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India gas leak: No less than eight dead after Visakhapatnam accident
Eight instant death, with hundreds of others taken ill, after a gas leak in south India.
The leak, in the city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state, has been traced to the LG Polymers plant.
“Doctors say “hundreds” of people have been taken to hospital – many complaining of a burning sensation in the eyes and difficulties breathing.”
The occurrence, which took place around 03:00 local time (21:30 GMT), may have been due to carelessness, officials say.
The leak crop up when the plant was being re-opened for the first time since 24 March when India went into lockdown to restraint the spread of coronavirus.
The state Industries Minister Goutam Reddy told BBC Telugu that it looked as though proper measures and guidelines were not considered when the plant was being re-opened.
As the gas escalate, inhabitants of the place ran out of their homes in panic.
“Distressing visuals of people fainting and dropping unconscious on the streets are being shared on social media.”
Source___BBC News
Trump economy encounters long-term catastrophe as jobs data emerges
The swaying economic pain — might be one of the trounce since the 1930s — of the American economy in the time of the Corona Virus pandemic will be graphically intensified in two new rounds of unemployment data that are due on Thursday and Friday.
“The figures will show Americans who have and will lose their livelihoods as common victims of the most cruel public health crisis in 100 years, along with the sick and the more than 73,000 people who have so far died.”
The anticipation of an extended economic hovel will have vital implications in politics. It is already threatening to humidify memories of the roaring economy that President Donald Trump was banking on to carry him to a second term.
“It may also provide an opening to presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden who helped bring the country back from the last economic crisis in the Obama administration.”
The coming reality that the “rocket” like glance the President foretell is unlikely may be behind Trump’s drastically frantic statements on a emergency he has also declared will soon be over.
“We went through the worst attack we’ve ever had on our country,” he said on Wednesday. For weeks early this year, Trump was in denial and painted the threat from the virus as tiny.
“This is really the worst attack we’ve ever had. This is worse than Pearl Harbor. This is worse than the World Trade Center,” Trump said Wednesday.
Trump also called on schools to resume and cut off a nurse visiting the Oval Office who observed that personal preventive equipment had been “sporadic” in hospitals.
Source___CNN
Banjul City Council calls quick distribution of Gambia gov’t food aid
In spite of the launch of its own food bank, the Banjul City Council says it would be perfect if the central government speed up the issuance of food aid to inhabitants of the city as Covid-19 limitations threaten to give rise to food insecurity in many Gambian households.
The BCC not long ago set up a food bank but the town hall has demonstrated its readiness to work with the central government to help keep hunger at standstill through the distribution of food aid to residents under the Covid-19 partial lockdown.
“The government has asked us to send them data on the number of compounds and houses in Banjul and we’ve done that since on Thursday and we’re now keeping our fingers crossed,” spokesman Bah disclosed.
“We believe they [government] will involve us because as local government authorities to complement the efforts of the central government.”
He told The Standard that the earlier the government engaged local governments in the distribution of relief aid, the better as the population faces prospects of hunger.
“We are patiently waiting but we want it [distribution] done quickly because people have been asked to stay at home and this can cause food shortages,” he predicate.
Source___Standard News
Gambia: URR village pressurize to cast out family over Covid19 case
The Ministry of Health has said a community in Upper River Region has pressurized to cast out the family of the only Covid-19 case in the area.
The acting director of health services, Dr Mustapha Bittaye told journalists yesterday: “The ministry of health has intensified psychosocial support and sensitisation support in a village (Numuyel) in URR as the community threatens to banish the family of the only confirmed case in the village.”
“All the 109 test results received all tested negative. 90 percent of these test results are samples of the mass screening conducted in Bakau. Three high risk contacts of the recently confirmed case have been traced. 101 low risk contacts have been regularly followed up to ascertain manifestation of symptoms of Covid-19,” he said.
He said five connected contacts of the recently recorded case in Central River Region have been taken into quarantine and the compound is under total isolation. “The country currently has 101 people under quarantine, 7 active cases.”
Source___Standard News
India unemployed numbers pass 120 million in April
A lockdown to prevent the escalation of coronavirus has seen 122 million Indians lose their jobs in April alone, new data from a private research agency has explain.
India’s unemployment record now topped 27.1%, according to the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE).
“The new data shows India’s unemployment figures are four times that of the US.’
The country has been in lockdown since 25 March to to prevent Covid-19 spreading around, causing mass layoffs and heavy job losses.
India currently has not less than 50,000 reported infections.
Unemployment hit 23.5% in April, a sharp rise from 8.7% in March. This is due to the lockdown, which brought most economic activity – except important services such as hospitals, pharmacies and food supplies – to a standstill.
Scenes of stranded migrant workers, particularly daily-wage earners, fleeing cities on foot to go back to their villages, filled TV screens and newspapers for most of April.
“Their informal jobs, which employ 90% of the population, were the first to be hit as construction stopped, and cities suspended public transport.”
But prolonged alarms and the continued lockdown of businesses – and the uncertainty of when the lockdown will end – hasn’t left out formal, permanent jobs either.
Source___BBC News
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.”
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