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265 Nigerians To Reach Lagos From Dubai Today– Foreign Ministry

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has said 265 Nigerians will reach in Lagos from Dubai on Wednesday amidst the coronavirus outbreak

In a breifing on Tuesday, ministry spokesperson, Ferdinand Nwonye, said the Emirates Airlines assigned with the transport is put forward to arrive at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

Over 4,000 Nigerians are waiting to be vacated across the world back home, foreign affairs minister, Geoffrey Onyeama said on Monday.

“Discussions are also ongoing with British Airways to evacuate 300 Nigerians from London on Friday.”

To add more, arrangements are being made with Ethiopian airlines to evict Nigerians from New York to Abuja next Monday, the foreign ministry said.

The ministry added that the Dubai vacated are being carried out in line with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) guidelines.

Evacuees will be put to undergo a obligatory 14-day handled quarantine environment.

The ministry said it has put in place hotel for accommodations in Lagos and Abuja, which will be used to quarantine the incoming citizens.

The hotels have been inspected by the “Port Health Services, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Office of the National Security Adviser, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and IPC,” the foreign ministry said.

Source___Channels TV

U.S. Supreme Court to review overseas anti-AIDS funding curtailments

The Supreme Court on Tuesday is set to consider arguments over whether a U.S. law infringe constitutional free speech rights by requiring overseas associates of American-based nonprofit groups that seek federal funding for HIV/AIDS assistance to explicitly adopt a bearing against prostitution and sex trafficking.

“The case is the second in which the nine justices will hear arguments by teleconference following Monday’s debut of the call-in format prompted by the coronavirus pandemic in a trademark dispute involving hotel reservation website Booking.com.

President Donald Trump’s administration is alluring a 2018 ruling by the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of non-profit organizations that declined a provision of the 2003 law as a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.

Organizations including the Alliance for Open Society International, Pathfinder International, InterAction and the Global Health Council challenged the constitutionality of the measure.

The Trump administration claimed that foreign entities like those associated with the nonprofits do not have free speech rights that can be put forward in U.S. courts and that the rights of the American groups therefore were not tampered with.

“The law, enacted under Republican former President George W. Bush, intended to bar funding for organizations that operate programs overseas but do not have a blanket policy opposing prostitution and sex trafficking. The United States has spent billions of dollars to fight HIV/AIDS overseas.”

Source___ WASHINGTON (Reuters)

Nigeria Confirms 245 New Cases, Toll of Infections Now 2802

Nigeria has confirmed 245 new cases of the novel coronavirus, taking the country’s Toll of infections to 2,802.

According to a tweet by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Monday, the total deaths are now 93 while the total discharged are 417.

The nine cases that were previously made known as discharged cases in Nigeria, were confirmed in error. So for now, there are 417 cases that have been discharged

One case reported in Nasarawa in Nigeria was a repeat test. The state has a total of 11 confirmed cases at the moment.

Source___Channels TV

Coronavirus Death Toll Top 250,000 As Billions Raised Aloft For A Vaccine Push

Global deaths from the coronavirus escalated and topped a quarter-million on Monday, mainly in the US and Europe even as both regions steadily moved away from lockdown and world leaders garnered billions towards a vaccine.

An AFP result of official figures showed that Europe is the hardest-hit continent with around 145,000 fatalities, and the United States recorded close to 68,700 — together accounting for more than 85 percent of global fatalities.

An internal government approximated in Washington forecasts an even aggravating number of fatalities for the country. It said the daily COVID-19 death toll could double by the end of May.

In Europe, though, governments percive they have passed the point of the disease with deaths in the continent’s worst affected countries, drastically dropped as a result of nearly two months of restrainment.

Restaurants in Italy partly reopened and Germans lined up for haircuts in a Europe encompassing cautiously out of lockdown.

“Half of the planet has been under orders to shelter in place, and much of the world remained cautious even as countries from India to Nigeria sought to ease restrictions so that businesses can remain afloat and workers earn a wage after the pandemic-induced economic crash.”

Update___Channels TV

Hotel attendant stabs guest to death over N1,200

An attendant at a makeshift inn in Whitesand, Ijora-Badia area of Lagos State, Emmanuel Ben, has been taken to police custody for alleged murder of a customer identified only as White London.

Ben reportedly stabbed the 25-year-old man with a knife during an argument over N1, 200.

City Round learnt that White London had gone to the inn around 11am on February 8 with his lover to have fun and was charged N1,200 for a room.

He reportedly agreed and promised to settle the bill when he returned from the room with the lover.

Our correspondent gathered that about an hour after, White London emerged from the room but refused to pay for the service as agreed, leading to an argument between him and the attendant.

They allegedly slugged it out with each other during which 21-year-old Emmanuel knifed him in the stomach.

A resident of the area, who identified himself simply as George, said the incident caused a commotion in the neighbourhood and a distress call was put across to the police from the Ijora Division.

He said White London bled to death at the spot before policemen from the Ijora Division arrived at the scene.

“Many people were woken up by the uproar from the scene. I didn’t come out because it was too late and I would not want to be caught up in the fracas. I peeped outside from my window and I could hear, ‘oti ku’ (He is dead). Some minutes later, some policemen arrived in their van.

“It was the following morning I knew what led to the fight. I learnt the man (White London) came to the inn with his girlfriend and when they were done, he refused to pay for the service. The attendant charged him N1, 200 but he was not willing to pay. He (Ben) stabbed him while they were fighting.”

But a resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said White London was haggling with Ben over the bill when the fight ensued.

“It was not as if the man did not want to pay for the service but he wanted to have a cut from the N1, 200 the attendant demanded. The attendant declined and that was when the argument started.

“Immediately the incident happened, the attendant wanted to flee but he was held by some vigilance men who handed him over to the police. The deceased was not a resident there but many people knew him as White London,” the resident recalled, adding that the hotel had been shut.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Bala Elkana, who confirmed the incident, stated that the corpse had been deposited at the Mainland General Hospital morgue for an autopsy.

He said, “At attendant at a hotel in a shanty in White Sand, Ijora-Badia, stabbed a guest popularly known as White London to death with a knife. The misunderstanding was caused by non-payment of N1, 200 lodging fee by the deceased whose real name is still unknown.

“The police have arrested the suspect and the knife reportedly used for the crime was recovered at the scene. Investigation is ongoing.”

Kizito Mihigo: The Rwandan gospel singer who died in a police cell

Rwandan gospel singer Kizito Mihigo was at one time hailed as a great national talent but then he was accused of being a traitor. He was recently found dead, at the age of 38, in a police cell. The BBC’s Great Lakes Service looks back at his life.

With his signature crucifix dangling around his neck and his patient demeanour, Kizito, as he was popularly known, resembled a priest rather than one of the most popular performers in the country.

Like a priest, he felt he had a mission to promote peace in a country scarred by slaughter, but it was this mission that is widely seen as having eventually landed him in trouble with the authorities.

He was initially embraced by the government. His concerts drew tens of thousands of fans, from all walks of life, who appreciated his message offering hope for the future.

But his journey from superstar to pariah was swift.

Influenced by his father, who composed liturgical music, his songs echoed the sounds heard in Catholic worship.

But in 1994, at the age of 12, he lost his father, as well as other relatives, in the Rwandan genocide, in which about 800,000 people, ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were murdered by Hutu extremists.

Profoundly affected by what had happened, Kizito, an ethnic Tutsi, made reconciliation a central message of his work once he became a performer.

Born in 1981, Mihigo was the third child in a family of six. He grew up in Kibeho, southern Rwanda, an area that became a pilgrimage site after several schoolchildren there saw apparitions of the Virgin Mary in the 1980s.

It was in this religious context that the future gospel star grew up.

He fled to neighboring Burundi in the wake of the genocide and was reunited with surviving members of his family.

They returned home once the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), the mainly Tutsi rebel movement led by the current President Paul Kagame, had taken power.

Born in 1981, Mihigo was the third child in a family of six. He grew up in Kibeho, southern Rwanda, an area that became a pilgrimage site after several schoolchildren there saw apparitions of the Virgin Mary in the 1980s.

It was in this religious context that the future gospel star grew up.

He fled to neighbouring Burundi in the wake of the genocide and was reunited with surviving members of his family.

They returned home once the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), the mainly Tutsi rebel movement led by the current President Paul Kagame, had taken power.

‘Trailblazer’

An initial plan to join the army and take vengeance for the death of his father did not work out as he was turned away. But then, at 14, he enrolled in the Karubanda Minor Seminary, where his musicianship was nurtured.

“I will remember him as a very talented musician who gave people joy, who was a trailblazer in composing and singing,” school friend Jean de Dieu Sibomana told the BBC.

In his second year at the seminary, Kizito became the school’s chief organist ahead of some more senior students and led an elite choir, which entered competitions across the country.

Eventually, his talent was recognised by President Kagame who awarded him a scholarship to study at the prestigious Conservatoire de Paris.

 

Gunjur-Berending scuffle, murder suspect arrested

Police have arrested Buba Drammeh who is accused of killing Buba Jammeh, a former staff of Brikama Area Council (BAC) during a communal land dispute between the people of Gunjur and Berending in March 2019.

Police spokesperson, ASP Lamin Njie, confirmed the development on the police Facebook page. ASP Njie says the suspect is currently under custody helping investigators on their investigation.

The suspect, he went on, was arrested by personnel of the Anti-Crime Unit of The Gambia Police Force.

‘Buba Drammeh is arrested in connection with the Gunjur-Berending shooting incident which led to the death of Mr. Jammeh.’

The office of the IGP, he added, wishes to commend efforts of members of the public for providing vital information leading to the suspect’s arrest.

“The public will be duly informed about the outcome of investigations and individuals with relevant information about the incident are encouraged to come forward to assist with investigations.”

SOURCE POINT NEWSPAPER

Ingrid Escamilla: Hundreds protest against woman’s brutal murder

Hundreds of people gathered in Mexico City on Friday to protest against the murder of a young woman.

Ingrid Escamilla, 25, was stabbed to death allegedly by a man she lived with, who then mutilated her body in an attempt to hide the evidence.

Forensic workers leaked images of her corpse, and a local newspaper has been criticised for published one of these pictures on its front page.

Femicide, the gender-based killing of women, is on the rise in Mexico.

More than 700 cases are currently being investigated, but activists say the number of women killed because of their gender is much higher.

The protesters, most of them women, moved through the Mexican capital holding placards calling for “responsible journalism,” and chanting slogans like “not one more murder”.

The group initially gathered outside of the city’s National Palace, where President Andrés Manuel López Obrador lives with his family.

“It seems to me the president has evaded the issue constantly,” one protester, Alejandro Castillo, told Reuters news agency.

“It is not a personal issue against him. We believe he has the possibility of raising several things on the agenda and has not done so.”

Demonstrators later marched through heavy rain to the offices of La Prensa, the newspaper that published grisly images of Ms Escamilla body with the headline ‘It was cupid’s fault”.

At least one vehicle belonging to the newspaper was set on fire, and several protesters clashed with security forces who tried to stop them from entering the newspaper’s offices.

La Prensa, in response to public criticism, has stood by its decision but said it was open to discussions about adjusting its editorial standards beyond legal requirements.

Earlier this month, many Mexicans flooded social media with photos of wildlife and natural landscapes, using the hashtag #IngridEscamilla to drown out the photos of her body circulating online.

Her murder has shocked the country, but is only the latest in a string of slayings that have brought the issue of femicide into public debate.

Last year a record high of 3,825 women were killed in Mexico, according to official figures – up 7% from 2018.

Activists are critical of the fact that the vast majority of cases are never solved and only a tiny percentage of perpetrators are brought to justice.

President López Obrador – when asked about the classification of femicides – has previously accused media outlets of “manipulating” the issue.

But as protesters gathered outside the National Palace on Friday, he told reporters he was “not burying [his] head in the sand.

“The government I represent will always take care of ensuring the safety of women,” the president added.

FROM BBC NEWS

Griveaux Paris race: Sex video prompts Macron ally to step down

 

A sex video has ended French ruling party candidate Benjamin Griveaux’s hopes of becoming mayor of Paris.

The ex-spokesman for President Emmanuel Macron’s government, who was already trailing in the race, was apparently targeted by a Russian protest artist accusing him of hypocrisy.

“No-one should be subjected to such abuse,” said Mr Griveaux, 41.

The video, showing a man in a compromising position, quickly spread on social media late on Thursday.

Petr Pavlensky, who sought asylum from Russia in 2017, said he had posted the video online.

Opponents from across France’s political spectrum voiced their outrage.

Incumbent Mayor Anne Hidalgo appealed for respect for people’s private lives, while far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon condemned the attack as “odious”. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe expressed his support for his former colleague.

The video appeared on a little known website that featured a profile of Mr Griveaux’s political ambitions and his “fanatical faith in family values”. It then alleged that Mr Griveaux had exchanged intimate mobile phone messages with a young woman and sent her a personal video.

A link to the site was shared by an MP who was forced to resign from Mr Macron’s LREM (Republic on the Move) party in late 2018.

Mr Griveaux told the BFMTV news channel that for the past year he and his family had been subjected to “defamatory remarks, lies, rumours, anonymous attacks… and even death threats”.

My family doesn’t deserve this. I’m not prepared to expose my family and myself any more when all these attacks are allowed. This goes too far

“This torrent of mud has affected me and above all hurt the people I love.”

Mr Griveaux’s lawyer said he would press charges over the publication of the video, which he said violated the right to a private life.

Who is Petr Pavlensky?

Mr Pavlensky, who says he posted the video online, first gained notoriety by nailing his scrotum to Moscow’s Red Square in 2013. He fled Russia and sought asylum in France when he was accused by the authorities of a sexual assault that he denied.

He served seven months in jail for setting the front door of the FSB intelligence agency on fire in Moscow. He later caused minor damage to a Banque de France branch by setting that alight.

He told French news channel LCI that Mr Griveaux was only the first politician that he would target: he had only just begun, he claimed. Politicians had to be honest and he said he would carry on fighting the “propaganda and puritanism of politicians”.

Is this bad news for Macron?

Mr Griveaux was not favourite to win the mayoral race in March, but he has been a very close ally of the president and his political demise is inevitably an embarrassment for the president, the BBC’s Hugh Schofield reports from Paris.

He was trailing in third place, his campaign hampered by a dissident Macronite candidate called Cédric Villani.

Ms Hidalgo, the current Socialist mayor, is leading in the polls, ahead of Republicans candidate Rachida Dati.

Mr Macron came to power in 2017 and his new LREM party secured a majority in the National Assembly. However, the party has seen a spate of defections in recent months and now has only 299 MPs in the National Assembly, down from 314 three years ago.

LREM is expected to have poor local election results next month, but its majority in parliament is safe because of its alliance with the MoDem party.

NIGERIANS IN DIASPORA AWARDS – THE GAMBIA

NIGERIANS IN DIASPORA AWARDS – THE GAMBIA at the Ocean Bay Resort in Cape Point, on Saturday 23rd of November 2019 at 8pm.

A memorable night celebrating the brotherhood between The Gambia and Nigeria.

This event will have in attendance top Nigerian professionals who have contributed immensely to the legal, education, medical, commerce, diplomatic and military fields among many others in the Republic of The Gambia. Nigerians have rendered their support to this nation through the Federal Government Technical Aid Programme as well as through other formal and informal bodies.

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