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‘Overthrown” vaccine expert says US is cladding its ‘darkest winter’
A one time top US health official has told Congress the country could face its “darkest winter in modern history” because of the coronavirus.
Rick Bright guided the government agency in the verge of developing a vaccine, but was pulled out from his post last month.
Mr Bright says he was removed from the job after his refusal to advocate an untested drug treatment being proclaimed as a “game changer” by President Trump.
Mr Trump has declared Mr Bright is a “disgruntled” employee.
Mr Bright also told the House of Representatives subcommittee on health “lives were lost” because of government “inaction” in the early stages of the escalation.
*He said he first spoke out about a medical equipment shortage in January, raising the issue to the “highest levels” of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), but “got no response”.
During his testimony, Mr Bright warned that the US’s “window of opportunity” to deal with the coronavirus was “closing”.*
“If we fail to improve our response now, based on science, I fear the pandemic will get worse and be prolonged,” he said.
“Without better planning, 2020 could be the darkest winter in modern history.”
Mr Bright also explained to the subcommittee that in January he was sent an email he would “never forget”, from a distributor of medical-grade face masks who notified of a severe scarcity.
Source___BBC News
Nigerian Officials Putting their Signature on Loan Documents Written In Chinese Language, Lawmaker Claims
A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Ben Ibakpa has made insincere some Nigerian officials signed loan documents from China written in the Chinese language.
Mr Ibakpa said this on Thursday when he briefed on Channels Television’s breakfast show, Sunrise Daily, stating that the National Assembly is not beared along when the country takes loans from China.
He said that some Nigerian officials do not logically look into the loan documents before putting their signature, adding that, “Some of these documents come in the Chinese language”
According to the member representing Ethiope Federal Constituency, the National Assembly has been kept in dullness before now concerning the Chinese loans.
“The National Assembly is kept in the dark in all these loans. The National Assembly is not part of it. Even the Bureau for Public Procurement is not aware of these loans.
“These loans are collected via the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC). They bring a bill, the Federal executive approves the bill,” the lawmaker said.
While disclosing that the National Assembly may have made so serious mistakes in the past the years, he added that things need to be and can be corrected now.
Speaking regarding the 2020 budget, Ibakpa said little is known about how the money is been used.
“We are talking about over N2 trillion appropriated for debt servicing. We appropriate and we don’t know how this money is being spent. That is why we need to look into what has been happening since 2002.”
Source___Channels TV
Kano State in Nigeria Quarantines Over 2000 Almajiris
Kano state government in Nigeria has quarantined over 2000 Almajiris to restraint the escalation of COVID-19 in the state, the second focal point of the virus after Lagos State.
The Kano state Commissioner of Health Ibrahim Tsanyawa made this known to Channels Television that a team of quick response experts have been coached to manage the Almajiris at their quarantine centres.
Mr Tsanyawa made known that the trainees were chosen from medical doctors, nurses, community health workers and laboratory scientists to check and screen the Almajiris at their camps in Kiru, Gabasawa and Karaye Local Government Areas of the state.
Source___Channels TV
Senegal Records 110 New Cases of Covid-19
Senegalese Ministry of Health yesterday made known 110 cases of covid-19, bringing the country’s toll of infection to 2105; 22 deaths, 782 recoveries and 1301 under treatment and isolation.
Meanwhile, Lesotho, the latest African country to register a covid-19 case yesterday announced its first case, as Africa regroups 55 countries.
Source___The Point
Gambia gets covid-19 organics raft from Madagascar
The public is thereby enlightened that The Gambia has received a delivery of three boxes of Covid Organics from the President of the Republic of Madagascar, H.E, Andry Rajoelina.
The cargo is part of a gift to ECOWAS countries en route to the fight against COVID-19.
They have already been handed over to the Ministry of Health.
Source___The Point
Mai Fatty calls for re-opening of mosques
“Allow people to pray in mosques,” says Mai Ahmed Fatty, the secretary general of Gambia Moral Congress as he pleaded on the authorities to re-open mosques for people to have their congregation prayers highlighting that there is no dialectics to it closing down.
He made this known on a press conference on Wednesday at the party’s bureau along Kairaba Avenue.
In March this year, President Barrow make known a state of public emergency disallowing all public gatherings including the closure of religious institutions.
*The GMC leader added he was never in support of the idea of closing mosques as it lacks sense.*
Mai said markets are more populated than mosques yet business is normally in all the markets and are visited by large number of people on daily basis.
He said for the fact that social distancing proceedings are not impose at markets; mosques should be giving the same consideration suggesting a greater focus on providing sanitary materials for usage by worshippers.
*Mr. Fatty cited Senegal as an example where he claimed that one of the biggest mosques in the sub-region Touba remains open.*
“We have more covid-19 cases in Senegal than Gambia. In fact the number of deaths exceeds the number of total cases we have here,” he said. “But you go to Touba the biggest mosque in Senegal is open. That is the biggest mosque. It has never been closed. They perform five daily prayers there; it has not exponential resulted to a large case in Touba.”
“Touba has only three or four cases so far but the mosque is opened every day, and Senegal now the president has come to a decision that if you allow markets to operate you should do the same for mosques also. That’s why President Macky Sall two days ago has eased up and allowed people to go back to the mosques.”
Source___The Point
Babies killed in Afghan as gunmen storm Kabul maternity ward
Two babies and 12 mothers and nurses died in a militant attack on a hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday morning.
Another 15 people, inclusive of children, were injured in the attack by a number of gunmen, officials said.
Meanwhile, in the east, a bombing at a funeral killed at least 24 people.
In the rouse of the attacks, President Ashraf Ghani said he was putting forward the recommencement of offensive operations against the Taliban and other groups.
He indicted the militants of disregarding repeated calls for a drastic change in violence.
*The Islamic State (IS) group said it was behind the attack on a police commander’s funeral in Nangarhar, in the east of the country. It is still not clear who carried out the attack on the hospital, and the Taliban have denied any involvement.*
A maternity ward in the hospital is run by the international medical charity Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and some of those working there are foreigners.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the attack on the hospital “sheer evil” and an “unconscionable assault”. In a statement he urged the Afghan government and the Taliban to co-operate to “bring the perpetrators to justice”.
The attack began at about 10:00 (05:30 GMT), and locals reported hearing two blasts then gunfire. One doctor who fled during the attack told the BBC about 140 people were in the hospital when the gunmen attacked.
Source___BBC News
Russia now has second highest virus case toll after US
Russia has recorded 232,000 cases of coronavirus – the second highest toll in the world after the US.
In the last 24 hours the country has confirmed 10,899 infections, the tenth consecutive day that number has been above 10,000.
Among the infected is President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, local media report.
He is the newly high profile official to test positive, after Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin caught the illness.
The news comes the day after President Putin eased the country’s isolation. Factory and construction workers resumed to work on Tuesday, though Mr Putin gave regions freedom to set limitations depending on local situations.
In spite of the high number of recorded cases, Russia’s death toll is only 2,116 as of now.
*Government officials say the country’s mass testing programme is responsible for that low mortality rate, but many believe the number is in fact far higher.*
As of now, authorities in St Petersburg have put out a fire in an intensive care unit, which killed five coronavirus patients and forced the leaving of about 150 people.
Source___BBC News
Indian Pregnant student Safoora Zargar at danger in jail
The 27-year-old sociology student at the well known Jamia Milia Islamia university was taking a nap, her husband, who didn’t want to be named, told the BBC.
The couple had married 19 months ago, and Ms Zargar had find out just weeks earlier that she was pregnant.
“She’d been suffering from nausea and was generally feeling lethargic,” he said.
The officers told them they were from the “special cell” – the anti-terror wing of the Delhi police – and asked her to go with them to their office in central Delhi.
They said they wanted to ask her some questions about her taking part in protests against a disputed citizenship law that observers say is discriminatory towards Muslims.
At the police station Ms Zargar was asked several questions for several hours, and at 22:30 she was taking into custody. That was on Friday 10 April.
So for a month now, she’s been domiciled in Delhi’s congested Tihar jail – at a time when India is under a strict isolation to fight the coronavirus pandemic and the government’s own advisory says pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to the pandemic.
*Ms Zargar has been charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) – a draconian law that makes it nearly impossible for the accused to get bail.*
Since her arrest, she’s been given permission to make two to five-minute calls each to her husband and her lawyer. She has been repulsed both visits and letters on account of Covid-19 limitations.
Source___BBC News
EFCC Take Into Custody Two Chinese For handing out N100m Bribe To Top Officials
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has taken into custody two Chinese for handing out the sum of N100m as bribe to the Zonal head of the anti-graft agency in Sokoto State, Mr Abdullahi Lawal.
The agency made this known in a series of tweets on Tuesday, bearing in mind that the arrest was made on Monday in Sokoto.
As said by the EFCC, the sum was reportedly offered in a desolate bid to compromise ongoing investigations of a construction company, China Zhonghao Nig. Ltd, which was manipulating contracts awarded by the Zamfara State Government in the sum of N50,000,000,000.00 (fifty billion naira) between 2012 to 2019.
“The zonal office of the Commission is investigating the construction company, in connection with the execution of contracts for the construction of township roads in Gummi, Bukkuyun, Anka and Nassarawa towns of Zamfara state; and also the construction of one hundred and sixty-eight (168) solar-powered boreholes in the 14 local government areas of the state.
“Alarmed by the consistency and professionalism of investigation being conducted, the company reached out to Lawal with an offer of N100,000,000(One Hundred Million Naira) as bribe to “bury” the matter,” the statement read.
It, nonetheless, noted that in a magnificent design to get hold of the corrupt officials, Lawal played along.
“On Monday, two representatives of the company Meng Wei Kun and Xu Kuoi offered him cash totalling fifty million naira in their office along airport road, Sokoto. The cash was offered as a first installment”.
But the suspects were promptly arrested with the cash as evidence.
Source___Channels TV
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