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Nigeria Confirms 561 New COVID-19 Cases As Total Infections Surpass 25,000
Nigeria has confirmed 561 new cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing its total infections to 25, 694.
This was disclosed yesterday night by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in a tweet via its official handle.
Just like the previous day, the new cases were recorded across 18 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Giving a breakdown of the cases, the NCDC noted that the five states with the highest number of infections were Lagos – 200, Edo – 119, Kaduna – 52, Niger – 32 and Ogun 19.
Others included Ondo – 16, Imo – 14, Plateau – 11, Abia and Oyo states each having 8 cases, Bayelsa – 7 and Katsina – 6.
Meanwhile, states with fewer cases include Kano – 5, Bauchi, Osun and Kebbi each having 3 cases, Borno – 2 and Jigawa – 1.
Source___Channels TV
Russia set to vote that may extend their president staying in power till 2036
A constitutional vote that would allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to extend his rule until 2036 is set to wrap up after a week of voting.
The countrywide vote on the change that would reset the clock on Putin’s tenure to zero and enable him to serve two more six-year terms entered its final day on Wednesday.
Their president is all but guaranteed to get the result he wants following a massive campaign to get Russia’s voters to say “yes” to the changes.
The amendments, which also emphasise the priority of Russian law over international norms, outlaw same-sex marriages and mention “a belief in God” as an important value, quickly sailed through the Kremlin-controlled parliament.
Other constitutional changes expand Parliament’s role, but they also strengthen the already-powerful role of the president.
The president will have the right to dissolve Parliament if it refuses to support the candidacy of a minister proposed by the head of state three times in a row.
They will also have a greater say over the work of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts and prosecutors.
Source___Aljazeera
The 16-year-old black tennis star set to rule the tennis world
On 1 July, 2019, a 15-year-old black American stepped out on Court One to face her idol Venus Williams at Wimbledon.
Those who follow the stats might have noticed Gauff had become the youngest player to qualify for the main Wimbledon draw since the Open era began in 1968. Others were asking the press office whether to pronounce her name ‘Gawf’ or ‘Goff’ – it’s the latter – and no matter how they were pronouncing her surname, they were still calling the teenager by her given name, Cori.
She became the hot ticket as she progressed through the rounds, saving two match points against Polona Hercog to reach the last 16. There she lost to eventual champion Simona Halep, leaving to a standing ovation from a crowd who had been well and truly charmed.
Gauff made a lasting impression, not only with the pundits who predicted a trophy-laden future, but also with the public who saw a humble teenager who was “thankful for the experience” and planned to merely buy a new hoodie with her £176,000 prize money.
“I went from probably 30,000 followers [on social media] to 500,000 overnight, and definitely got a lot of recognition from really famous people all around the world,” she tells BBC Sport.
“It’s something I’m still not used to but definitely wasn’t used to then.”
Yet she handled the media spotlight like an old hand, unfazed by her ‘promotion’ to the biggest news conference room, usually reserved for the top names, and not intimidated by her billing on the show courts or the players she faced.
At least that’s what it looked like from outside. She tells it slightly differently.
“I was really nervous – don’t get me wrong – I didn’t look nervous but I was nervous inside,” she says of the victory over Williams.
“My parents always taught me to be calm in those moments and remember that pressure is a privilege. That’s what I remembered during those moments.”
Her poise, eloquence and maturity beyond her years have won many admirers. And you really don’t need to look too far to see where she has got it from.
Credit____BBC
India coronavirus officials says ‘sorry’ after video shows bodies thrown into pit
Officials in the south Indian state of Karnataka have apologised after footage showing officials dumping bodies of Covid -19 victims caused anger.
The videos circulated on social media showed workers in PPE kits dumping bodies wrapped in black garbage bags into deep pits.
Officials in the state’s Bellary district disclosed that the footage was genuine and apologised to families of the victims.
The bodies were of eight people who had died of Covid-19 days earlier.
Karnataka has seen more than 246 deaths due to Covid.
Nonetheless, it has been pick out as one of the states that has been more successful in tracing and containing the disease.
“We have issued a letter of unconditional apology to the families of the dead. We are very hurt by this and we are very sorry. We condemn the way corpses have been treated. They should have been treated more humanely,” senior district official SS Nakula told BBC Hindi’s Imran Qureshi.
“They followed all the protocols. Where they have gone wrong is not the part of the protocol but the mentality that a dead body should be handled with dignity,” he added.
Source___BBC
Clinic Explosion in Iran capital Tehran kills at least 19
Not less than 19 people have been killed in an explosion at a clinic in Iran’s capital Tehran, officials say.
Dozens were injured at the Sina Athar clinic, and there are fears the death toll will rise further.
Iran’s state media quoted senior officials as saying the explosion was due to a gas leak.
Television pictures showed plumes of smoke billowing in the sky. Firefighters extinguished the blaze several hours later.
Most of the victims of yesterday’s blast were women, according to the authorities.
Some of the victims “were in upper floors, in operation rooms – who were either patients being operated on or those with them”, Tehran fire department spokesman Jalal Maleki was quoted as saying by state media.
“They unfortunately lost their lives due to the heat and thick smoke,” he said, adding that firefighters had rescued 20 people.
The clinic, which carries out light surgeries and medical imaging, had 25 employees inside at the time of the explosion, Mr Maleki said.
Source___BBC
“I won’t be holding rallies”-Joe Biden
US Democrat Joe Biden has make known that he will not be holding presidential campaign rallies during the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is the most unusual campaign, I think, in modern history,” Mr Biden said at a press conference in Delaware.
His rival, President Donald Trump, saw lower-than-expected turnout for a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June and his campaign has announced no new rallies.
People’s view on the polls show Mr Biden with an almost double-digit lead over Mr Trump as the 3 November election looms.
On Tuesday, Mr Biden told reporters: “I’m going to follow the doc’s orders – not just for me but for the country – and that means that I am not going to be holding rallies.
The former US vice-president under Barack Obama also said he has not yet been tested for Covid-19, which has killed almost 130,000 people in the US.
Source___BBC
Malawi Opposition Wins Election
Malawi opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera has been sworn in as the country’s new president after beating the incumbent Peter Mutharika in an historic rerun vote.
Acceptance speech by His Excellency Dr. Lazarus Mccarthy Chakawera, President of The Republic OF Malawi Reads:
My Fellow Citizens,
To stand before you as your President today is an honor.
It’s an honor that fills me with unspeakable joy and immense gratitude.
It’s an honor forged in the furnace of your desire and demand for change.
It’s an honor crafted by your hand when you braved the winter chill to cast your vote.
It’s an honor that has reignited the dream of our nation’s founders for a New Malawi.
When the founders of Malawi emerged from the womb of the great struggle that birthed our Independence in 1964, the dream was not merely for us to be freed from oppression. And when their children marched against the one-party state to birth our Democracy in 1993, the dream was not merely for us to be freed from tyranny.
The dream that binds us together is for us to enjoy shared prosperity, not just freedom. For of what use is freedom from oppression if you are a slave to starvation? Or freedom from colonialism if you are a slave to tribalism? Of what use is freedom from tyranny if you are a slave to poverty?
No! The dream was for all of us, together, to be the ones who enjoy the riches of Malawi’s soil; to be the ones who make the products of her industries; to be the ones who harvest the bounties of her fields; to be the ones who are served by her taxes; and to be the ones who raise the skylines of her cities.
Today, we too have emerged from great struggle and marched our sore feet towards this moment of victory and justice. But unlike our forebears, we have done so not just because we have a dream. We have done so because the time has come for us to go beyond dreaming. The time has come for us to arise from the slumber of our dream and make the dream true.
Dr. Chilima and I accept this challenge and task. We will pursuit it, not just as servants accountable to you voters, but as stewards of the hopes of millions of children, born and unborn, who have no vote. With your help, we will restore a new generation’s faith in the possibility of having a government that serves, not a government that rules; a government that inspires, not a government that infuriates; a government that listens, not a government that shouts; a government that fights for you, not against you.
Now, I am no stranger to the benefits of good government. Although I was raised in a poor village like most Malawians; raised without inherited riches or political connections like most Malawians; raised without electricity or running water like most Malawians; I stand here today because I had one of the blessings of God that young Malawians today do not: The blessing of growing up in a well-governed Malawi.
So I pledge to run Malawi well, for that is the surest path to Tsogolo Labwino, a path that has long been in ruins, riddled with the potholes of greed and corruption. In making this pledge, I am accepting this call to serve you with joy and holy fear, for I am duty bound to God and all of you to give it my best.
However, I know that there are many of you who did not vote for me in this election, and perhaps the prospect of my presidency fills you with fear and grief. But I want you to remember one thing: This new Malawi is a home for you too, and so long as I am its President, it will be a home in which you too will prosper. I only ask you for one thing in return: To give Dr. Chilima and I a chance to earn your trust and make this win a win for all of us. That is how we will fulfil the dream of Malawi Watsopano Okomela…TONSE. God bless you and God bless Malawi.
Malawi opposition leader wins election
Malawi opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera has been sworn in as the country’s new president after beating the incumbent Peter Mutharika in an historic rerun vote.
Acceptance speech by His Excellency Dr. Lazarus Mccarthy Chakawera, President of The Republic OF Malawi Reads:
My Fellow Citizens,
To stand before you as your President today is an honor.
It’s an honor that fills me with unspeakable joy and immense gratitude.
It’s an honor forged in the furnace of your desire and demand for change.
It’s an honor crafted by your hand when you braved the winter chill to cast your vote.
It’s an honor that has reignited the dream of our nation’s founders for a New Malawi.
When the founders of Malawi emerged from the womb of the great struggle that birthed our Independence in 1964, the dream was not merely for us to be freed from oppression. And when their children marched against the one-party state to birth our Democracy in 1993, the dream was not merely for us to be freed from tyranny.
The dream that binds us together is for us to enjoy shared prosperity, not just freedom. For of what use is freedom from oppression if you are a slave to starvation? Or freedom from colonialism if you are a slave to tribalism? Of what use is freedom from tyranny if you are a slave to poverty?
No! The dream was for all of us, together, to be the ones who enjoy the riches of Malawi’s soil; to be the ones who make the products of her industries; to be the ones who harvest the bounties of her fields; to be the ones who are served by her taxes; and to be the ones who raise the skylines of her cities.
Today, we too have emerged from great struggle and marched our sore feet towards this moment of victory and justice. But unlike our forebears, we have done so not just because we have a dream. We have done so because the time has come for us to go beyond dreaming. The time has come for us to arise from the slumber of our dream and make the dream true.
Dr. Chilima and I accept this challenge and task. We will pursuit it, not just as servants accountable to you voters, but as stewards of the hopes of millions of children, born and unborn, who have no vote. With your help, we will restore a new generation’s faith in the possibility of having a government that serves, not a government that rules; a government that inspires, not a government that infuriates; a government that listens, not a government that shouts; a government that fights for you, not against you.
Now, I am no stranger to the benefits of good government. Although I was raised in a poor village like most Malawians; raised without inherited riches or political connections like most Malawians; raised without electricity or running water like most Malawians; I stand here today because I had one of the blessings of God that young Malawians today do not: The blessing of growing up in a well-governed Malawi.
So I pledge to run Malawi well, for that is the surest path to Tsogolo Labwino, a path that has long been in ruins, riddled with the potholes of greed and corruption. In making this pledge, I am accepting this call to serve you with joy and holy fear, for I am duty bound to God and all of you to give it my best.
However, I know that there are many of you who did not vote for me in this election, and perhaps the prospect of my presidency fills you with fear and grief. But I want you to remember one thing: This new Malawi is a home for you too, and so long as I am its President, it will be a home in which you too will prosper. I only ask you for one thing in return: To give Dr. Chilima and I a chance to earn your trust and make this win a win for all of us. That is how we will fulfil the dream of Malawi Watsopano Okomela…TONSE. God bless you and God bless Malawi.
President of Senegal placed under quarantine
Senegalese president, His Excellency, Macky Sall, has been taken into isolation after he came in contact with a person who has tested positive for covid-19, a press release from the Office of the President of Senegal states.
He will be under isolation for two weeks at his private residence starting Wednesday 24 June, 2020, following medical recommendations.
The press release was signed by Seydou Guèye, the Communication Adviser of the President.
For now, the Senegalese Ministry of Health yesterday confirmed104 new cases of covid-19, bringing the country’s total number of infected persons to 6,233; 94 deaths, 4162 recovered, 1976 under treatment.
‘In a related development, Major Musa Diop, a senior official at the Ministry of the Interior in Dakar, Mbaye Ndiaye, Minister of State and his family as well as a member of parliament Yaya Diallo all tested positive of covid-19.’
Source___Point Newspaper
GAMBIA GOV’T TO LEGALISE SKIN BLEACHING
As part of his attempts at social engineering, former head of state Yahya Jammeh passed a law which came into effect on 1st January 1996 prohibiting the importation, sale, possession and use of skin bleaching in The Gambia.
Meanwhile, The Gambia government is trying to push through a bill at the National Assembly to amend that law and effectively legalise skin bleaching in the country.
The Skin Bleaching (Prohibition) Bill, 2020 had its first reading at parliament on Monday and will be tabled for a second reading by the attorney general on Thursday, 2nd July.
The bill according what is seen by The Standard outlined that the skin bleaching prohibition law was “found to be discriminatory against women and girls in The Gambia in furtherance of The Gambia’s international obligations and in line with the Constitution…”.
In its known objectives and reasons justifying the made of the skin bleaching prohibition law, the drafters noted: “This bill is the first of its kind in Africa for being the trailblazer for the recognition, observance and domestication of international obligations and commitments relating to women’s rights into domestic law. Since the enactment of the Women’s Act 2010, significant strides have been made to enforce the law and to protect women in line with the provisions of the Act. Section 25 of the Women’s Act recognized the need for periodic review of legislation every ten years to ensure further compliance with our international obligations as enshrined in the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw), and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Right on the Rights of Women in Africa. This amendment is intended to review and amend the provisions of this Act that are discriminatory against women as mandated by Section 25 of the Women’s Act.”
Source___Standard Newspaper
D5 Creation