors put flowers on the spot where the stowaway was found, and a small group of Angolans who live in the London area came to place more flowers and to pray. Lambert, 41, said there is lingering sadness, since the man has not been identified and there has been no way to tell his family he is gone.

"I felt, what was he running away from? What made him think he could he could? And how will his family ever know? He's a lost soul now; his father and mother are probably waiting for him to make contact," she said.

 

A London police spokesman, who wasn't authorized to speak on the record because of force policy, said Sunday that police are appealing to the public for help identifying the man based on a composite image of his face and a photo of a tattoo on his left arm. The tattoo showed the letters "Z" and "G" inked on his upper arm, with a horizontal line through the "Z".

Police also said attempts to identify the man with the help of Angolan authorities had been unsuccessful. They stressed there is only "circumstantial" evidence linking the stowaway to that country.

In a statement, police said the man is believed to be an African of slight build between the ages of 20 and 30. He was wearing jeans, white sneakers and a gray sweatshirt when he was found on Sept. 9, police said.

Although firm figures are not available, in recent years there has been a rise in the number of stowaways trying to get to Western Europe by hiding in the undercarriages of passenger planes.

Mother Stabbed To Death By Husband In Front Of Their Sons

Two young boys may have seen their mother being stabbed to death by their father in a row over cash, police fear.

Beauty therapist Janee Parsons, 31, was discovered fatally injured after neighbours heard screams and called 999.

Her husband, heating engineer Andrew, 38, was arrested on suspicion of murder at their family home.

Their two sons, aged five and eight, were taken away by police and will be cared for by the victim’s father and sister who are flying in from the US.

Shocked neighbours said the family were under financial pressure and had recently set up two businesses in a bid to raise money.

One said: ‘My children are friends with the kids and they feel like they want to help but they just can’t.’

The victim’s sister, Jocelyn Brady, said her family, who live in Yukon, Oklahoma, have been devastated by her death.

Boarding a plane to London, she said: ‘Everybody loved Janee. She was a very special person and very tenacious and she was my best friend.’

Police were called to the Parsons’ family home in Bicester, Oxfordshire, on Saturday at 10.30am after neighbours reported hearing a heated argument and screams.

Witnesses described half a dozen emergency services vehicles descending on the street. Paramedics discovered Mrs Parsons with fatal stab wounds, and despite desperate attempts to save her life she died at the scene.

Last night neighbours left floral tributes outside the £300,000 three-bed detached home that the family had been renting for 18 months.

One said: ‘To my wonderful friend Janee, you were taken away from us and you are now looking down on us. I will never understand why?’

Another added: ‘Your boys will grow up knowing you’ll be watching over them, guiding them in every way, every day.’

The couple are believed to have moved to Britain from the US after Mrs Parsons sold her health spa business in Oklahoma when it ran into financial difficulty.

Mr Parsons, who has also worked as a fencer and builder, graduated from Bicester Community College in 1990. His mother Jean lives a short distance away.

Companies House records show he set up a heat pumps firm in October and his wife set up a company, called Wink Ink Ltd, two months earlier.