PARTIES CLASH OVER REJECTION OF DRAFT CONSTITUTION

By Amie T. Camara

Afrinity Production make known to you the rejection made by Gambian political parties concerning the draft constitution.

According to Standard, at least six political parties have reacted to the sensational rejection of the draft constitution at its second reading at the National Assembly after it failed to secure the backing of 42 members.

A total of 23 lawmakers yesterday voted against the draft constitution after days of debate that will be remembered for its bitter wrangling.

A ‘YES’ vote would have paved the way for a referendum and possibly a new constitution that could give birth to a new Gambian republic.

UDP

In his reaction, the spokesperson of the United Democratic Party Almamy Taal said the 1997 constitution was perfectly designed for “a day like this where the majority will want one thing but the small minority will scuttle that process. If 50+1 was the threshold in the 1997 constitution, this constitution would have passed but now everybody has seen it. All the political parties are on one side apart from the APRC and NRP and the MPs that were expelled from the UDP one side making a lot of noise.”

GDC

The Gambia Democratic Congress leader, Mamma Kandeh said the decision of the lawmakers who rejected the draft acted based on politics and not national interest.

“It is very disappointing that the lawmakers have rejected the draft. But this is not a surprise to me because, frankly, there is no transition because the government has never taken the reforms very seriously. It is very sad that we have spent D116 million in vain,” he said.

APRC

The APRC spokesperson Musa Amul Nyassi said: “When I said I was going to reject the draft constitution I meant it. I am glad some of my colleagues at the chamber have listened and they tried to find out why I came up with that conclusion and thank God when they followed the concerns, they came back to me to say there is nothing that will make them pass this draft.

GMC

The leader of the Gambia Moral Congress, Mai Ahmad Fatty said: “As expected, the bill has been rejected by a negative vote of 23, with 3 abstentions. Some 116 million Dalasi just thrown into the toilet by 23 MPs, along with more than money’s worth. The draft will not proceed and the 1997 Constitution rules. I am bereft of words.

Source___ Standard News Paper

By Amie T. Camara

Afrinity Production make known to you the United State’s drastic increasing in the pandemic, surpassing 200,000 deaths on Wednesday from the coronavirus, is indeed a record-breaking wave of new infections which forces authorities in Europe to reimpose lockdown restrictions.

The world’s most powerful nation hit the figure just 41 days before a presidential election, and as the World Health Organization warned that new cases worldwide have risen to record highs.

US President Donald Trump — who faces a tough re-election fight and is trailing Democrat Joe Biden in the polls — said the 200,000 milestone was “a shame” and deflected blame onto China.

Trump used a video address to the annual United Nations General Assembly to attack Beijing for not stopping the spread of what he called the “China virus.”

“We must hold accountable the nation which unleashed this plague onto the world — China,” he told the UN’s diplomatic showcase event, which is being held almost entirely online because of the pandemic.

Trump has repeatedly played down the seriousness of the coronavirus crisis, even as the United States has suffered one of the world’s highest death tolls.

According to an AFP tally, worldwide more than 31 million people have been infected and nearly 962,000 have died from Covid-19 since the virus emerged in the eastern Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

The World Health Organization reported late Monday that almost two million infections were recorded around the globe in the single week to September 20.

Source___Reuters

By Amie T. Camara

Afrinity Production unveil to you the Wednesday tanker explosion in one of the state’s in Nigeria that have killed at least 23 persons and many others injured.

According to Channels TV, over five vehicles were completely burnt in the road crash and eyewitnesses say some of the victims include students of Kogi Polytechnic.

Confirming the casualty figure to Channels Television, the sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Kogi State, Idris Fika says at least 23 bodies have been pulled from the wreckage.

The accident occurred after a truck laden with Premium Motor Spirit lost control following a brake failure and rammed into five other oncoming vehicles.

Eyewitnesses however say over 50 people may have been killed in the blaze, including some residents who were waiting to board commercial vehicles by the roadside.

As at the time of this report, there is tension around the area, after law enforcement officials left the scene, with students of nearby Kogi Polytechnic protesting the frequent road accidents in the area.

Reacting to the explosion, the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, expressed shock and sorrow.

Source___Channels TV

By Amie T. Camara

Afrinity Production unveil the undergoing plans of Britain to host clinical trials where volunteers are deliberately infected with the new coronavirus to test the effectiveness of vaccine candidates, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people involved in the project.

So-called “challenge trials” are expected to begin in January at a quarantine facility in London, the report said, adding that about 2,000 participants had signed up through a US-based advocacy group, 1Day Sooner.

Britain said it was working with partners on the potential for human challenge trials without commenting on a specific plan.

“We are working with partners to understand how we might collaborate on the potential development of a COVID-19 vaccine through human challenge studies,” a government spokeswoman said.

“These discussions are part of our work to research ways of treating, limiting and hopefully preventing the virus so we can end the pandemic sooner.”

The FT reported that the studies will be government-funded, although 1Day Sooner said it would also launch a petition for public funding of a biocontainment facility big enough to quarantine 100 to 200 participants.

Open Orphan, a pharmaceutical services company cited in the FT report, confirmed in a statement early on Thursday that it is in “advanced negotiation with the UK Government and other partners for a coronavirus challenge study in the UK”.

“There can be no certainty that these discussions will lead to a new contract,” it added.

Imperial College London, cited by the FT as the academic lead on the trials, did not confirm the report.

“Imperial continues to engage in a wide range of exploratory discussions relating to COVID-19 research, with a variety of partners,” a spokeswoman said, asked about the possibility of challenge trials.

Any trials conducted in the UK would have to be approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the healthcare regulator which looks into safety and protocol.

Source___Aljazeera

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