By Amie T. Camara

Afrinity Production confidently disclose the calling of prominent rights group on the European Union to reconsider its cooperation with Libya over “horrific abuses” being committed against refugees and migrants in the North African country.

In a new report published on thursday, Amnesty International criticised the EU and its member states for supporting the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) and its coastguard in its efforts to intercept refugees and migrants at sea and take them back to Libya.

Oil-rich Libya has become a key route for refugees and migrants wanting to reach Europe in the chaotic years since the 2011 overthrow and killing of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising.

The International Organization for Migration and many others have long warned that it is not safe for migrants to be returned to the conflict-ridden country.

“Instead of being protected, they are met with a catalogue of appalling human rights abuses,” said Diana Eltahawy, deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

“Even in 2020, the EU and its member states continue to implement policies trapping tens of thousands of men, women and children in a vicious cycle of abuse,” she added.

“The EU and its member states must completely reconsider their cooperation with Libyan authorities, making any further support conditional on immediate action to stop horrific abuses against refugees and migrants.”

In its report, Amnesty also provided detailed accounts of cases involving the unlawful killings of migrants and refugees in Libya, as well as enforced disappearances, torture, rape, arbitrary detention and “forced labour and exploitation at the hands of state and non-state actors in a climate of near-total impunity”.

Source___BBC

By Amie T. Camara

Afrinity Production disclose to you the charges put forward in the death of a black woman who was killed while sleeping at her apartment in Kentucky.

The city of Louisville, Kentucky, will pay $12 million to the family of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman shot dead by police in a botched raid on her apartment in March, to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit, Mayor Greg Fischer said on Tuesday.

The settlement will be accompanied by reforms of the Louisville Metro Police Department, including a requirement that commanders approve search warrants before they are put to a judge, Fischer said at a news conference, alongside Taylor’s family.

“I’m deeply, deeply sorry for Breonna’s death,” Fischer told reporters. “My administration is not waiting to move ahead with needed reforms to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again.”

Taylor’s shooting by police serving a narcotics warrant at her home has sparked months of protests in Louisville and calls nationwide for the officers to be charged in her death. The state’s attorney general, Daniel Cameron, is investigating police actions in the March 13 shooting.

The lawsuit, filed in April by her mother, Tamika Palmer, alleged the police used flawed information when they obtained a “no-knock” warrant to enter the Black woman’s apartment in March. Taylor, 26, was shot multiple times and police found no drugs at her home.

The suit accused three Louisville police officers of blindly firing into Taylor’s apartment the night of the March raid, striking Taylor several times. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, was in the apartment with her and fired a single shot that struck an officer in the leg. Walker said he did not hear police announce themselves and said he thought he was guarding against an intruder.

“We won’t let Breonna Taylor’s life be swept under the rug,” said Ben Crump, an attorney for Taylor’s family, on Tuesday.

Source___Aljazeera

Congratulations Your Excellency Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki and the people of Edo state, thanks for your tenacity, steadfastness and consistent courage to defeat godfatherism in Edo state Nigeria 🇳🇬.

By Amie T. Camara

Afrinity Production disclose the National Assembly Members (NAMs) yesterday’s vote for or against the Promulgation bill 2020, which will require 44-member to let it go for referendum in January 2021.

According to Point, If the Yes-vote is less than 44 out of the 57 legislators, then the Bill will be rejected – meaning another opportunity will not be given to hold the referendum.

The National Assembly has 53 elected members with five being nominated by the President, bringing the total number to 58. Out of 53 elected lawmakers, one has passed away in January 2020 with his seat being vacant until today.

Nonetheless, it is important to note that the speaker is not eligible to vote.

In the Assembly, UDP has 23 MPs, 9 independent MPs, 4 from PDOIS, 5 from the former ruling party, 5 from NRP, 4 from GDC and 2 from PPP.

Source___The Point Newspaper

By Amie T. Camara

Afrinity Production came to about the unusual summer in India. Its movie-obsessed millions have had to do without trips to the beloved cinema ever since theatres closed in March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

But there’s been some relief for families cooped up indoors as streaming platforms stepped up to fill the void.

A slew of films have already skipped theatrical releases to slash losses and, instead, hit the small screen. More and more A-list actors are now willing to embrace roles on originals by Netflix, Amazon’s Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar. And the pandemic, to the growing frustration of cinema owners, has hastened a process that was already underway – the shrinking gap between the small and big screen in India.

The result: Bollywood, according to film journalist Aseem Chhabra, “has had to scramble, adjust and, in some cases, compromise.”

In June, the first film to release online was Gulabo Sitabo, a quirky satire steered by one of Bollywood’s biggest stars, Amitabh Bachchan. Then came Shakuntala Devi, a much-anticipated biopic on an Indian math wizard; Gunjan Saxena, a film inspired by India’s first female pilot; and Sadak 2, a highly awaited sequel to a 1991 thriller.

For these cinema-bound movies, streaming platforms weren’t just the only option – they were the obvious choice.

Known for subversive and edgy content that film censor boards would balk at, streaming platforms had already built a strong belt of young and urban viewers, many of whom question Bollywood’s musical spectacles or tired tropes.

“Many learned that streaming isn’t just the future – it’s also the present,” Monika Shergill, Vice-President of Netflix India content, said.

Source__BBC

By Amie T. Camara

Afrinity Production disclose to you the surge in Corona Virus which have a million people in and around the Spanish capital on Monday under new “stay-at-home” orders to contain it’s escalation, as the US death toll neared 200,000.

But unlike other nations that are tightening curbs to battle outbreaks, India pressed ahead with its measures to kickstart its battered economy, reopening the Taj Mahal and some schools on Monday — despite having the second-highest caseload in the world.

The restrictions in Madrid will last for two weeks starting Monday, affecting people living mainly in densely populated, low-income neighbourhoods who will be allowed only to travel for essential reasons such as work, medical care or taking children to school.

On Sunday, people took to the streets in some of the affected districts in protest against the new measures.

They sported placards reading “No to a class-based lockdown” or “They’re destroying our district and now they’re locking us up”.

“We think that they are laughing at us a little bit,” said nurse Bethania Perez, as hundreds protested against the measure.

“We will still be able to go to work, and go into other areas that are not under lockdown, where we might be able to raise the infections and also still be vulnerable to infections in our own area.”

Authorities in Spain — among the worst-hit nations in the world — have insisted the step is necessary because virus cases in those districts were much higher than the national average.

Authorities in Spain — among the worst-hit nations in the world — have insisted the step is necessary because virus cases in those districts were much higher than the national average.

Global coronavirus infections are rapidly approaching 31 million, with more than 958,000 deaths.

Sources___Reuters, Channels TV

By Amie T. Camara

Afrinity Production unveil to you the demise of Michael Lonsdale, the British-French actor with a far-ranging film and theatre career but most widely recognised as the villain opposite James Bond in “Moonraker”, died on Monday aged 89, his agent told AFP.

Lonsdale, who was bilingual, chalked up more than 200 roles over a six-decade career, equally at ease in experimental arthouse productions as in big-budget crowd-pleasers.

With his silky yet imposing voice and a distinctive goatee, Lonsdale often served up memorable performances that stuck with viewers even when only in minor roles.

His agent, Olivier Loiseau, said he had died at his home in Paris, the city where he was born on May 24, 1931, to an English military officer and a French mother.

Arguably the highlight of his career came when he played a Trappist monk in “Of Gods and Men” in 2010.

Based on true events, the film tells the story of seven French monks who were murdered after being kidnapped from their monastery in Algeria in 1996 during the country’s civil war.

For the role Lonsdale won his first and only Cesar award — France’s version of the Oscars — for best supporting actor in 2011.

Yet for millions of people he was the sadistic industrialist Hugo Drax in the 1979 Bond film “Moonraker” starring Roger Moore, with a plan to destroy Earth’s population with nerve gas while he escaped into space.

Source___BBC

By Amie T. Camara

Afrinity Production make known to you the All Progressives Congress’s (APC) congratulations to Governor Godwin Obaseki on his re-election as the governor of Edo State.

The chairman of the APC national caretaker committee, Mai Mala Buni said in a statement that the peaceful conduct of the election and its outcome represents a victory for Nigeria’s democracy.

According to Channels TV, he said the party and the president remain committed to free and fair elections to strengthen the foundation of the country’s political and moral authority.

He commended INEC, security agencies, and all political parties that contested the election for the successful conduct of the election.

He also commended the party’s flagbearer Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu for his tenacity and leadership while appreciating the efforts of the immediate past national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, and other members for demonstrating unwavering support for the party and its candidate in the election.

Governor Buni added that it is time to unite to move the country’s democracy forward and put an end to the era when the electoral contest becomes warfare.

Source___Channels TV

By Amie T. Camara

Afrinity Production make known you the eviction of Tricky T from the Big Brother Naija lockdown season.

After weeks of being nominated and saved, his run in the BBN house finally came to an end on Sunday night.

Tricky T winning the hearts of many with his personality which many described as easy-going, humble and sometimes comedic, has returned home.

Channels TV speaking with Ebuka, he said he was grateful for his journey so far and is looking forward to more “hustle”. He also said he would pursue a career in filmmaking and also build on his music career.

With just about a few days to the show’s finale, the suspense over who would make it to the finals and who would win the season has reached fever pitch.

The winner will go home with the grand prize of N85 million.

Source___Channels TV

By Amie T. Camara

Afrinity Production unveil the victory of Mr Godwin Obaseki of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in defeating Mr Osagie Ize-Iyamu, to win a second term as governor of Edo State.

Governor Obaseki was returned elected by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after polling the highest number of votes in the keenly-contested poll.

INEC Returning Officer for the poll, Professor Akpofure Rem-Rukeh, declared the governor as the winner on Sunday at the office of the electoral umpire in Benin City, which doubled as the final collation centre.

“That Godwin Obaseki of PDP having satisfied the requirements of the law in meeting the 25 per cent in two-third of the local government areas in the state and having a margin of lead higher than the cancelled votes is hereby declared the winner and returned elected,” Professor Rem-Rukeh who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Petroleum Resources, stated.

The governor secured 307,955 of the total votes, 84,336 more votes than his closest rival Ize-Iyamu, who got 223, 619 votes.

A total of 14 political parties fielded candidates to jostle for the office of the governor in the state.

Source___Channels TV