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The Gambia Master’s graduate wins outstanding thesis award at Chinese university
Fatou Tijan Jobe, a Gambian master’s graduate from prominent Chinese university, has won the Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award.
Fatou was was studying Public Administration in International Development and Governance at the Tsinghua University, the alma mater of the current Chinese president, Xi Jinping.
‘Sponsored by the China Ministry of Commerce, Fatou centered her thesis around the influence of urbanization on informal settlement formation and the effects on public service access and delivery.’
In selecting outstanding thesis, a faculty recommends a few students after the thesis defense based on academic relevance and quality of writing.
The recommendations are then reviewed by the university thesis committee and the final decision is made regarding the final awardees.
The committee later finds her thesis the best among the lot.
Tsinghua University is recognize as one of the best universities worldwide, it was also rank 15 in 2020 global university rankings.
Source___Standard Newspaper
Tourism Ministry response to D38.5M scandal
The tourism ministry heard some rumours on social media that it has mismanaged over 38 million dalasis.
In a press statement concerning the rumours, the tourism ministry said that D38.5M were actually meant for construction of eco-lodges.
The statement state: “The Ministry of Tourism and Culture wishes to inform the public that rumours circulating on social media of a 38.5-million-dalasi scandal is totally false and unfounded. These amounts are part of funds set aside for the construction of five eco-lodges strategically located on the banks of The River Gambia, planned before the advent of Covid-19. The eco-lodges will be located in the North Bank Region; Kunkiling Forest Park, Central River Region, Sotuma Samba in the Upper River Region, Nyana Bantang and Arafat in the Central River Region. The process has already commenced, and the projects once completed will be visible to the public.
“The contract was processed and awarded by the Gambia Tourism Board following a vigorous bidding process. The Ministry therefore, disassociates itself with any form of misinformation geared towards personal defamation of character of credible and reputable personnel. The Ministry of Tourism and Culture is also not aware of the Save Tourism Stakeholders Association who seem to be keenly and maliciously pedalling false information online about senior staff and the disappearance of funds.
“The eco-lodges will have four-star comforts and will set the standards in up-country tourism facilities. Upon completion, the eco-lodges are expected to generate hundreds of direct and indirect employments to the youth and will further harness the tourism potential of The River Gambia, such as the use of river craft to access the eco-lodges in order to revive River transport.
“The public is also kindly invited to note that the GT Board Act grants administrative and financial autonomy to its independent Board of Directors and as a result, it is in no way controlled or managed by any individual.”
Source___Standard Newspaper
Gambia GOV’T ISSUES POSITION ON GAY RIGHTS
The Gambia government make known for the first time their position on the raging gay rights discussion in the country.
In a statement signed by spokesman Ebrima Sankareh yesterday, the Government stated that.
“In the wake of the simmering controversy surrounding gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) in The Gambia, The Government of President Adama Barrow wants to make it absolutely clear that neither President Barrow himself nor any member of his government, its envoy, agent or representative has ever signed, consented to, participated in or even pretended to support any deal, package, programme or agenda for the promotion of LGBT rights as is being falsely reported on news and various social media platforms. In fact, at no time had The Gambia Government ever been faced with the option to accept donor funds as bargaining chips or a conditionality for the relaxation of LGBT rights.
“Therefore, it is not only baffling but worrisome to hear some opposition and religious leaders engage in crude speculations or indulge in insinuations and wild innuendoes that cannot be substantiated. Since assuming office in 2017, President Adama Barrow has been working tirelessly to strengthening our democracy, upholding the rule of law and promoting the values of, press freedom, constitutional due process and the independence of the judiciary as evident in the most recent high-profile cases.
“Regrettably, some elements within society have seized this democratic space to sometimes indulge in malicious fabrications against the Government and then peddle these falsehoods on social media to potentially create confusion and distrust among citizens. We therefore urge the Gambian people to remain steadfast against the spread of misleading information and always with respect to Government actions, to verify their accuracy with the relevant authorities.”
Source___Standard Newspaper
Nigeria COVID-19 Infections Exceed 22, 000
Nigeria has confirmed another 649 new COVID-19 cases in the country as the toll of infections from the virus rose to 22, 020.
This was confirmed on Wednesday night by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
According to Nigeria’s health agency, new cases were reported in 21 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
Statistics from the NCDC shows that Lagos remains the epicentre of the virus with 250 cases, closely followed by Oyo State with 100 cases.
Similarly, Plateau and Delta both have 40 cases.
Other states with reported cases are Abia (28), Kaduna (27), Ogun (22), Edo (20), Akwa Ibom (18) and Kwara (17).
While Imo and Kano reported fewer cases with one each, Enugu recorded 14 cases, Niger and Adamawa both share 13 cases.
States with minimal cases include Bayelsa (7), Osun and Bauchi each having 6 cases, Anambra (4), Gombe (3) and Sokoto (2).
Nonetheless, the number of deaths increased from 533 reported on Tuesday to 542.
On the contrary, the number of discharged persons increased from 7, 338 to 7, 613.
Source___Channels TV
Man Taking into Custody For Allegedly Raping Three-Month-Old Baby In Nasarawa state Nigeria
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has taken into custody a 27-year-old man for allegedly Raping a three-month-old baby and three other minors in Nasarawa State.
NSCDC Deputy Commandant of the State Command, Bisi Olugboyega who paraded the suspect on Wednesday said the suspect, Adam Yaro, perpetrated the act on May 27.
According to Olugboyega, the victim who is his fourth was being defiled in Adogi community of Lafia East Development Area where he and other victims all reside.
Speaking to Channels Television, the suspect said he cannot explain how it happened, pleading for justice to be tempered with mercy.
“Me too I don’t know what made me begin such an act. I won’t do it again. It was the work of the devil that made me commit the act,” he said.
Meanwhile, the victim’s mother, Maimuna Aliyu wants the law to prevail.
Source___Channels TV
Three men are recently charged over death of Ahmad Arbery February
A bigger jury in the US state of Georgia has recently charged three white men in the killing of unarmed black man Ahmaud Arbery in February, officials say.
Travis McMichael, his son Greg, and William Bryan were indicted by Glynn County’s Grand Jury on charges including malice and felony murder.
Mr Arbery, 25, was jogging when he was shot dead during a push and pulling with the father and son on 23 February.
The occurrence in Brunswick was captured on a video, drawing a national outcry.
“This is another positive step, another great step for finding justice for Ahmaud, for finding justice for this family and the community beyond,” District Attorney Joyette Holmes said on Wednesday.
Reacting to the jury’s charged, Mr Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, told NBC Nightly News: “At this point I do believe the case is moving in the right direction.
Meanwhile, a lawyer for Mr Bryan, who filmed Mr Arbery’s death on his mobile phone, has maintained that his client was merely a witness.
Source___BBC
Tanzanian small scale miner becomes overnight millionaire
Tanzanian miner has become an overnight millionaire after selling two rough Tanzanite stones – the biggest ever find stone in centuries.
Saniniu Laizer earned £2.4m ($3.4m) from the country’s mining ministry for the gemstones, which had a combined weight of 15kg (33 lb).
“There will be a big party tomorrow,” Mr Laizer, a father of more than 30 children, told the BBC.
According to BBC, it is one of the rarest gemstones on Earth, and one local geologist estimates its supply may be entirely depleted within the next 20 years.
The precious stone’s appeal lies in its variety of hues, including green, red, purple and blue.
Its value is determined by rarity – the finer the colour or clarity, the higher the price.
Mr Laizer mined the stones, weighing 9.2kg and 5.8kg, last week, but he sold them on Wednesday during a trading event in the northern region of Manyara.
Until now the largest Tanzanite rock to be mined weighed 3.3kg.
President John Magufuli of Tanzania phoned in to congratulate Mr Laizer on the find.
Source___BBC
US racing driver awarded female speed record after dying from the crash in 2019
An American racing driver has been given the fastest land-speed record by a female, a feat she died trying to achieve.
Jessi Combs died in a crash after attempting to break the land-speed record in the Alvord Desert, Oregon, on 27 August 2019.
Her jet-powered car clocked a record speed of 522.783 mph (841.338 km/ph).
Guinness World Records has confirmed Ms Combs, 39, was the first person to break the record in more than 40 years.
The former record was set by American stuntwoman Kitty O’Neil, whose jet-powered, three-wheeled vehicle hit 512.7 mph in 1976 in the Alvord Desert.
Mr Madden wrote that “no record could ever be worth her not being here”.
“But it was a goal that she really wanted – and as hard as it is for me to even look at the car without crying. I’m so proud of her,” he added. “She woke up that morning to an alarm saying ‘lets make history’ and we had an absolutely amazing day.”
He and Ms Combs had a “heart to heart” about the run, which was supposed to be her last attempt at the record, Mr Madden wrote.
“That was to be the last time she ever got in that car,” Mr Madden wrote. “It has tore me apart that all I had to do was say let’s go and we would have left before that run.”
Ms Combs’s car crashed due to “a mechanical failure of the front wheel”, which was “most likely caused from striking an object on the desert”, a police investigation found.
Source___BBC
10 arrested for obstruction from the Driver’s Strike
The spokesperson of the Gambia Police Force has disclose the arrest of not less than ten people for obstruction as drivers embarked on a sit-down strike.
“I can confirm that ten individuals in the camp that is supporting the strike were arrested because they were obstructing other drivers who refused to observe the sit-down strike. They were trying to stop them which amounts to some form of obstruction and order related offences,” ASP Lamin Njie told The Standard.
He said seven people were arrested at Tabokoto and three at the Brusubi roundabout.
“They have been granted bail and the police are reviewing their case,” he added.
*Last week, Gambian commercial drivers issued a statement warning that they were going to embark on a sit-down strike unless government removed the limit on the number of passengers and identify car parks. They said the Covid-19 restrictions were hurting their livelihood.*
They gave the government a time limit to negotiate by Monday. The permanent secretary at the Ministry of Transport said the union’s grievances were genuine but will not be able to solve the problem through a quick fix.
The drivers taken into custody were detained at the Kanifing Police Station and later released on bail.
Source__Standard Newspaper
INTERNATIONAL HAJJ THIS YEAR CANCELLED
The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced that amid the escalation of the coronavirus pandemic and the risks of infections spreading in crowded spaces and large gatherings, it has been decided that hajj for this year will be held whereby a few number of pilgrims already residing in Saudi will perform it.
A statement from the ministry read: “The decision was taken to ensure hajj is performed in a safe manner from a public health perspective while observing all preventative measures and the necessary social distancing protocols to protect human beings from the risks associated with this pandemic and in accordance with the teachings of Islam in preserving the lives of human beings.
“The government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques…confirms that this decision stems from the top priority it accords maintaining the safety of pilgrims on its land until they depart to their home countries. We ask Allah the Almighty to protect all countries from this pandemic and keep all humans protected and safe.”
The amir-ul-hajj of The Gambia, Alhaji Dr Ousman Jah told The Standard that he was in receipt of the Saudi government proclamation but that the national hajj commission is yet to formally meet the relevant government authorities to table the talk about the issue.
Source___Standard Newspaper
D5 Creation