Featured News
now browsing by category
UK to Re-open European holidays from 6 July
Blanket limitations non-essential overseas travel will be eased in the UK from 6 July, ministers have said.
The traveler’s are expected to be allowed to travel to limited European countries without having to spend 14 days in quarantine when they return.
They are thought to include Spain, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium, Turkey, Germany and Norway – but not Portugal or Sweden.
The full list of travel corridors with the UK will be published next week.
A government spokesman said the new rules would give people “the opportunity for a summer holiday abroad” while also boosting the UK economy – but stressed the relaxation depended on risks staying low.
The travel sector has gone to war with the government over its blanket quarantine policy.
So a more nuanced, risk-based approach will quieten the critics to some extent.
But the storm of controversy swirling around this policy won’t completely go away.
Source___BBC
Graphic designer behind ‘I ♥ NY’ logo dies aged 91
Milton Glaser, the well known American graphic designer who created the “I ♥ NY” logo, has died aged 91.
Made for a 1977 tourism campaign, the logo gained recognition across the world and has been described as the most frequently imitated in history.
Glaser later said he was “flabbergasted by what happened to this little, simple nothing of an idea”.
The cause of his death was a stroke, his wife Shirley told the New York Times.
Glaser was born in the Bronx borough of New York City in 1929. He studied at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a college in Manhattan, and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna, Italy.
In 1954, Glaser set up Push Pin Studios with three Cooper Union classmates and helped bring a new visual language to commercial art, seeking inspiration from everything from Art Nouveau to Chinese wash drawing, German woodcuts, and the cartoons of the 1930s.
His poster of Bob Dylan featured a silhouette of the musician based on a self-portrait by Marcel Duchamp and brightly coloured locks of hair borrowed from Islamic art. The poster was included in Dylan’s 1967 album Greatest Hits, which was bought by six millions fans, and adorned countless walls.
Source___BBC
US Continue to be more affected with Covid-19 escalation than any other country in the world.
Health experts in the US call for urgent action after a record number of new cases were confirmed on Friday
Top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci says there is “a serious problem” – but Vice-President Mike Pence hails “progress”
The US has more than 2.4 million confirmed infections and at least 125,000 people have died – more than any other country
Meanwhile, the number of reported cases in India has surged to more than 500,000
Restrictions on some non-essential overseas travel will be relaxed in the UK from 6 July
More than 9.8 cases and 494,000 deaths worldwide – Johns Hopkins University
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
D5 Creation