DonkorsBlog.Com

The 2014 West African Ebola outbreak killed 11,310 people. Liberian nursing assistant Salome Karwah was not one of them. The disease that tore through her town in August of that year took her mother, her father, her brother, aunts, uncles, cousins and a niece. But by some miracle it left Karwah, her sister Josephine Manley and her fiancé James Harris still alive.
But just because Karwah escaped Ebola, it didn’t mean she was secure against the failures of Liberia’s broken medical system. She died on Feb. 21, 2017, from complications in childbirth and the lingering social stigma faced by many of Ebola’s survivors.
Karwah used to joke that survivors had “super powers” — because after overcoming the disease they were forever immune from it. Like any superhero, she often quipped, it was her moral duty to use those powers for the betterment of humankind. So as soon as she recovered, she returned to the hospital where she had been treated — the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Ebola t…

According to TMZ, Donald Trump's Chicago hotel is suing an NFL player and his bride for allegedly stiffing the hotel on a big wedding bill, but it seems from the lawsuit something went wrong during the reception.
Tennessee Titans linebacker Justin Staples tied the knot with Amber last June and, judging from the video, the reception was fun and lovely. They even had Afterglow Snacks, which, based on the menu, may have included cheeseburger sliders, buffalo wings, fried mac and cheese bites and BBQ spiced waffle fries.
Justin and Amber apparently drove a hard bargain before the wedding, because Trump International Hotel and Tower dropped their proposed fee to $79,484.
According to the lawsuit, Justin and Amber paid $30k, but that was it.
Now, here's a big clue. According to the lawsuit, at the end of the reception, the hotel slashed another $5,062.13 from the bill, so it seems like something happened ... maybe food wasn't served, the cake was wonky, the bar ran out of…

19-year-old Elsa Iradukunda was on Saturday, February 25, 2017, named the Miss Rwanda 2017 in a tight rivalry from 15 finalists.
Iradukunda, a senior-six graduate from King David High School, who represented the Northern Province in the preliminaries, developed the highest contender for the magnificence show which held at the Kigali Conference and Exhibition Village.
She defeated Guelda Shimwa, who came as the main runner-up, trailed by Linda Umutoniwase and was delegated by Miss Rwanda 2016, Jolly Mutesiat. For the first time in the history of Miss Rwanda pageant, all the 15 finalists were given full scholarships by the organizers to pursue undergraduate degrees at Mahatma Ghandhi University. See more photos below...

"When I found out at 14 that I was HIV-positive, I didn't think I would live to see 18, I am turning 22 this year." Since Saidy Brown tweeted those words on Friday, thousands of people have re-shared her hopeful message, with many praising her courage for speaking publicly about her own experience with the virus.
Activist Saidy, who describes herself as an HIVictor in her Twitter bio, has been speaking to the BBC about the extraordinary reaction to her post, why it took so long for her to be diagnosed and the challenges of dating for someone who is HIV-positive.
Deciding to tweet
"I've always disclosed my status. I started disclosing it when I was 18. I usually use Facebook to talk to people about HIV and Aids," she says. "But I've been having this urgent feeling to post it on Twitter, so it wouldn't be just limited to my Facebook friends. I needed the world to get into conversations about this virus."
Getting a conversation going
&qu…

UK-based Ghanaian gospel musician, Sonnie Badu, who was briefly hospitalized in Australia over the weekend has denied rumours that he has died.

The award-winning artiste, according to his management, “had an emergency” following which he was hospitalised for about two hours in a Sydney hospital; A photo of him on a hospital bed was shared Sunday on social media by his team, with a caption that requested prayer for the artiste but within few hours speculation was rife that the ‘Wonder God’ hitmaker had passed on.

“We need all Minister @sonniebaduuk’s prayer warriors to rise and pray, the devil can’t stop him … #JESUSHEALS #HISBLOODSPEAKS” Some blogging sites joined the chorus in reporting the supposed death of the Ghanaian music international But the musician released a short video on his Instagram account Monday to discount the rumours, and threatened to sue bloggers who were the mastermind of the rumours. “Bloggers clap for yourself s , anything to generate traffic .. smh …

This Indian man, Pakkirappa Hunagundi is addicted to eating bricks, gravel and mud, he swallows at least three kilos of his surroundings every day.   
Pakkirappa first developed a taste for the inedible objects at the age of ten.  Ever since, he has snacked on walls and streets of Karnataka, India and claims to suffer no ill effects.
The bizarre eating disorder is thought to be a form of Pica, an illness which gives sufferers an appetite for substances without any nutritional value.  According to him,
 'I have been eating bricks and rocks for around 20 years now. I love eating them. It has become a part of my life.  I started at the age of 10. Now it feels like a necessity to me. I can skip meals, but not bricks or mud.  I have suffered no side effects. My teeth are absolutely fine. I can bite into the hardest stone without a problem.

Some traders have resorted to preserving ‘koobi’, dried tilapia, with cancer-causing agent, formalin. Formalin, which is a chemical used to prevent dead bodies from decomposing, is being used by the traders to preserve the fish; thus making it stiff, have a rubbery feel, clear eyes, red gills and take away its odour as well as drive away flies.
The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, made this known during a working visit to the Food Research Institute (FRI) and the Industrial Research Institute (IRR) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on Friday.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng therefore cautioned those involved in the act to desist from it since it was dangerous to human health.

“Hitherto, opening the gills of koobi exposed salt placed there. Koobi was a little softer and when you put it somewhere flies will be attracted to it. These days you put koobi there and even flies will not go there.”

“So we want th…

Immediate past First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, is really fit for a 53-year-old woman and the reason for that is not far-fetched; the mother of two takes exercising seriously.
She was seen on Sunday, leaving SoulCycle, a New York City-based fitness company and it happens to be the second time in one week that she visited the place. 
Dressed in a black top, black spandex, black boots, a black hat and dark sunglasses, the former First Lady was able to go unnoticed but not for long. She was soon approached by a reporter but her Secret Service agent escort stepped in right on time.

Michelle's visit to the SoulCycle on Thursday was the first time she was spotted in public in DC since she left the White House with her husband and headed for the British Virgin Islands. Sunday was the second time. 
More photos below....

Fences star and director Denzel Washington surprised a tourist couple at the Oscars by pretending to marry them in a mock ceremony. A group of tourists were brought into the glitzy event, having been told they were going to see a costume exhibition.
One woman said she and her partner were getting married in August and that Washington was her favourite actor.
Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel then asked Washington to perform a quick ceremony in the front row of the auditorium.
'He's Denzel so it's legal'
"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride," Washington said.
Kimmel joked: "He's Denzel, so it's legal."
All of the tourists were invited to shake hands with the stars on the front row, including Meryl Streep, Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling and Viola Davis.
Jennifer Aniston was asked to give them a gift and gave one lucky woman sunglasses from her handbag.
Previous Oscar stunts include host Ellen DeGeneres taking a selfie in 2014, featuring st…

Over the weekend rapper Meek Mill took to his Instagram page to share a couple of videos via the Live feed where he had an encounter with a homeless man on the streets.
The man asked Meek Mill and his friends for money but instead of simply giving it to him, Meek Mill decided to make the man work for it by doing ten pushups.
In the clip, Meek Mill says “Give me ten pushups, and I’m going to give you $20 right now. We ain’t giving out no free money.”

The homeless man agreed to the challenge and while he was doing them, the number of pushups required was doubled.
Watch the video, which has received a lot of backlash, below. VIDEO: Meek Mill makes homeless man do pushups for $20 pic.twitter.com/4wzmI9Ct9B — Joel Franco (@OfficialJoelF) February 26, 2017

Mahershala Ali made history at Sunday night’s Oscars, becoming the first Muslim actor to win an Academy Award.
According to Variety, he won the first award of the night, best supporting actor, for “Moonlight.” It was one of the more uneasy races in the major categories. While Ali had been the critics’ champ and won the Screen Actors Guild prize, he lost the Golden Globe (Aaron Taylor-Johnson in “Nocturnal Animals”) and the British Academy prize (Dev Patel in “Lion”) to other contenders. In the end, the “Moonlight” star pulled it out.

During an emotional speech, Ali thanked his “wonderful teachers and professors,” and shared with the audience some advice he received from them: “It’s not about you, it’s about these characters. You are a servant. You’re in service to these stories and these characters.”

He also thanked his wife, who just gave birth a few days ago. “I just want to thank her for being a soldier through it all and carrying me through this process,” he said of award…

Five Ghanaians have been rescued in South Africa as the xenophobic attacks on immigrants in that country worsen.
According to an official with Ghana’s High Commission in South Africa, the five have been sent to a safer location in Lynwood.
Earlier this week, angry mobs attacked Nigerians and looted shops belonging to Somalis, Pakistani and other migrants in townships around Pretoria and parts of Johannesburg.
“They [foreigners] should know that this they are a guest in my house. I am treating them with respect. They should treat me with respect,” one angry protester told the BBC’s Nomsa Maseko at the scene.
Nigerians in South Africa were “notorious” for dealing drugs, he added, calling for greater checks on foreigners coming into the country.
Somali and Bangladeshi immigrants in the western part of the city told the BBC that their shops had been looted during Friday’s protests.
Shopkeeper Omar Adawi said it was the third time his business had been targeted: “I am not feeling happy… N…

The 89th Academy Awards (Oscars) took place on Sunday, honoring the best in film. “La La Land,” tied the all-time record with 14 nominations. Viola Davis won her first Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, got inducted into one of the most prestigious acting clubs in the world, EGOT. 
With the win for her work in the 2016 film “Fences,” Davis becomes the 23rd person to complete the triple crown of acting, a term used to describe actors and actresses who have won at least one acting award at the Oscars, the Emmys and the Tonys. Congratulations to her and other winners. Full list of winners after the cut..

Best picture:
     “Arrival”
     “Fences”      “Hacksaw Ridge”      “Hell or High Water”      “Hidden Figures” “La La Land” (WINNER)      “Lion”      “Manchester by the Sea”      “Moonlight” Lead actor: Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea” (WINNER)      Andrew Garfield, “Hacksaw Ridge”      Ryan Gosling, “La La Land,”      Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic”      Denzel Washington, “Fences” L…