PINK REPUBLIC/ MY BLOG IS A STORY MARATHON.

 An absolute nightmare situation unfolded on May 17th when a man became stuck in a narrow section of a cave in New York.  This incident unfolded at Merlins Cave in Canaan, New York, when the victim and 4 friends, all of whom are experienced cavers, began exploring the cave. The group made it to a particularly narrow section nicknamed "The Beartrap" when the victim became stuck. The ceiling is only 12 inches from the floor in this section. It quickly became apparent that this was an emergency, and one friend crawled out of the cave and called 911. The call went out at 6:30 p.m. and it would take until 9 p.m. before a rescue team could be assembled and arrive.  The temperature inside of the cave was 50 degrees, with 100 percent humidity. These conditions made hypothermia a significant risk for the man that was trapped and unable to move.  Forest Ranger, Lt. Jim Gullen, who led the rescue mission, said, "He was really jammed in there, more than I expected. It was like h...

 An 18-year-old Georgia teen and his girlfriend were celebrating their graduation with his father when a tree fell on their car, claiming the lives of all three. On the evening of Saturday, May 23rd, Kencerio Walker and his girlfriend Nykeria were spending the evening in Augusta with his Father James Walker. The trio had spent a pleasant evening in Augusta celebrating Kencerio's graduation from Swainsboro High School.  As they were heading home for the evening down Highway 56, a completely unforseeable tragedy occurred. At approximately 9:05 p.m., a tree fell across both lanes, stricking two vehicles. The Ford Taurus that the three were traveling in took the worst of the impact. All three occupants lost their lives as a result of the impact. The other driver of the vehicle struck by the tree escaped the incident with only minor injuries.  The entire Swainsboro community was shocked by the incident. There was a candlelight vigil held at the Swainsboro High School on the ev...

 Jas karo, since you mentioned my name, let me respond respectfully. I won’t stay silent or act like I’m against your growth. I may not have global recognition yet, but I’m also not doing badly in my own way. I remember when I came to congratulate you after your visit to Davido. You even mentioned that no Isoko person had welcomed you yet, but I came. Be sincere with yourself and before God how did you treat me afterward? I’m not someone who envies people. Anyone who knows me knows I genuinely support others. I posted and celebrated you during your Davido visit and even when you got your new car, though you never acknowledged it, which I accepted. Before your Davido visit, we created content together, took pictures, and you posted and tagged me several times. You also came to Afro-D Apartment where we made more videos together. But after your trip, everything changed. When I spoke to you about posting our content, you clearly told me you couldn’t post me or share my videos anymore....

 Africa health chief says Ebola outbreak threatens 10 more countries Ten African countries are at risk of being affected by the Ebola virus, in addition to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, the African Union's health agency warned, TRT Afrika reported. "We have 10 countries at risk," said Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), listing Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia. Uganda confirmed three new Ebola cases on Saturday and the Red Cross said three volunteers died in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. The current epidemic centres on the conflict-wracked eastern DRC, where it was detected in Ituri province before spreading to South Kivu. The outbreak, which experts suspect was circulating under the radar for some time, is caused by the less common Bundibugyo strain, for which there are no approved vaccines or ...

 Benin's Wadagni takes office, vows better living standards, security Benin's new president, Romuald Wadagni, vowed at his inauguration on Sunday to confront rising security threats and to ensure economic growth translated ​into concrete improvements in people's lives. Wadagni was elected on April ‌12 with more than 94% of the vote against challenger Paul Hounkpe, according to results confirmed on Sunday by the Constitutional Court, Reuters reported. He succeeds Patrice Talon, who had led the West African nation since 2016 and stepped down after two terms, in line with constitutional limits. The 49-year-old former finance minister, who served ⁠in the role for a decade, is expected to continue Talon’s reform agenda, which helped deliver steady economic growth and improve Benin’s business climate. Wadagni also acknowledged mounting security challenges, as jihadist groups spilling over from the Sahel have stepped up attacks in northern Benin in recent years. “Benin will not yi...

 Oldest Pearl Harbor survivor recalls day of attack and life aboard USS St. Louis  Freeman Johnson, 106, the oldest known survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack, was deep below deck aboard the USS St. Louis repairing a boiler on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, when Japanese aircraft struck Hawaii. He never saw the attack unfold or heard the anti-aircraft fire that downed at least one enemy plane. By the time he reached the surface, the light cruiser had already evaded midget submarines and was heading out to sea, leaving him largely unaware of what had just taken place. Johnson, now a Centerville, Massachusetts resident, recalled being in a steam drum during the chaos topside. He said he had no view of the battle and only understood later what had happened. Serving as a fireman in the ship’s engineering section, he said sailors like him were rarely told details unless necessary. “We were way out to sea… you couldn’t see any land at all,” he said, describing how isolated they felt as...

  Final two bodies of Italian cave diving expedition recovered in Maldives after deadly underwater tragedy  The final two bodies from a group of Italian divers killed during a research expedition in the Maldives were recovered from underwater caves on Wednesday, nearly a week after the fatal incident. The remains of Genoa University student Giorgia Sommacal, 22, and research fellow Muriel Oddenino, 31, were located deep inside a cave at more than 200 feet and retrieved by an international specialist dive rescue team. Their recovery followed earlier operations that brought up two other members of the group on Tuesday. The retrieval effort relied on a coordinated system involving elite Finnish divers from the Divers Alert Network, who descended into the cave using rebreathers that extend dive time by recycling exhaled air and removing carbon dioxide. The Finnish divers brought the bodies up to shallower depths before handing them off to Maldivian coast guard teams, repeating a s...