Aylan Kurdi

Aryan Kurdi

Little Aylan Kurdi, three, and Galip Kurdi, five, were on an overcrowded boat filled with refugees fleeing the war in Syria when it capsized shortly into the crossing to the Greek island of Kos. Both boys died in the sea alongside their mother, Rehan, while their father Abdullah survived. Today the shattered father watched as the coffins of the family he couldn't save left the morgue. Earlier he had described the horrific moment that his family slipped through his fingers as he screamed for help.

He told reporters: 'My kids were the most beautiful children in the world, wonderful. Now all I want to do is sit next to the grave of my wife and children.'

Aylan and Galip, who were not wearing life jackets, did not stand a chance when the boat overturned in the dead of night, some 30 minutes after it set off from the holiday resort of Bodrum in Turkey.  All 17 passengers were flung into the Mediterranean, and despite the calm water, Galip and Aylan drowned.

Aylan Kurdi found on Turkey Beach 

Their lifeless bodies, still clad in tiny T-shirts and shorts, washed up on Ali Hoca Point Beach in Bodrum yesterday.

Mr Kurdi has confirmed to reporters that he was on board the ship with his family but was unable to save them. He said the boat's captain panicked due to the high waves and jumped into the sea and fled, leaving him in control of the small craft.

'I took over and started steering,' he said. 'The waves were so high and the boat flipped.'
He told Turkey's Dogan News Agency: 'I was holding my wife's hand, but my children slipped through my hands. We tried to cling to the boat, but it was deflating.
'It was dark and everyone was screaming.' 
Mr Kurdi said his family were trying to get to Canada from Kobane after fleeing to Turkey last year to escape Islamic State extremists. According to Mr Kurdi's Facebook page, he was originally from Damascus in Syria. He told Dogan News Agency he had paid human traffickers to take his family to Kos twice before, but both attempts failed.

'In our first attempt, coastguards captured us in the sea and then they released us. In our second attempt, the organisers did not keep their word and did not bring the boat,' he said.
It is believed a smuggler told the journey would only take 10 minutes. Yesterday he identified the bodies of his wife and two sons and waited for their release from the morgue in Mugla, Turkey. Now he wants to return to Kobane now to bury his family. A hospital official in Bodrum said the bodies would be flown to Istanbul later today and taken to the Turkish border town of Suruc before reaching their final destination Kobane.

The boys' aunt has spoken of the moment Mr Kurdi called relatives after the tragedy. She revealed the family had been refused visas in June to join her in Canada, so instead had taken the fateful decision to risk their lives by paying smugglers to take them to Europe. 

'I heard the news at five o'clock in this morning,' Vancouver-based Teema Kurdi told. She said she learned of the tragedy through a telephone call from Ghuson Kurdi, the wife of another brother, Mohammad, who had spoken with the bereaved father.

'She had got a call from Abdullah, and all he said was, 'my wife and two boys are dead',' she explained. 
 

Aylan Kurdi

The aunt said an application to sponsor the family to go to Canada was rejected in June.

'I was trying to sponsor them, and I have my friends and my neighbours who helped me with the bank deposits, but we couldn't get them out, and that is why they went in the boat,' she added. 

Canadian legislator Fin Donnelly told The Canadian Press he had submitted a request on behalf on the boys' aunt. Canadian immigration authorities rejected the application, in part because the family did not have exit visas to ease their passage out of Turkey and because of their lack of internationally recognised refugee status, the aunt told the Ottawa Citizen. 

Textile worker Ferhat Alhan hired Mr Kundi three years ago after he first came to Turkey alone. He told how his friend decided to bring his family over after returning to Syria following the birth of Aylan and asked for help in finding a house.

'He had a very hard life and I helped in any way I could - Aylan slept in my kid's cradle for three to four months.

'Abdullah was the only one working and getting by was difficult and he couldn't stand Istanbul anymore and he sent his family back to Kobane.

'When ISIS attacked Kobane, one shell fell on their house causing the house to be totally destroyed. 'He had to bring the family back to Istanbul. One week they slept at my place, another week at other places, they even slept at the workplace because there was no rental house.  'In the end, they had no choice but to go to the [refugee] camp in Antep [newer name is Gaziantep] and you now the rest.' 

The Killings of Bangladesi Bloggers

 Bangladeshi bloggers who have been killed this year: Niloy Chakrabarti, Ananta Bijoy Das, Washiqur Rahman and Avijit Roy (clockwise from top left)

Niloy Chakrabarti, who used the pen name Niloy Neel, was hacked to death with machetes on Friday after a gang broke into his apartment in the Bangladeshi capital.

In an interview with the Guardian in May, Chakrabarti said he had filed reports with local police about continued harassment and was scared that he would be killed. However, his complaints were not taken seriously, he claimed.

Imran H Sarker, head of the Bangladesh Blogger and Activist Network, said Chakrabarti had been a “listed target”. “They entered his room on the fifth floor and shoved his friend aside and then hacked him to death,” Sarker told Agence France-Presse.

Chakrabarti is the fourth blogger to be killed in Bangladesh since February, when Bangladeshi-born US citizen Avijit Roy, a science writer and blog site moderator, was hacked to death in central Dhaka.

That killing prompted outrage around the world with more than 150 writers, including Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Yann Martel and Colm Tóibín, signing a letter condemning the series of fatal attacks and calling on the country’s government “to ensure that the tragic events … are not repeated”.

The other victims of recent attacks include Ananta Bijoy Das, who was murdered by a group wielding machetes on 13 May as he headed to work in Sylhet, northern Bangladesh, and 27-year-old Washiqur Rahman, killed in Dhaka in March.

All had been active on social media, criticising the extremist Muslim ideologies that have gained strength in Bangladesh in recent years or arguing in favour of progressive causes. On his Facebook account, Chakrabarti frequently wrote in favour of women’s rights.

Bangladesh is an officially secular country, but more than 90% of its 160 million people are Muslim.

Police confirmed Chakrabarti had been murdered by a group of half a dozen people in the capital’s Goran neighbourhood, although they had no details on the motive for the killing.

“There were six people who knocked on his door, saying that they were looking to rent a flat. Two of them then took him to a room and slaughtered him there,” Muntashirul Islam, a deputy police commissioner, said.



Police did not comment on charges that they had failed to act on Chakrabarti’s requests for protection.

Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent claimed responsibility for Roy’s killing on 26 February, in which his wife was badly injured. An Islamist has been arrested over his murder. Two students at religious schools were arrested over the killing of Washiqur Rahman.

Authorities in the politically unstable south Asian state have been repeatedly criticised for not acting to protect free speech, though the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a hardline Islamist group, was banned following Das’s murder.

Police believe the ABT may be behind the three attacks. Members of the group have already been charged with the 2013 murder of blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider.

One hardline group, Hefazat-e-Islam, has publicly sought the execution of atheists who organised mass protests against the rise of political Islam.

Hefazat, led by Islamic seminary teachers, also staged a massive counter-protest against the bloggers in May 2013 that unleashed violence and left nearly 50 people dead.

Active bloggers in Bangladesh told the Guardian earlier this year they received death threats “so frequently” they could not be counted. They also risk jail terms of up to 14 years for publishing material that authorities deem to be false or defamatory.

In 2013, atheist blogger Asif Mohiuddin was stabbed in the street by religious extremists. A month later, he was arrested and held in prison for making derogatory remarks about religion and his blog was banned.

Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962)

Marilyn Monroe, in those days, was an extremely famous actress and socialite, much like Paris Hilton, but from an older era, to an even larger scale. She was the biggest name in Hollywood, having a star role in numerous critically and commercially successful films throughout the 1950s and the early 1960s. She had a very difficult childhood, living in foster homes and constantly moving. Her mother had psychological problems, and her father was nowhere to be seen. She was able to overcome her past, however, and become one of the most iconic and recognizable women in history. She became a sex symbol, and a relatable, vulnerable person for the world to adore.

She was married at a young age, but when her new husband went overseas for the United States Navy, she was offered a modeling gig and started to pursue a career in acting. When her husband got back, he asked her to choose between marriage and acting, and shortly after the couple divorced. She then changed her name to Marilyn Monroe (she was born as Norma Jean Mortensen), dyed her hair blonde, and became a movie star. She was hooked up with Joe DiMaggio, the New York Yankee great, for a dinner date, and the two fell in love. She was the ideal Hollywood celebrity. She was young, beautiful, and married to a famous athlete. But she had a rough past and was relatable to the general public. Everyone wanted to be like her, and teenage girls around the world dyed their hair blonde and tried to be like her. To this day, Marilyn Monroe is still someone who is looked up to. She was the ideal celebrity, but unfortunately her life didn’t end the way most would have expected.

With her enchanting voice and perfect body, Monroe became a star who everyone wanted to be, even thoughmarilyn-monroe-then she personally had self-esteem issues. She had a serious mental condition where she would get anxiety attacks before appearing on set. This would cause her to show up late a lot, which made the casts and directors of the movies she was in angry and confused, but it also became one of her trademarks. Monroe would star in many films, but she was commonly displayed as a dumb blonde, which she didn’t like.

Monroe moved to New York City to escape the usual roles thrown at her and also to study the art of acting more. She acted in many more movies in different roles than she had before, gaining more critical success than she ever had.

What happened to Marilyn Monroe?
She died August 5, 1962 in the bedroom of her Brentwood, Los Angeles, home. The actress was found dead by housekeeper Eunice Murray, who called Monroe’s psychiatrist, Ralph Greenson, before alerting authorities. She was 36 years old at the time of her death.At the young age of 36, she died of a drug overdose. However there were speculations of sucide or the murder.Police broke into her home after family and friends had been unable to contact her for days. They found a bottle of sleeping pills next to her still body, empty. Her death had become an interesting study. It is unknown if her death was intentional, by herself or someone else, or accidental. Michael Jackson, the iconic singer and dancer, died in a similar fashion. Both died of drug overdose, but no one knows why.

Some say that she was murdered. At the time, she was close with President of the United States John F. Kennedy as well as his brother Bobby Kennedy, and many think that her relationship with them made her a target, and someone poisoned her pills. Others suggest that she committed suicide, and that while on the outside she was a fun loving, wild, and happy young girl, she was still haunted by her past on the inside and had demons no one knew about. There are other theories that suggest that she accidentally took too many sleeping pills, and simply died accidentally. Some conspiracy theories are really out there, saying that the CIA or Mafia had a hand in the murder. Most likely, however, the high life of being a celebrity, her publicly stated anxiety and self-esteem problems, and her past demons took a hold of her, and when she was unable to escape from these; she took her own life in a painless, fast way.



marilyn-monroe-primeAfter her death, she was lowered into a casket (which was a Cadillac casket, one of the most expensive caskets one could possibly buy, but it was fitting for such a revolutionary and iconic star) and buried, while wearing a dress she often said was her favorite. The funeral was small, as only friends and family were there. But the whole world was in shock. Their beloved actress, Mrs. Hollywood, the most relatable yet vulnerable celebrity there was, was no more. However, one could argue that she still did exist, as she continued to live on as inspiration for the next wave of actresses and Hollywood stars, and all the movies she played a part in continue to be re-mastered and watched to this very day. Her former husband, Joe DiMaggio, would go to her grave with red roses for the next twenty years following her death, and it goes to show just how impactful she was as a person.

Monroe’s films made over $200 million dollars, and her impact still looms largely over cinema. Even to this very day, Monroe is considered to be the world’s most popular symbol of beauty and sex. She is remembered for her conniving nature and wittiness. Popular celebrities Madonna, Gwen Stefani, and Lady Gaga all model their looks and personality off of Monroe, and they try to replicate her charm. Many books and films have been created based on her life, as well as countless documentaries on her life and mysterious death. The world hasn’t been the same since she died, as the sad event shook it to its core; however she has inspired a whole new generation and will continue to. Marilyn Monroe was everything cinema wanted, and then some. Her charming, carefree personality was a great one that surely won’t be forgotten for as long as civilization stands.

The Early Deaths: Whitney Houston and Bobbi Kristina Brown

Whitney Houston Bobbi Kristina Brown at The Ckive Davis And The Recording

Whitney Houston was an American singer, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, Guinness World Records cited her as the most awarded female act of all time. She is one of pop music's best-selling music artists of all-time, with an estimated 170–200 million records sold worldwide.She released six studio albums, one holiday album and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts, as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", has influenced several African American women artists who follow in her footsteps.

Whitney Houston, known as America’s Sweetheart, sold more than 50m records in the United States alone during her career. Her voice, an ideal blend of power, grace and beauty, made classics out of songs like Saving All My Love For You, I Will Always Love You and The Greatest Love of All. She earned six Grammys and starred in the films The Bodyguard and The Preacher’s Wife.

On February 9, 2012, Houston visited singers Brandy and Monica, together with Clive Davis, at their rehearsals for Davis' pre-Grammy Awards party at The Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills.That same day, she made her last public performance, when she joined Kelly Price on stage in Hollywood, California, and sang "Jesus Loves Me".

Two days later, on February 11, Houston was found unconscious in Suite 434 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, submerged in the bathtub.Beverly Hills paramedics arrived at approximately 3:30 p.m. and found the singer unresponsive and performed CPR. Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. PST. The cause of death was not immediately known. Local police said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent." On March 22, 2012, the Los Angeles County coroner's office reported the cause of Houston's death was drowning and the "effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use".The office stated the amount of cocaine found in Houston's body indicated that she used the substance shortly before her death.Toxicology results revealed additional drugs in her system: diphenhydramine, alprazolam, cannabis and cyclobenzaprine. The manner of death was listed as an "accident".Bobbi Kristina, then 18, was at the hotel and became so hysterical she had to be hospitalised. “She wasn’t only a mother, she was a best friend,” she later told Oprah Winfrey



Houston had an invitation-only memorial on Saturday, February 18, 2012, at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. The service was scheduled for two hours, but lasted four. Among those who performed at the funeral were Stevie Wonder (rewritten version of "Ribbon in the Sky", and "Love's in Need of Love Today"), CeCe Winans ("Don't Cry", and "Jesus Loves Me"), Alicia Keys ("Send Me an Angel"), Kim Burrell (rewritten version of "A Change Is Gonna Come"), and R. Kelly ("I Look to You"). The performances were interspersed with hymns by the church choir and remarks by Clive Davis, Houston's record producer; Kevin Costner; Rickey Minor, her music director; her cousin, Dionne Warwick; and Ray Watson, her security guard for the past 11 years. Aretha Franklin was listed on the program and was expected to sing, but was unable to attend the service.Bobby Brown, Houston's ex-husband, was also invited to the funeral but he left before the service began.Houston was buried on Sunday, February 19, 2012, in Fairview Cemetery, in Westfield, New Jersey, next to her father, John Russell Houston, who died in 2003. In June 2012, the McDonald's Gospelfest in Newark became a tribute to Houston.

Bobbi Kristina Brown, the daughter of the late singer Whitney Houston, has died six months after going into a coma at the age of 22 on 27 July 2015 at a hospice in Duluth, Georgia.
. Brown, who was found unresponsive in her bathtub in Atlanta in January 31 2015 was found by her boyfriend, Nick Gordon, and friend Max Lomas who attempted to revive her. The incident that led to her death echoed her mother’s death three years earlier. As Whitney Houston was also found dead in her bathtub.

The police report into the discovery of Brown called it a “drowning”. Nick Gordon, her foster brother and the man she called her husband, found her in the bath. He said at the time that it seemed she wasn’t breathing and lacked a pulse before help arrived.

Funeral

On August 3 2015, Bobbi Kristina Brown was buried next to her mother, Whitney Houston at  cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey.