19-year-old father of two accidentally shots himself while taking a selfie with a loaded gun

Deleon Alonso Smith    (C)Facebook

Deleon Alonso Smith, 19, was reportedly posing for selfies with a loaded gun when it went off, fatally wounding him in his throat, KPRC reports.
 "It's the worst feeling in my life," the teen's uncle, Eric Douglas said.
"It's a numb feeling. It's still unbelievable. Yesterday was my birthday and he came to wish me happy birthday, and now this kind of news," said Smith's grandmother Alma Douglas.
Smith's cousin, who was in another room of the apartment when the shooting happened, told police that they found the gun earlier that day. Investigators are now looking into exactly where.

Tapeworm egg sacs discovered in woman’s brain

Yadira Rostro  had eight tapeworm eggs removed from her brain     (C)WFAA

31-year-old Yadira Rostro could not believe her ears when doctors told her what they discovered inside her brain. The Garland mother was told there were sacs of larvae from eight tapeworm eggs embedded in her brain and actively growing. Rostro whose discomfort started as headaches said "Sometimes my sight was impaired... I could not see properly."

Picture of the day

                                                                                        (C)Naijj.com/Facebook

...........a Land Rover and a laptop built from wood by a boy from Mudembe

Hygiene problem at Manchester United’s Old Trafford!

Old Trafford

The Premier League club have had a historical problem with rodents at their stadium for a while. This may not be unconnected to the fact that the stadium, commonly known as the "Theatre of Dreams" is erected adjacent to a canal. However, a local council has accused the club of not implementing industry-standard means of preventing the spread of pests.
A recent hygiene report from investigators highlights several issues with the iconic football ground, identifying issues with food services and pest control. The detailed report lists a host of problems, with the below image enumerating failures to "implement adequate procedures to control pests within the food areas." The world famous venue was given a four out of five stars which means apart from the just promoted Watford, they are the only Premier League club not to be given top marks.

Mysterious corpse found in Russia

A mysterious corpse has been found by Russian scientists on the banks of a river near a major nuclear power plant. The ‘alien creature’ was found by two residents next to the River Kovashi, on Sunday, in the Russian town of Sosnovy Bor, a town built in 1958 to serve the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant, the Express reports. Initially, locals believed it to be a mutant chicken embryo that had been discarded. However, local experts have been so far unable to say what it is. One researcher was quoted as  saying: "It seems that this body is neither fish nor fowl - this creature has a mysterious skull, no neck and wings." The body was also looked at by experts from the Institute of Biophysics in Krasnoyarsk, who said it was impossible to make a quick identification.
Biologist Yegor Zadereev said: "Extensive studies are needed to determine what kind of creature or organism it is."
It will likely be sent to Moscow for further tests.

400-year-old historic Japanese castle to be moved for reconstruction of base

The Hirosaki Castle

The Hirosaki Castle , built in 1611 will be carried and moved about 230 feet away from its current location so as to allow a reconstruction of the stone walls beneath it. The castle was the seat of the Tsugaru clan, a 47,000 koku tozama daimyō clan who ruled over Hirosaki Domain, Mutsu Province, in what is now central Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Japan
The 400 tons castle would first be lifted off the ground with hydraulic jacks before being transported to its temporary location. The city decided to relocate the castle in its complete form since the building is recognized by the government as part of the nation’s cultural heritage, the official said. Reconstruction of the stone walls is to begin next year. After the stone walls are complete, the castle will be moved back to its original location. The entire procedure is scheduled to end sometime around 2021, the official said

Migrant boat capsize en-route Indonesia, at least 14 dead

Rescuers carrying a body recovered from the capsized boat (C)Reuters

An overloaded wooden boat crammed with migrant workers from Indonesia has sank off the coast of Malaysia. The boat which was headed back to Indonesia on Thursday capsized leaving at least 14 people dead, among them 13 women,  a maritime official said. The boat was believed to be carrying 70 people, said First Adm. Mohamad Aliyas Hamdan, district chief of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency(MMEA). Agency official Mohamad Hambali Yaakup said the boat sank in bad sea conditions not far from the coast, and several vessels and an aircraft were searching for survivors near the coastal town of Sabak Bernam in central Selangor state.

Guatemala president resigns in the face of fraud allegations

President Otto Perez Molina

The President of Guatemala, President Otto Perez Molina has resigned in the face of a fraud scandal. Jorge Ortega says Perez Molina submitted his resignation at midnight local time after a judge issued an order to detain him in a corruption case that has brought his government to the brink.
Guatemala's Congress had earlier on Tuesday voted to strip President Otto Pérez Molina of his immunity. According to the Guatemalan Attorney General's Office and a U.N. investigating commission, Pérez Molina and a group of close aides within his administration received bribes in exchange for lowering taxes for companies seeking to import products into Guatemala, the CNN reports. In a message broadcast on Guatemalan national TV and radio last month, the President denied the charges and suggested he's the target of a plot by his political enemies aided by foreign interests.
"I categorically deny and reject the accusation that I was involved (in a corruption scheme) and having received any money from that customs fraud scheme," he said.
Pérez Molina will have to appear on accusations of illicit association, fraud and receiving bribe money in a customs fraud scandal that has already led to the jailing of his vice president and the resignation of some Cabinet ministers

China to cut military troops by 300,000

                      China military troop on parade                         (C)Reuters

President Xi Jinping announced on Thursday he would cut troop levels by 300,000 as China held its biggest display of military might in a parade to commemorate victory over Japan in World War Two, an event shunned by most Western leaders, the Reuters reports.
China's confidence in its armed forces and growing military assertiveness, especially in the disputed South China Sea, has rattled the region and drawn criticism from Washington.
Xi stated that China would cut by 13 percent one of the biggest militaries, currently about 2.3 million strong. Although he gave no time frame for the reduction, the move is said to be part of a long-mooted military reforms. Troop numbers have been cut three times since 1980s as part of China’s efforts to modernize its armed forces.

Woman sentenced to death for the murder and torture of her step-children

Heather Leavell-Keaton has been sentenced to death by lethal injection (C)MCSO

An Alabama woman, Heather Leavell-Keaton has been sentenced to die by lethal injection,  six months after the children's father, John DeBlase was handed the same sentence. Keaton was found guilty of poisoning the children, Natalie, 5, and Chase, 3, with anti-freeze in their meals but it was the choking that ultimately killed them, the court heard.

Former WWF star Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka charged with third-degree murder, 32 years after incident

Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka

Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, 72, has been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 1983 death of his girlfriend in an Allentown, Pennsylvania motel. The wrestling legend was arrested in his New Jersey home after the case involving the mystery death of his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino, was reopened last year and turned over to a grand jury after 32 years. A never-before-seen autopsy report labelled the death a homicide.

24 Afghan migrants locked up in car, rescued

       A police officer inspecting the van that conveyed the migrants   (C)RobertJaeger

Afghan police were able to save the day in what could have been another case of dead locked up migrants, suffocated in a van. It was reported that the migrants were discovered after a nighttime police who was on a patrol gave a chase on the highways on the outskirts of Vienna.  The police were said to have increased such patrols in the hopes of finding human traffickers who are exploiting the despair of thousands of migrants, many of whom are trying to flee war in the Middle East and plan to seek asylum in Europe, The New York Times reports.

Google unveils new logo

Just a month after restructuring the company, Google has unveiled a new logo. The logo which is still a wordmark, uses a sans-serif typeface, making it modern and stylish.
Google’s word-mark has been evolving ever since it was created in 1998 but this is its biggest change since 1999, when Google first cleaned up the lettering and settled on its four colors of blue, red, yellow and green.
Aside changing its wordmark, Google has also changed the tiny “g” logo on browser tabs to uppercase “G” that is stripped in all four of Google’s colors.
Making the logo look good on small screens seems to have been a major consideration. The new, simpler lettering is supposed to scale better to smaller sizes, making the wordmark more distinct and easier to read. It's also supposed to be easier for Google to display on low-bandwidth connections.

Picture of the day!

                                                                                             (C)CBSNews

......a migrant wedged inside the engine compartment of a car.

Birthmarks...What they really mean!

                        A mole on eyebrow                        (C)BeautyZion

A birthmark is an unusual mark on someone’s body which is there from birth or shortly after birth. They vary in size and shape, and can be blue, black, tan, brown, pink, red, purple and even white. Some are smooth, and some are raised and rough, but mostly, birthmarks are painless and harmless. Birthmarks are quite common, although it's not known why some children have it and others don't.
Often, birthmarks fade over time without treatment. However, some can be permanent and unsightly, which can create cosmetic concerns for those affected. Some birthmarks may even serve as indicators of underlying health issues. To be extra safe, it’s important to have a doctor check your baby’s birthmarks, especially if there are rapid changes in appearance.

Pardon women who have abortion: Pope tells priests

                             Pope Francis                         (C)TonyGentile/Reuters

“For Francis, mercy is the key to evangelisation,” said Austen Ivereigh, who has written a biography of the pope. “I think the pope is convinced that the church has lost the priority of mercy in its preaching and he is doing his utmost to restore it.”
According to a recent report, Pope Francis has opened the door for women who have had abortions – an act considered a grave sin by the Catholic church, to be absolved if they express contrition and seek forgiveness from their priest.
“The forgiveness of God cannot be denied to one who has repented,” the pontiff wrote in an extraordinary letter that was released by the Vatican on Tuesday.
“I am well aware of the pressure that has led them to this decision. I know that it is an existential and moral ordeal,” he added.

China records another chemical plant explosion in less than a month

Balls of fire and smoke at the scene of the blast   (C) Xinhua/Reuters

There have been another chemical plant explosion in China just weeks after a massive blast in Tiajin port killed over 150 people (you can read the story here). Thankfully the casualty have been pegged down to at least one person killed and nine injured as at the time of reporting. The blast which occurred on Monday night at the Shandong Binyuan Chemical Company, eastern China, was said to have been put out about five hours later and authorities said no contamination has been detected. It was reported that several of the company's executives have been detained and the cause of the fire is under investigation as officials at the Ruihai International Logistics Company, where the Tianjin blast occurred, are believed to have obtained fraudulent safety licenses.
The latest blast is bound to raise more questions about safety standards in a country where industrial accidents are all too common following three decades of fast economic growth

EPL week 4 results

Woman kills baby with methadone, sentenced to 30 years

                       Courtney Howell                       (C)PoliceHandout

Courtney Howell, 27, admitted to giving her 17-month-old daughter a lethal dose of methadone, in an attempt to make her fall asleep. In a move that backfired, the child died from what the autopsy determined to be acute methadone toxicity. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, investigators found traces of the drug (a painkiller sometimes used to treat heroin addiction) in baby bottles in Howell's home months after the death of her child. Her defense attorney said that Howell has struggled with drug addiction and had a prescription for methadone.

Kissing your child on the lips: Yay OR Nay?

Picture for illustration

A writer seems to have gotten much more than she bargained for when she stated that parents should stop kissing their children on the mouth as it is too confusing for kids to understand. Dr. Charlotte Reznick, author of The power of your child’s imagination: How to transform stress and anxiety into joy and success said that “The kiss on the lips can be stimulating... It's just too confusing. If mommy kisses daddy on the mouth and vice versa, what does that mean, when I, a little girl or boy, kiss my parents on the mouth? If I had to answer when to stop kissing your kids on the lips, it would be now", thestir reports.