25+ Killed In Multiple Bomb Blasts at Sabon Gari, Kano

File: Boko Haram blows up Police H/Q in Kano (05:24:2012)

The Sabon Gari area of Kano metropolis was yesterday rocked by multiple bomb blasts which occurred at Igbo Road/Enugu Road and on New Road, opposite Ado Bayero Square killing no fewer than 25 persons.  were believed to have been killed in Sabon Gari area of Kano on Monday as suspected terrorists detonated about four bombs in the neighbourhood.It was learnt that one of the explosions, .

The blasts which occurred on Igbo Road, Enugu Road and New Road, opposite Ado Bayero Square is believed to have been carried out by Islamic sect, Boko Haram, occurred at a drinking joint in Sabon Gari, where most of the non-indigenes reside. The first blast was said to have occurred at about 9.12pm.

There had been at least two explosions one at about 9.12pm near International Hotel, while the second blast followed three minutes later. Security forces immediately condoned off both sites, which prevented people from moving closer to the places hit by the explosions.

AFP reports that “at least four explosions” had occurred in the Sabon Gari neighbourhood on Monday. “There is confusion all over the place. There were four huge explosions, so huge that they shook the whole area. Everywhere is enveloped in smoke and dust,” Chinyere Madu, a fruit vendor, told AFP.

Kola Oyebanji, a resident of the neighbourhood, believed “beer parlours” were the target. He said, “My house is not far from there. All my windows are shattered.” The cause of the blasts was not immediately clear. The spokesman for the Joint Task Force, Captain Ikedichi Iweh, confirmed the explosions but refused to give details. Boko Haram had claimed responsibility for coordinated suicide blasts at a bus park in Sabon Gari in March that killed over 22 people.

4 Nigerians Killed in Benoni, South Africa

Four Nigerians died when a group of men opened fire on them in Benoni, on the East Rand, police said on Friday.

Five men were in a Volkswagen Golf on Thursday evening when a car stopped in front of them, police spokesperson Tim Masilela said.

A group of men got out of the car and opened fire, killing two men in the Golf. A wounded passenger tried to run away, but collapsed and died a few metres from the scene. A fourth man died later in hospital. The fifth man in the car was not hurt.

"The motive behind the shooting is unknown. Police are still investigating," Masilela said.

Last Saturday, three Nigerians were killed in a cellphone shop in Voortrekker Street, Benoni. They were inside the shop when five armed men entered around 18:00, police spokesperson Lungelo Dlamini said at the time.

The five opened fire, killing two of the customers, both 38, inside the shop, and the third man, 40, at the shop door. The gunmen fled in a green BMW. They were also believed to be Nigerians, said Dlamini.

He said the police found spent cartridges at the scene, and a licensed firearm belonging to one of the men who died. Nothing was stolen.

"The motive for the killing is still unknown but a possibility that the victims were a rival group is being investigated," he said.

Culled News24

Olympic gold medal winning sailor Andrew Simpson killed in capsize tragedy

The British Olympic gold medal-winning sailor, Andrew Simpson, has been killed after a catamaran in which he was racing overturned in the San Francisco Bay.
Simpson, 36, was training for the America’s Cup with the Artemis team, Sweden’s entry in the competition, capsized and he was trapped underneath for about 10 minutes.

Simpson was in an Artemis Racing catamaran which capsized while training for the America's Cup, which is scheduled to be held in the area later this year.

The 36-year-old, who was part of a 11-man crew aboard the catamaran, was brought to shore following the incident and taken to the St Francis Yacht Club, where he was unable to be saved.

Simpson won a gold medal alongside Iain Percy in the star class in Beijing in 2008 and claimed silver with the same partner in London last year.

"The entire Artemis Racing team is devastated by what happened. Our heartfelt condolences are with Andrew's wife and family," Artemis chief executive Paul Cayard said.

Tributes began pouring in for the popular two-time Olympic medallist within hours of the tragedy being announced.

Examination hall collapses in Taraba State, Nigeria, three students killed

Three college students were killed and more than 200 others were injured after an examination hall, where they were taking the West African Examination Council (WAEC) exam, collapsed, a senior government official said Friday.

The incident occurred at about 6:38 p.m., local time on Thursday at a private secondary school at Mararaba, Donga Local Government in the northeast Taraba State, Chairman of Donga Local Government, Douglas Ndatse told GistMedia Nigeria.

Douglas said the storey building housing the examination hall carved in as the college students numbering over 500 were about to commence Biology Science exam.

A police source told GistMedia Nigeria that the students had barely been served their question papers for the day examination when the building suddenly collapsed.

A total of 560 candidates were writing WAEC in the school.

Some of the students were said to have complained of the building's cracks even before the commencement of their examinations.

Some of the injured persons who could not assess medical service at the community have been taken to the CRCN Hospital at Takum, a nearby town.

Hospital sources said 30 of the 200 injured students brought to the hospital were in critical condition, adding that some of them may be flown to Abuja and other Nigerian cities for better medical attention.

Nhlanhla Ga, an associate to President Jacob Zuma killed

The body of a prominent Kwa Zulu-Natal businessman has been found floating in the Tugela River, police said on Thursday. Residents saw the corpse and called the police, Lieutenant-Colonel Vincent Mdunge said.

According to eye witness account, Nhlanhla Ga, an associate to President Jacob Zuma, and the father of South African TV personality Noni Gasa was said to have suffered multiple stab wounds.” Police found his vehicle, a Jaguar, burnt beyond recognition several meters away.

“Officers then went to his home in Umhlanga and there they found blood around the house. This confirms that the attack started at his house and he was then taken to the river.”
No valuables were taken from the house. 

At least three killed in Japan tunnel collapse

At least three people were killed and two women injured when a section of a four-km-long tunnel collapsed in Japan Sunday, media reports said. 

The Sasago tunnel in the Chou expressway in Otsuki, about 80 km west of Tokyo, collapsed around 8 am, trapping many cars inside, Xinhua reported citing Kyodo News. 

Two people were taken to hospital. Firefighters managed to control a fire triggered by a crash of two vehicles after the ceiling and wall collapsed in a 100-metre section of the tunnel. 
The cars were crushed after the 20-cm-thick ceiling collapsed in a 50-60 metre section of the cave. A woman, who managed to escape the collapse, said she was in a car in which five others were trapped. 

Rescuers were earlier forced to withdraw from the tunnel as engineers at the site warned that the tunnel's structure was unstable and might collapse again. After hours of suspension, rescue work restarted around 4 pm. The operator of the highway, Central Nippon Expressway Company, apologised for the incident. The company said that in a regular check in September, they did not find any defects inside the tunnel. 

Woman kills stepson over N50

From Lindaikeji

The woman was stripped naked and made to carry the corpse of the dead boy around her area. The sad incident happened on Sunday on Amosu Street, Ijegun, in Lagos.

The woman known locally as Iya Anu beat her 16 year old foster son, Seubow, to death for allegedly stealing N50. Seybow was Iya Anu's husband's nephew.

According to neighbours, trouble started after Seubow lost the N1,000 given to him by Iya Anu to run an errand for her some days back. Angered by the loss which she claimed was theft, the woman refused to feed Seubow for over four days. When the teenager couldn't take the hunger anymore, he sneaked out to buy gala one night. When Iya Anu found out, she accused him of stealing her N50 and beat him up, using a rod. She battered him for days until he gave the ghost on Sunday afternoon.