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Mum Of 3 Hospitalised With Bullet-like Holes After Agonising BBL
Published
12 months agoon
By
Editor
A mum-of-three has been left with “bullet wound’ holes in her bum after an agonising Brazilian Butt Lift she bought on Facebook.
Melissa Crawford, 30, had always been self-conscious of her “flat” backside and when childbirth left her looking like an “ironing board”, she began searching for ways to feel more confident in her body.
While scrolling through Facebook, she came across a salon in her local city of Belfast that was offering customers a “Liquid Brazilian Butt Lift” (BBL) for £1700, which involves plumping out the buttock tissue with injections of dermal filler.
Ms Crawford underwent the non-surgical procedure in May this year, alongside facial filler, but she suffered extreme complications.
Ms Crawford had a litre of filler injected into her backside with a giant needle usually used for liposuction procedures. She claims she was never told to sign any documents or shown details of the products being put into her.
Just 24 hours after the procedure, which she says was more painful than childbirth, abscesses began growing on her bottom.
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A liquid BBL is different from a traditional procedure, which involves transferring fat from other areas of the body, such as the hips or stomach.
“I have always been really self conscious about my bum because it’s quite flat,” Ms Crawford said.
“Growing up I was more of a boob girl than a bum girl and then I had kids and my boobs went. I just look like an ironing board.”
Although she had never heard of the salon before and only saw a few Facebook posts from the beautician, not many places offered the procedure so she decided to go with it.
The beautician reassured her, explaining she had done the procedure on herself.
“She did the bum filler first. She just asked if I was allergic to anything but I didn’t have to sign anything,” Ms Crawford said.
“I remember panicking here as I didn’t think this was a good sign but I wanted the treatment done so badly.
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“She didn’t show me what she was going to use and didn’t show me any of the expiry dates on the products.
“She just got a big see-through bag with pre-filled syringes. It was so heavy and massive.
“She injected me with lidocaine [for numbing] in a few spots on my bum.
“It looked like a lipo needle. I could feel it and didn’t think I’d be able to do it.
“She started crunching. It sounded like rocks being crunched together and she told me it was just her breaking away fat from the skin. It was excruciating and sweat was lashing off me.
“She filled one cheek and then filled the other side. She had suggested a litre of filler in my bum.
“I was stuck to the bed in sweat. My clothes were soaked and I was biting my hand.
“It was excruciating. When she was done, I was so relieved. I felt like I was going to pass out.”
After the procedure the beautician told Ms Crawford she could sit down, but she was in too much pain.
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“She said it was just swelling and I would need to lay on my stomach for the first night but then I would be okay,” Ms Crawford added.
Ms Crawford claims she reached out to the aesthetician about the pain swelling she was experiencing but her concerns were ignored, she said.
After being prescribed antibiotics by her GP to bring down a fever, she reached out to another aesthetician who told her to go straight to hospital in case of life-threatening sepsis.
“I felt constantly lightheaded and I couldn’t eat. Even with the medicine given by the doctor, I was waking up in the middle of the night and sweat was lashing off me.
“I was in agony. It was like this horrible throb and I felt like somebody had just pushed a brick in my bum that was scolding.”
On May 21, Ms Crawford underwent surgery to have the filler drained from her body and abscesses removed.
She says she was left with two “gaping” holes in her backside and “hip dips” all the way around her bottom.
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She recalled: “The surgeon came down and told me he needed to remove this [the filler] now as it was in my bloodstream.
“I was rushed in for emergency surgery and I came out with two holes in my bum.
“They were massive and this is where they had removed the abscesses from.
“I had to have my holes packed every day. It looked like I had two massive stab or bullet wounds [in my bum].
“One of the holes was two inches deep and the other one was slightly smaller.
“I was devastated. At the time, I was just relieved to get it [the filler] out and recover from this.
“But as time went on, I had big massive dents in it.
“Where your bum naturally fills out, I have two gaping holes and dents in it so it looks like I have hip dips all the way around my bum now and it looks horrendous.”
As well as her liquid BBL, Ms Crawford claims the facial filler carried out by the beautician left her looking like “Quasimodo”.
She said: “My eye was droopy. ‘It was causing my eyelash extensions to point downwards and I couldn’t see and it felt so heavy. I felt like Quasimodo.
“I couldn’t function. I couldn’t drive or speak to people because I felt a mess.”
Ms Crawford says the whole experience has put her off getting filler for life and is now warning others about her own physical and mental repercussions following her treatment.
“I can’t wear jeans or dresses. I just wear baggy clothes now. I can’t go in for any kind of surgery now to fix it so I’m stuck with this for life,” she said.
“It was my biggest insecurity and now I feel stupid. It breaks my heart. It has put me off filler for life. It’s given me the scare I needed.
“They [the holes] are healing well. But they are massive and take up most of the side of my bum and they are hideous and I will be permanently scarred from it.”
Headline
Four Places In The World Without Traffic Lights
Published
1 hour agoon
August 29, 2025By
Editor
In a world where traffic lights are an essential part of road management, a few countries and regions stand out for functioning without them. These places rely on alternative systems ranging from police officers and roundabouts to cultural driving habits to manage traffic. Here’s a closer look at the nations and areas where traffic lights are absent.
Bhutan
Bhutan is famously known as the only country in the world that operates entirely without traffic lights. Even in its capital city, Thimphu, which has witnessed growing traffic due to urbanisation, automated signals have never been adopted. Instead, traffic management is handled by police officers who stand at major intersections, directing vehicles with hand signals.
In 1995, when a set of traffic lights was briefly installed in Thimphu, public complaints led to their swift removal, as locals felt the system clashed with the country’s traditions and culture of cooperation. Bhutan’s reliance on human-directed traffic reflects both its small population and strong sense of civic responsibility.
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Vatican City
Vatican City, the world’s smallest sovereign nation, also operates without any traffic lights. With an area of just 44 hectares and a population of around 800 people, the city-state does not require traffic signals to regulate movement. Roads inside the Vatican are short and few, and traffic is mostly managed by signage and the Vatican’s own police force. However, just outside the Vatican’s walls, in Rome, traffic lights are abundant, highlighting the contrast between the bustling Italian capital and the tranquil governance of the Holy See.
Niue
In the South Pacific, Niue, one of the world’s smallest island nations, also has no traffic lights. With a population of less than 2,000 people and very limited vehicle traffic, there is little need for automated signals. Roads are quiet, and driving is relaxed, with motorists often waving to one another as they pass.
The absence of traffic lights in Niue is less a necessity than a reflection of the island’s lifestyle, where community trust and minimal congestion make formal traffic control unnecessary.
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Tekesi County, China
A unique example of urban planning without traffic lights can be found in Tekesi County, Xinjiang, China. The county town was designed based on the ancient Bagua (Eight Trigrams) symbol from Taoist philosophy. Its distinctive circular and radiating street layout relies on roundabouts to direct vehicles.
In 1996, authorities cancelled the installation of traffic lights in order to preserve the Bagua system, making Tekesi a rare modern settlement that manages traffic without signals. The design has since become both a cultural attraction and a point of pride for residents, who see it as a symbol of harmony and balance.
Headline
Nigerian Student Wins ‘Top In World’ Cambridge IGCSE English Award
Published
2 hours agoon
August 29, 2025By
Editor
A Nigerian student, Kenechukwu Oluwanifemi Uba, has emerged the “Top in World” candidate in the November 2024 Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language (Speaking Endorsement).
Uba, a pupil of Caleb International College, Magodo, Lagos, received the Outstanding Cambridge Learners Award for her performance, which was recognised by Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Spokesperson to the Proprietor and Founder, Caleb Group of Schools and University, Prof. Elvis Otobo, and made available to The PUNCH on Friday.
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The certificate, signed by the Group Managing Director of International Education at Cambridge, Rod Smith, was presented during a ceremony organised by the British Council and Cambridge University Press & Assessment at the Civic Centre, Lagos.
Speaking on the achievement, the Proprietor/CEO of Caleb Group of Schools and University, Dr. Oladega Adebogun, said the recognition reflected the school’s values of integrity, perseverance and innovation.
“We are overjoyed by Kenechukwu’s outstanding performance.
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“Her success embodies our core values of integrity, perseverance, and innovation. We invest heavily in cutting-edge teaching methods—from flipped classrooms to AI-driven language labs—so that every student can discover their potential and lead with confidence,” Adebogun said.
Uba expressed gratitude to her teachers, classmates and family, noting that preparing in the school’s language lab helped build her confidence.
“From the moment I joined Caleb, I felt inspired by teachers who challenged me to think deeply and by peers who encouraged me to persevere. Preparing for the speaking endorsement in our state-of-the-art lab sharpened my confidence. This recognition belongs to everyone—my mentors, my classmates, and my family,” she said.
Caleb International College described the award as proof of its commitment to raising globally competitive students through advanced learning facilities and strong character development programmes.
Headline
Iran Has Executed At Least 841 People This Year — UN
Published
2 hours agoon
August 29, 2025By
Editor
At least 841 people have been executed in Iran since the start of the year, the UN said Friday, decrying “a systematic pattern of using the death penalty as a tool of state intimidation”.
The United Nations’ human rights office said there had been a “major increase in executions” by Tehran during the first half of 2025.
“Iranian authorities have executed at least 841 people since the beginning of the year,” spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.
“The real situation might be different,” she added. “It might be worse, given the lack of transparency.”
In July alone, she said, Iran had executed at least 110 individuals — twice the number of people executed in July 2024.
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“The high number of executions indicates a systematic pattern of using the death penalty as a tool of state intimidation, with disproportionate targeting of ethnic minorities and migrants,” Shamdasani added.
She cited the executions of Afghan nationals, and of Baluch, Kurdish, and Arab citizens.
In the first six months of the year, at least 289 people were executed for drug-related offences.
Shamdasani said the pattern witnessed across multiple countries showed that when their governments perceive threats to their grip on public order, they become increasingly repressive and less tolerant of dissent.
– Hangings before children –
The spokeswoman in particular criticised the staging of public executions in Iran. The rights office documented seven such cases since the beginning of the year — some reportedly in front of children.
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“Public executions add an extra layer of outrage upon human dignity… not only on the dignity of the people concerned — the people who are executed — but also on all those who have to bear witness,” she said.
“The psychological trauma of bearing witness to somebody being hanged in public, particularly for children, is unacceptable.”
The UN human rights office said there were serious concerns over due process in capital punishment cases.
“What we are particularly worried about is that a lot of these death sentences are imposed based on vague laws,” the spokeswoman said, such as charges of enmity against God.
Shamdasani said that 11 individuals were currently facing “imminent execution” in Iran, including six charged with “armed rebellion” due to alleged membership of the exiled opposition People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran (MEK).
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The other five had been sentenced to death over their participation in large-scale protests in 2022, she said. Iran’s supreme court last week confirmed the death sentence against workers’ rights activist Sharifeh Mohammadi, she added.
The UN rights office was urging Iran’s government “not to implement the death penalty against these and other individuals on death row”, Shamdasani said.
“The death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and irreconcilable with human dignity,” she added.
“It creates an unacceptable risk of executing innocent people. It should never be imposed for conduct that is protected under international human rights law.”
UN human rights chief Volker Turk is calling on Tehran to impose a moratorium on the application of capital punishment, as a step towards abolition.
AFP
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