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President Donald Trump and U.S. congressional leaders reached a deal on Monday on a two-year extension of the debt limit and federal spending caps that would avert a feared government default later this year but add to rising budget deficits.
Source: Reuters Politics
China's ByteDance said it plans to open a data center in India, where it is facing concerns about consumer privacy and demands for a ban on its hugely popular video app TikTok.
Source: CNBC World News
Japan and South Korea are part of a complex and tightly linked supply chain that produces electronic goods such as smartphones and laptops.
Source: CNBC World News
No prizes for guessing what the most pressing foreign policy challenge for Britain’s new Prime Minister will be when he enters No 10 on Wednesday. And it will not be Brexit, all consuming though that issue often seems to our body politic and to the commentariat which follows its every move. It will of course be the government’s response to events in the Gulf and to the illegal seizure of a British-flagged tanker by Iranian naval forces.
Forget any illusion that this crisis can be solved by some act of daring do of the kind sometimes pre-figured in the probable incoming Prime Minister’s weekly articles in the Telegraph and his prolific literary output. There are no easy wins or quick fixes to this tangled web.
The first thing to remember is that the whole Iranian imbroglio is a completely unnecessary one. The nuclear agreement with Iran (the JCPOA), from which the US unilaterally walked away was, as certified by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s inspectors, keeping Iran at least a year away from any break out to achieving a nuclear weapons capability. It was, and remains, the best way of avoiding a nuclear arms race in this highly volatile region whose security is of global significance; and the likelihood of another war in the Middle East. That was the case put forcefully and eloquently by the then Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, when he visited Washington shortly before the US decision to pull out of the JCPOA. And it remains as valid today.
Secondly freedom of navigation in the Gulf and through the Strait of Hormuz is an international interest, affecting all nations and the global economy. So it needs to be safeguarded by an international response.
Both these overriding considerations point towards a firm but patient response to the immediate crisis, not a ratcheting up of the escalatory moves which are already risking getting out of control. Britain and its principal European allies, France and Germany, have full diplomatic relations with Iran and full access to the dispute settlement procedures built into the JCPOA. All three European states are allies of the US. What is needed now is to initiate a dialogue through all these channels, including also Russia and China which also have a major stake in sustaining the JCPOA. Meanwhile there will clearly need to be international steps, probably involving some sort of convoy system, to deter any attempts to tamper with freedom of navigation while diplomatic efforts to handle the crisis are continuing.
And Brexit? Well that is not going to provide easy wins or quick fixes either. The idea that the problems that have hitherto bedevilled the negotiation of a deal can be made to vanish by an act of will on the part of just one of the participants or by the wave of a magic technological wand is sheer folly. That too will require patience and perseverance; and endorsement of any outcome by Parliament and by the electorate.
The post PM’s First Challenge Will Be Iran, Not Brexit appeared first on Independent Newspapers Nigeria.
Source: Independent
Ensuring universal health coverage is truly inclusive requires providing coverage for even the most hard-to-reach and marginalized groups. Many of these key populations — for example, men who have sex with men, transgender people, and sex workers, among others — are also at a heightened risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections and diseases, for example HIV, which means that creating a strong HIV/AIDS response is integral to the success of UHC goals.
While much work has been done to decrease HIV-related infection and fatalities since the peak of HIV/AIDS-related deaths in 2005, stigma and discrimination against people living with a positive HIV status persists.
“We know how to measure stigma, and we know how to address it.”
While people living with HIV face stigma in all parts of their lives, it’s of particular concern in health care facilities, where people living with HIV/AIDS are often at their most vulnerable, and go to receive treatment and care.
Stigmatizing behavior — particularly in the health care setting — has very real consequences: According to a 2017 UNAIDS report, people living with HIV who perceive high levels of HIV-related stigma are 2.4 times more likely to delay enrollment in care until they are very ill.
The international development community has set a clear goal of reaching universal health coverage by 2030 — while leaving no one behind. How do we ensure access to quality care for all? This content series looks at the technology, practical solutions, and innovative financing tools driving improved access to quality care around the globe.
According to the same report, more than a quarter of the people living with HIV surveyed in eight different countries reported that they had avoided going to a local clinic within the past 12 months because of their HIV status. Some of the reasons for this avoidance include: fear of breach of confidentiality — having their status revealed to others without their consent — as well as fear of being treated poorly by health care staff and fear of judgment, among others.
Reducing stigmatization and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS is critical if the goal of ensuring UHC by 2030 is to be achieved.
“Governments around the world have committed to reducing stigma and discrimination — including in health care facilities — and to implement measures to ensure that such discrimination is not happening,” said Luisa Cabal, special adviser for human rights and gender at UNAIDS. “This is not optional — it’s a legal obligation. This is not just about health, but about human rights.”
The post How To Address HIV/AIDS Stigma In Health Facilities To Achieve UHC appeared first on Independent Newspapers Nigeria.
Source: Independent
Tribune Online
FG raises the alarm over new cassava disease
The Federal Government has raised the alarm over a recent virile disease, Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD), ravaging East and Central Africa now making its way to West Africa.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Muhammed Umar, made this known in Abuja during the 2019 Cassava Investment Forum.
Umar, who was represented on the occasion by Head, Font and Tuber Crops in the ministry, Mr. Ayodeji Bobby, called for a collective effort in securing Nigeria and West African region against the virus.
He noted that the disease had caused over 90 percent loss in a certain cassava farm in the country.
He, therefore, urged professionals at the cassava forum to use their vast knowledge and experience to advise the ministry on areas that were key to the development of cassava sub-sector in Nigeria.
The permanent secretary said that Nigeria remained the largest producer of cassava, adding that a total of 36.8 million metric tonnes of cassava were harvested from 3.13 million hectares in 2013.
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He said that this was with an average yield of 11.7 tonnes per hectare, adding that this, however, accounted for an insignificant fraction of global value-addition of cassava.
“But because of the Federal Government support through the change agenda of the government raised the production to about 54 million metric tonnes at 15 tonnes per hectare and develop efficient value-added chains,’’
Umar, said that this was for high-quality cassava flour, dried chips; starch and sweeteners; ethanol and traditional foods.
He said the ministry in collaboration with the organisers of the investment forum, the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB/CAVA) trained master bakers on the promotion and adoption of 20 percent cassava bread.
He also added that the Federal Government provided them with working equipment and capital to create local sustainable markets for cassava and generate employment.
He said that the Institute of International Tropical Agriculture (IITA), also provided research on products and good quality stems to the farmers.
IITA Director for Development and Delivery, Dr. Afred Dixon, said that Nigeria’s cassava annual production was above 50 million tonnes, adding that the increase from 35 million tonnes in the early 90s was not by accident.
He said that this resulted from stakeholders in research development to all other aspects of cassava value chains such as processing, mechanisation, and markets.
Dixon said that in spite of the achievement of having more than 50 million tonnes annual production, there were some challenges still confronting the cassava crop.
“Our yield per hectare is still low, it is less than 10 tonnes per hectare, we are still battling with the problem of cyclical glut, there are still processing challenges.
“Weeds are still problems in cassava, and several others, consequently Nigeria is yet to tap the full potential of the cassava crop which is estimated at five billion dollars annually,” he said.
FG raises the alarm over new cassava disease
Tribune Online
Source: Tribune
Tribune Online
Stakeholders seek urgent repeal on law hampering yam export
STAKEHOLDERS have called for the repeal of the Export Prohibition Act, saying it hampers yam exportation.
Nigeria which accounts for 61.7 per cent of global yam production, is presently is the world’s largest producer of yam ,regrettably, it is not among the world yam exporting countries.
Ghana controls Africa’s yam export market, which value of $13.7 billion exceeds all other African staple crops equivalent to the combined value of cassava, maize, millet, sorghum and rice.
Ghana despite having low yam production, accounts for 94 percent of total yam exports in West Africa to the US, Canada, UK and Europe with the yam export trade employing over one million work force.
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The Export Prohibition Act, which took effect from February 1989, stipulates that any person who takes, causes to be taken, induces any other person to take, or attempts to take out of Nigeria any of the goods specified, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to imprisonment for life.
Yam tubers, beans, cassava tuber, maize, rice, are prohibited by the Act for export, also all products or derivatives of items from number one to five, all imported food items.
Stakeholders in agriculture are of the view that this Act is out of sync with current national and global developments and should be repealed.
They said the Export Prohibition Act, 1989 does not support the diversification agenda of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Regrettably, while government policies seek to promote export of agricultural produce and their products or derivatives as a diversification strategy, there is a legislation by the National Assembly that prohibits export of beans, cassava tuber, maize, rice, yam tuber and all their products or derivatives.
The President, National Association of Yam Farmers, Processors and Marketers, Professor Simon Irtwange, said the association has earlier appealed to the federal government and the National Assembly, to expedite action on the repeal of the Export Prohibition Act of 1989, to enhance yam export.
Irtwange who double as Chairman, Technical Committee on Nigeria Yam Export Programme, called for speedy action on repealing the law so as to pave way for the diversification efforts and policies of the federal government.
He said there are Non Governmental Organisations willing to intervene in the Nigeria yam value chain with respect to yam exportation, but withdrew on learning about the Export Prohibition Act, 1989.
On Amendment Imperatives, he said the association have received information that there are some competitors in the United Kingdom that consider yam from Nigeria as contraband in view of the existence of the Export Prohibition Act, 1989.
“He said, “Nigeria yam is therefore being branded as Ghana yam. This is a minus for Nigeria. “The Export Prohibition Act of 1989 is the issue, but we have made a lot of efforts trying to advocate to relevant government agencies, ministries and the National Assembly that if we really want to diversify this economy, that law has to go.
“The Act which has been consolidated into the laws of the federation in 2004 has not been repealed, but the prohibition lift by the Consolidation Act usually employed by the Custom in deciding what should be exported and what should not be exported does not contain yam on the list.
“While we were in Ghana recently, we found out that there are only three agencies of government that are concerned with export, but in Nigeria, we are dealing with more than 20 agencies of government which is too much, that is why we are calling for collaboration between these agencies so that the number of signatures will be reduced”.
A yam farmer, Prince Yandev Amaabai said as long as the law is there, many people who want to go into the business will scared.
According to him, “Nigeria, which is by far the world’s largest producer of yams, accounting for over 70 to 76 per cent of the world production, producing 35.017 million tonnes of yams, going by the 2008 estimates, should do better than Ghana in the export market.
“There are too many restrictions on Nigeria yam export which has been discouraging farmers,” he averred.
Stakeholders seek urgent repeal on law hampering yam export
Tribune Online
Source: Tribune
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NASC unveils seedcodex solution to deploy enhanced certification tags
In its effort to implement the new seed act and ensure farmers have access to quality seed, the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), have unveiled the Seedcodex observatory, designed and set up by its partner, mPedigree Network Limited, to sanitise the seed industry in the country.
Seedcodex solution is an integrated, comprehensive turnkey technological platform, which uses unique digital codes to authenticate and secure the seeds by enabling farmers to text the unique codes on the tags to a short code and instantly receive response informing the farmers whether what they bought is genuine or not.
Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja, the Director General, NASC, Dr Philip Ojo noted that the Council will be piloting the deployment of smart, tamper proof and enhanced certification tags which will replace its old seed certification tags.
Dr Ojo explained that the certification tags will have scratch able portion with a serialised electronic codes which the farmer will be able through SMS to send to a dedicated NASC number so as to receive information on the genuineness of the seed he is purchasing.
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He explained that the initiative was launched earlier this year with the support from, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), USAID, under the umbrella of Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa (PIATA), and m-pedegree Network, to enhance the efficiency of quality assurance mechanism with the deployment of a tamper evident traceability system.
Speaking on the Seedcodex solution, the Head Corporate Affairs mPedigree Network, Chukwudi Madu, said the use of the digital codes enables the farmers take their destinies into their own hands by empowering them to reliably authenticate any seeds they purchase.
“We are ready to take all those steps together with NASC to ensure that in the future when they are talking about sustainable agriculture productivity in this country, the role that the NASC had in beginning the foundation through the provision of quality certified seeds would be the bedrock of the story of success of agriculture in the whole of Nigeria”.
“We are looking to improve agriculture being that it is the basis for our growth, we are not going to take this responsibility lightly, the Seed Council has been doing a great job, we are only going to take this to a higher level and make much better gains for the Nigerian agricultural sector.
“Market efficiency is a major expected outcome of the project, since fraud and faking shall be suppressed through the business process automation and enhanced transparency. Mission control facility from which the seedcodex project shall be diligently monitored”, Madu added.
NASC unveils seedcodex solution to deploy enhanced certification tags
Tribune Online
Source: Tribune
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South Sudan’s oil ministry has taken a baby born with congenital malformation in oil-rich Ruweng State for medical checks abroad, a local official said.
The baby was born earlier this month at Pariang Hospital with one leg and six fingers. The family hails from Wunkur County.
The State Minister of Health, Simon Chol Malith, told Radio Tamazuj on Monday that the ministry of petroleum and oil companies operating in the state took the baby for medical check-up in Kenya last week.
“The baby and the mother have been taken for treatment abroad. The ministry of petroleum is sponsoring the treatment of the baby,” he said.
Chol pointed out that doctors will determine associated factors of the congenital malformation. “Doctors will know whether it was caused by environmental pollution or not. Sometimes the exact cause of congenital malformation is genetic or normal,” he said.
The official hinted that oil residues could be the main cause of such cases, stressing that it must be proven scientifically so that oil companies can put an end to these problems.
The state minister noted that health problems reported in the state include premature births, miscarriages, skin allergies and congenital malformation among newborn children.
Previous studies have shown direct links between oil operations and groundwater contamination which could affect human and animal health.
The post Oil Ministry Takes Baby Born With Congenital Malformation For Medical Checks appeared first on Independent Newspapers Nigeria.
Source: Independent
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Tribune Online
‘Nigeria must articulate a hunger-free country through agriculture’
FOR Nigeria to adequately feed its populace, drive sustainable non-agricultural revenue, attain food security, as well as provide meaningful employment for millions of youths in the country, the leaders must be ready to articulate a clear agricultural vision in this direction.
This piece of advice was given by a senior agricultural economist, World Bank office, Abuja, Dr Adetunji Oredipe, while delivering a paper entitled “food security and national development” during a ceremony to mark 290 days in office of the executive of Ibadan Recreation Club (1902), in Ibadan, Oyo state.
Oredipe said though agriculture has huge potentials in the country, the country must hearken to the advice of its former Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, to produce what to eat and eat what the country produces.
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He said, “Nigerian agriculture has potential, but the potential must be transformed into food supply to deliver nutritious food to our growing population. As of 2019, 37 percent of children under five in Nigeria were reported to be stunted, compared to 23 percent in Ghana, 44.7 percent in Benin;33.3 percent in Botswana, Burkina Faso, 32 percent in Cameroon; and 35 percent in Kenya.
“To reverse this trend, we must articulate a clear vision to achieve a hunger-free Nigeria, through an agricultural sector that drives income growth, accelerates achievement of food and nutritional security, generates employment and transforms Nigeria into a leading player in global food markets.
“ In doing this, our vision should be to move Nigeria to become an agriculturally-industrialised economy, to create wealth, jobs and markets for farmers, and revive the rural economy. We must adopt an ambitious agricultural promotion strategy focused on a combination of transformational policy reforms and investments that would foster private investment and expand the benefits to millions.
“The government needs to get out of certain aspects of agriculture and turn this over to the private sector in order to improve efficiency. We need to focus on agricultural value chains and not just on increasing production. What will happen to the increase if there are no markets and no Agro processing firms that will help mop up the increased yields? We also need to realise that it is extremely difficult to produce, process and market at the same time. It is better to specialise and pick a certain aspect to focus on. Access to information is becoming an integral part of our agriculture.
“Government can focus on actions to strengthen resilience to conflict and climate change include community-based interventions such as those under the Fadama project in the North-East to address fragility; interventions in the livestock sector to help prevent and mitigate conflicts between herders and farmers; and interventions to scale up the adoption of climate smart agriculture to help deliver on the triple wins of raising agricultural productivity, increasing adaptation and resilience to climate change, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Government should rigorously and transparently evaluate all major policies and initiatives aimed at boosting agricultural development, including agricultural finance schemes, ensuring that they provide an enabling environment to crowd in private investment.”
In their contributions the rapporteurs, Professor Oluwarotimi Tayo and Engineer Jimi Omoliki, corroborated the lecturer’s position but called for urgent action to put Nigeria on the path of agricultural development as major economic base.
The President of the club, Olumakinde Oni, in his speech said charged members of the club to “establish a solid economic foundation for the club.”
‘Nigeria must articulate a hunger-free country through agriculture’
Tribune Online
Source: Tribune
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IAR&T trains Oyo, Ogun youths on soybean Utilisation
The Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Obafemi Awolowo University, has trained and empowered youths in Oyo and Ogun states on soybean utilisation.
Youths from the two states received tutelage from experts in the soybean value chain during training which was held separately in Ogbomoso, Oyo State and Moloko, Owode, Ogun State.
Executive Director of the institute, Professor Veronica Obatolu, while addressing the youths, expressed the determination of IAR&T in tackling food and nutrition insecurity in the South-West and Nigeria at large.
Represented at the training by the Head of Product Development Programme of the institute, Professor O.A Ashaye, Obatolu emphasised the need for adequate processing of soybean to tap its potentials in human nutrition. Obatolu, noted that the training will not only be an eye-opener for untapped potentials of soybean but would also bring about enhancement of food and nutrition security, income generation and job opportunities.
She added that the training was organised at a time when Nigeria needed to diversify her economy through other sources of income rather than depending on oil-
revenue alone. She also informed that IAR&T, has processed high value added products from soybean which would not only improve the nutritional status of the consumers but will create jobs as well as create income.
Obatolu urged the participants who were students of Owode High School and Egba- Owode Grammar School, Ogun State and Tewure Community Grammar School as well as Ikoyi-Ile Grammar School in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State to ensure they utilise all they acquired during the training adequately.
The principals of Owode High School, Mr Jogunomi Semubola and his counterpart from Community Grammar School, Tewure, Mr Fagbemi Daniel Oluji expressed gratitude to IAR&T for choosing their schools as venues for such important training.
The highpoint of the two-day-training was the presentation of training certificate and 2kg of soybean seeds to all the fifty (50) participants.
IAR&T trains Oyo, Ogun youths on soybean Utilisation
Tribune Online
Source: Tribune
Tribune Online
TAAT, IITA develop technology to increase cassava production
Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava in the world, with annual production at over 50 million tons. This figure according to stakeholders is very low because currently the country’s production per hectare is still below 10 tons, which is significantly low.
The Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in their new innovation, had developed a technology that is capable of increasing Nigeria’s annual cassava production to 100 million tons.
Director for Development and Delivery of International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Dr Alfred Dixon said because of inadequate technologies to improve cassava production, Nigeria has been unable to tap into the full potential of cassava crop which is estimated at $5 billion annually.
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Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) is a program initiated by the African Development Bank (AfDB) as part of its Feed Africa Initiative.
The main objective of the programme is to improve the business of agriculture across Africa by raising agricultural productivity, mitigating risks and promoting diversification and processing in 18 agricultural value chains within eight Priority Intervention Areas (PIA).
According to him “today, that Nigeria’s cassava annual production is above 50 million tons up from 35 million tons in the early 90’s is not by accident. It was as a result of efforts from most of you seated in this room in research and development to all other aspects of the cassava value chain such as processing, mechanization and markets.
“Despite this achievement of having more than 50 million tons annual production, there are still challenges that are still confronting the Cassava crop. Our yield per hectare is still low (less than 10 tons per hectare), we are still battling with the problem of cyclical glut, there are still processing challenges, weeds are still problems in cassava, and several others. Consequently, Nigeria is yet to tap the full potential of cassava crop which is estimated at $5 billion annually”, Dr Dixon said.
He, however, said “the work done by the IITA Cassava Weed Management Project which the cassava Compact of the Technologies for African Agricultural Technologies (TAAT) is promoting can double Nigeria’s annual production of Cassava to 100 million tons if adopted by all cassava farmers in Nigeria.
“The mobile cassava processing truck developed by Cassava Compact of TAAT can help us in addressing part of the problems associated with processing. I believe the solutions are here with us. All that is required is for us to pull together, and the private sector must truly play its role at this time”.
In the same vein, the Vice Chancellor Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Professor Felix Salako said that agriculture could be transformed through investing on cassava production and processing.
He lamented that the major products from cassava which are largely needed in Nigeria were being imported by big companies due to poor local production of the products.
“We can transform our agriculture system to a robust economic base using cassava with steady and unhindered investment for ethanol, starch and high quality cassava industries in our nation.
“Nigeria grows about 54 million metric tons of cassava per year. Cassava is a versatile commodity with numerous uses and by-products. For instance, starch companies have recently established deal to supply cassava starch to Nestle, Cadbury, Unilever, and son on.
“Unfortunately, most of them are only running at around 50 per cent (less than 50,000 tons of starch per annum). The demand for starch is expected to continue to grow at 5 per cent yearly in total demand, this puts total demand for starch at 357,000 by 2020, especially as more companies seek to establish local production lines to service the expanding Nigerian and West African market (sorbitol for toothpaste, sugar-syrups and sweeteners from starch).
“Our net imports for ethanol stands to 300 to 350 million liters per annum. We are unable to produce 30 million liters, creating gap for further national investment instead of imports.
“It is on this note that I seek your cooperation to deliberate on how best to learn from past experiences and use the cassava value chain to unlock further opportunities for millions of farmers and contribute to food security, job creation and incomes, especially for women and young people in Nigeria”, Professor Salako said.
TAAT, IITA develop technology to increase cassava production
Tribune Online
Source: Tribune
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Farmcrowdy announces unified portfolio
Nigeria’s first Digital Agriculture platform and its sister companies, Farmgate Africa and Agricsquare have announced a unification of all its companies to create a bigger Farmcrowdy.
According to a statement made available to the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, this is a very significant step for Farmcrowdy as it will allow the combined entity to have a stronger foothold in the agriculture value chain, by dealing with core crop farming processes, production and trading side of commodities as well as marketing media for agriculture.
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The combined companies will now be referred to as Farmcrowdy, and shortly after the announcement, all sponsorship options available from both platforms (Farmcrowdy and Farmgate Africa) will now reflect on the combined Farmcrowdy Platform, sponsorship options such as; Beef processing, Ginger farms, Cattle farms, Poultry farms, etc, previously only available via Farmgate Africa and Farmcrowdy will now be open to sponsorship on the Farmcrowdy platform to sponsors from both entities. Agricsquare, will however continue to be run as a product of Farmcrowdy – the largest community of agriculture enthusiasts in the country with over 20,000 people engaging daily to discuss agriculture-related topics.
The Managing Director of Farmgate Africa, Kenneth Obiajulu will oversee the trading aspect of the new entity while Temitope Omotolani, Chief Operations Officer for Farmcrowdy will continue to oversee the production side (Crop production, feedlot production, etc) of the company.
According to the Founder and CEO, Onyeka Akumah, this process had always been in the plan to attract more talent, expand Farmcrowdy’s reach in the agriculture value chain and provide more options for sponsors on it’s platform.
As a company, Farmcrowdy is operational in 14 states across Nigeria and has signed up over 25,000 farmers into its programme who have cultivated over 16,000 acres of farmland across the country. Farmcrowdy has also recently partnered with Livestock247, an online livestock marketplace and Best Foods Livestock and Poultry Ltd, a leading name in the livestock and seafood processing industry in Nigeria to grow its livestock chain.
Following the recent spurious claims made by a Twitter user against the company, which has since been proven to be false, Farmcrowdy is making a bold statement that the business is as solid as ever with this announcement.
The new Farmcrowdy will now be looking for new partnerships to continue to grow more crops as it targets expansion into 4 new states while increasing its current supply of over 50 cows fit for slaughter per day to a supply of 100 cows per day by the end of the year made available to top retailers, hotels, and eateries across the country.
Farmcrowdy announces unified portfolio
Tribune Online
Source: Tribune
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Congo’s health minister, Oly Ilunga, resigned on Monday in protest over the president’s announcement last week that it was stripping his team of control over the response to the Ebola outbreak.
Ilunga has overseen the nearly year-long response to Democratic Republic of Congo’s latest Ebola epidemic, which is the second deadliest in history. It has killed more than 1,700 people and infected more than 800 others according to cbc.ca.
But President Felix Tshisekedi’s office announced on Saturday that it was assigning responsibility for the response to a multi-disciplinary team that would report directly to Tshisekedi.
In his resignation letter, Ilunga decried “interference in the management of the response” and criticized outside pressure to deploy a second Ebola vaccine manufactured by Johnson & Johnson over his objections.
“It would be fanciful to think that the new vaccine proposed by actors who have shown an obvious lack of ethics by voluntarily hiding important information from medical authorities, could have a significant impact on the control of the current outbreak,” he said.
It was not immediately clear which actors he was referring to, but international donors like the World Health Organization and medical charity Doctors Without Borders have publicly called for the use of the second vaccine.
Ilunga says the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has not been proved to be effective and that deploying a second vaccine would confuse people. The company has said the vaccine, which has gone through Phase 1 trials, is safe.
The vaccine currently being used is manufactured by Merck and has been administered to about 170,000 people.
Earlier this month, the health ministry said in a statement that there wasn’t sufficient evidence regarding the efficacy of other vaccines, and that introducing another one risked “confusing the population.”
The post Congo Health Minister Resigns Over Government’s Ebola Handling appeared first on Independent Newspapers Nigeria.
Source: Independent
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U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday told the Pentagon to find better ways to procure a rare earth magnet used in specialty motors, warning that the nation’s defense would suffer without adequate stockpiles.
Source: Reuters Politics
the launch of Kylie Jenner’s latest skin care products.
And Sofia Richie is reportedly ‘closer than ever’ to the makeup mogul now that drama has died down between Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashian, according to Us Weekly.
Kylie invited Sofia on the trip of a lifetime where the girls indulged in steamy photo shoots between yachting adventures and relaxing by the pool.
BFF alert: Sofia Richie is reportedly ‘closer than ever’ to the makeup mogul now that drama has died down between Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashian, according to Us Weekly
‘Kylie and Sofia have always run in the same circle and are very close in age, so they’ve bonded a lot through the years,’ a source said.
‘They’ve always been in the limelight, lived very similar lifestyles and grown up around a lot of the same people.’
While Kylie found fame as the youngest sibling in the massive Kardashian/Jenner brood, Sofia lived the life of luxury as the daughter of Lionel Richie.
Friends forever: Kylie invited Sofia on the trip of a lifetime where the girls indulged in steamy photo shoots between yachting adventures and relaxing by the pool +5
Friends forever: Kylie invited Sofia on the trip of a lifetime where the girls indulged in steamy photo shoots between yachting adventures and relaxing by the pool
Despite their famous families, Sofia wasn’t too eagerly welcomed into the Kardashian world after she started dating Scott Disick nearly two years ago.
‘They’ve gotten a lot closer as of late now that the Kourtney, Scott and Sofia drama has died down,’ the insider added.
Scott and Kourtney dated on-and-off for nearly a decade before finally calling it quits in July 2015, and have three children together: Mason, nine, Penelope, seven, and Reign, four.
‘Scott is really happy that Sofia and Kylie have become so close again because it means that Sofia has been further accepted in the family,’ a source said +5
Girls’ trip! Kylie invited Sofia on her tropical holiday with best pals Stassi Karanikolaou, Yris Palmer, Victoria Villarroel and Draya Michele +5
‘Once any drama between Kourtney and Sofia blew over, Kylie felt more comfortable spending girl time with Sofia again,’ the source said.
‘Scott is really happy that Sofia and Kylie have become so close again because it means that Sofia has been further accepted in the family.’
Kylie had a little more room in her life to add a new sidekick after a challenging start to the year when her best friend Jordyn Woods revealed she kissed Khloe Kardashian’s love-rat boyfriend Tristan Thompson at a house party in Los Angeles on Valentine’s Day weekend.
While Tristan had previously been caught up in multiple cheating scandals — DailyMail.com broke the news of his affairs just days before she gave birth to their daughter True — this infidelity was the last straw for Khloe and she ended things with the professional basketball player for good.
The post Kylie Jenner, Sofia Richie Closer Than Ever appeared first on Independent Newspapers Nigeria.
Source: Independent
China on Monday launched the Science and Technology Innovation Board, or "STAR Market," on which 25 companies were listed.
Source: CNBC World News
Tribune Online
Why engineering laws, policies are crucial to national development —Falade-Fatila
Engineer Adedamola Falade-Fatila, is the Chairman, Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), Ibadan branch, In this interview by NURUDEEN ALIMI, he highlights factors militating against engineering practice in Nigeria and the possible way out.
WHAT is your comparison of engineering practice in Nigeria, other developing and developed countries of the world?
As far as engineering practice in Nigeria is concerned, We are not there yet but we are making progress little by little judging from the recent awareness being created by the Nigeria Society of Engineers across the country and of course the positive response we are getting from the Federal Government of Nigeria. This is evident in the recently amended Act of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering (COREN), as can also be seen in the recently signed presidential Executive Order Five that deals with the improvement of local content in engineering technology and innovation in Nigeria and all of that.
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If all these laws and orders as well as policies are enforced and implemented engineering practice in Nigeria would definitely get to another level. Where we are presently is not particularly where we should be. As a country, the so called giant of Africa, as a country that is about clocking 60 years of independence with the wealth of intelligent engineers , intellectuals thoroughbred professionals we ought to have move far beyond this point, we should not be at a level where we still experience building collapse every other day we should not be at such a pedestrial level. We are still talking of 4000, 5000 or 7000 megawatts of electricity being generated. These care very disheartening statistics to consideer.
So for me, we are not there yet, but we are taking some slow and gradual processes towards getting there but all we need is enforcement. Like the lawyers would say, the spirit and the letters of the law. The letters of the law is what you read on the pages of papers but the spirit is the attitude behind its enactment and practice as well as application. So for me, in engineering, there are so many letters, laws, policies, orders and all of that. But the spirit behind it as a nation this goes beyond the Nigeria Society of Engineers. It should be a national attitude whether you are a lawyer, archtiect, banker, accountant or pharmacist whatever you are you must know that you can not do well in all these other professions if engineering and technology practice in Nigeria does not assume its pride of place and we are all responsible for that. If you have ever been to a court room you would see engineering practice on display, if you have ever been to an hospital or a doctor’s office you see engineering.
Engineering should be an attitude that is a way of life. That is what makes nations great. Your level of engineering and technological advancement are what nmake a nation great, not its size. Israel is a country of about 20,000 square kilometre less than the land mass of Oyo State, one out of 36 states in Nigeria yet it has arguably the highest number of nobel prize winners in science and engineering and this can just be attributed to their attitude, the national attitude towards the development of engineering, science and technology.
Would you say the Nigeria Society of Engineers has been able to checkmate the activities quacks in the profession, knowing fully well that they are the ones actually responsiblev for the spate of collapsed buildings being recorded in the country over times and in recent times?
What we have been doing and we are still doing is to discourage clients, trhe general populace from using quacks for engineering designs and construction. Just like yoiu said, the rising spate of collapsed buildings is becoming a national embarrassment. And beyond that, it is getting more tragic by the day, if is is just the building that are collapsing, it is another thing but we must also think of the deaths that usually occur alongside these unfortunate incidents. It is something of urgent national concern and demands urgent ontervention. What we have been able to do is to increase our sensitisation campaigns to members of the public and so on. We are also making effort to get across to those concerned such as lawmakers to ensure the enforcement of some of these laws that are existing in town planning laws and all of that. You do not get to just approve building or a structure for construction if the necessary documents are not presented duly signed and stamped by a registered engineer.
Among ourselves, we have also advised our members to ensure that they take responsibilities for the project they design. If they observe that the client want to go ahead with the construction without or behind them, they should raise an alarm so that it would be noted before it becomes a public issue. So far so good, nearly all of these building collapse we have all around the country there has not been more than one case of a registered engineer been indicted in these issues but challants gets us all into all these troubles and is is so unfortunate. So that is much we have been able to do and we are not relenting.
Has there been a case where one of these so called quacks been arrested and prosecuted for being responsible for one of these collapsed buliding incidents?
I do not have official record but I know that there had been situation where one or two people have been arrested as are a result of these buliding collapses and charged to court. And you know that once an issue gets to that point, the rest is left to the court to decide. For instance this popular sensational building collapse that happened the other day at the Synagogue Church in Lagos. We all know that it has been in the court ever since but you can not interfere until the court decides and that is one unfortunate thing about the judicial system in this country. If there is a means with which government can expedite such action and in good time, culprits are brought to book this would serve as deterrent to others. When a case is dragging for too long due to the technicalities of the law and such a near homicide case is being given some kind of media trial and is been on for over a year, two or three years what lessons do you want to pass to the other people who might want to perpetrate such act? We have a long way to go in this country.
There is no doubt about the fact that engineers play crucial roles in government project, be it local, state and federal level. As a body of professional engineers domiciled in Oyo State, what are your expectations from the new administration in the state and also considering the fact that the two major drivers of the administration, the governor and his deputy are prominent members of your constituency who have deep understanding of the workings of engineers in societal development?
Well, it is a good thing and it is an interesting development that in Oyo State today we have a successful engineer as the governor and of course a distinguished also as the deputy. It is another good thing that both of them are aware of the responsibilty that bestowed on them and they are conscious of it. And for us as the Nigeria Society of Engineers, Ibadan branch and for me as the chairman we are very expectant and optimistic about their performance. I am convinced that they would do well in terms of physical infrastructure, development, in terms of positioning the economy of the state, in terms of agricultural emancipation of the state, in terms of education and the general well-being of the citizenry in Oyo state.
The important thing for us and we have advised them accordingly is to first ensure they put the round peg in the round hole. We want a situation in Oyo State where professionals would take their pride of place in running the affairs of the state that is ministries, departments and agencies of government not just politicians but technocrats who would drive this departments of goverment. And when you have that in place, your problem is more than half solved, you can reasonably predict more than good outcome. We are also looking at a situation where some of these dead policies of goverment that affect professionalism in the state would now get revival such that there would be more ease to running government business around the state. These and many more are our expectations.
Why engineering laws, policies are crucial to national development —Falade-Fatila
Tribune Online
Source: Tribune
Following its demands for payment of earned allowances of its members, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, ABU Zaria chapter has threatened to embark on an indefinite strike action if their demands are not met.
Chairman of the union, Comrade Shuaibu Halilu, made this known at the Assembly Hall of the University in Zaria, shortly after an emergency congress meeting held at the Assembly hall of the university in Zaria.
Independent reports that, after the meeting, the congress also staged a peaceful protest and marched to the main gate of Ahmadu Bello University chanting solidarity songs and raising placards with various inscriptions.
The post SSANU ABU Chapter, Threatens To Down Tool appeared first on Independent Newspapers Nigeria.
Source: Independent
Tribune Online
A plague called degree (2)
This is the second part of Henry Mutebe’s piece. Enjoy!
“They don’t work because their parents cannot give them money. They work because it is a value that has been embedded in them from childhood. Once a student finishes high school, he takes on a part time job and saves money for use in the university or for travels. Few European parents will buy their child a ticket to come to Africa as a tourist. The child will have to work and save for such luxuries.
In those economies, if you want some money from your parents, you borrow and pay back. Nothing comes free. They teach you to live independently. Attending a University or having a degree is nothing new. You are not the first or the last. Serving people in a restaurant does not make anyone look less a graduate. Service is service! Work is a value added.
In those climes, most of the areas near Universities are filled with university students working as part timers. Students are encouraged to take up these part time jobs. The white people we like to imitate are doing what we consider too dirty or casual for a graduate in Africa.
A “technically” incompetent Chief Justice of Nigeria
It got me thinking about students in our Universities here in Uganda (you can substitute Nigeria or any other African country). I thought about all the restaurants around university campuses and the attitude of University students and graduates about these types of jobs. I thought about the poor attitude we have in the continent towards work. I looked at the chapatti boys and girls we despise who are minting money and doing great things in their lives and for their families. I thought about the people who fear nothing, who go out and just do it while we sit back.
The more I thought about it the more I realized why it would take us longer to develop. We have a generation of young people who feel that they are too educated to do certain jobs. We have a generation of children who have been prepared for a life that doesn’t exist. We have a crop of young people who appear whiter than the whites. My time in Europe taught me that we need to get back on the drawing board and re-orient our graduates.
Our young people should be oriented to appreciate the value of work. There is no reason why a University should not employ students to clean the Library, kitchen, dining halls, hostels. It is improper that a university canteen should find external staff when it has over 30,000 students who can work in shifts and serve other students.
The ability to do such “menial” jobs without feeling squeamish makes you a true leader. When students grow up with a sense of entitlement and a higher standard of living, it translates into greed when they get into national politics. They seek privileges that make them tower above everyone because they have a sense of superiority. For them, work is about money, status and not service.
Conversely, people who are willing to serve, and not merely earn, make better leaders. A service culture raises a generation of leaders who don’t do things to be seen or be thought of as higher and more qualified, but leaders who get things done. In some firms in western societies, when they look at a CV, service experience says a lot about the attitude of a person, their humility, values and philosophy towards work.
We seem to be raising a generation of children whose only image of the West is what they watch on TV. They speak using enhanced accents, and know the latest gossip or gadget. They are ‘cool’ but they have no idea what makes the West what it is. My experience there shows me something different. People work and do ordinary jobs and that’s how things get done.
We have a big problem in our society and we have to find a way to deal with it. If we are to get good leaders, we must first change the attitude of young people about work. An inflated self-image creates bad leaders who want to further segregate themselves from the ordinary people they consider low and less qualified.
Young people despise odd jobs because they believe work is all about status and money. Taken further into their lives, it means they may likely want to maintain status and money as their pursuits when they get into leadership positions. If we must correct our leadership and governance problems, we need to do something about the attitude of our undergraduates and graduates about their philosophies and values about work.
Do not despise work, go out there and just work. The Pope was once a bouncer at a club. Today he is one of the most powerful men in the world. Imagine that you had nothing to fear, what would you do to earn a living? Imagine that you had no degree or that anyone cares, what would you do to earn a living? Imagine, that no one is going to help you find a job, what would do?
I am not saying you should go and do what you don’t like but maybe, just maybe, you may need to develop a new attitude towards work. Serve people (in whatever capacity as opportunities unfold) and be happy to have served. You can never tell what the future holds, and you may never know who you will meet at your humble place of work.
Even for you that are already employed in ‘high’ places, it would not be a bad idea to go out and find a part time job (if you have time) or volunteer services in the evening or weekend at any place where your services can be of use.
Meet people, network and just keep yourself meaningfully active. Degrees are everywhere. Literally everyone has them, so just forget about the whole hype about it and be true to yourself. Don’t despise menial jobs. Serve.”
Thank you Henry Mutebe. You have spoken well. Service is life’s only pathway to true greatness. A short cut to the top will eventually cut anyone who follows it short! If you read the biographies of great men and women regarded as society’s heroes, you will see the route they followed to get to the point where society sees them as icons. Service is the rent you pay for the space you occupy on planet earth. If you can help as many people as possible to get what they want, you will never be caught derelict or stranded on life’s journey. Greatness is never hatched on the laps of haughty insolence or indulgent arrogance. Why do you think that very brilliant people with great ideas but who bypass several rungs of connecting with the electorate – ward, Local Government, State – to run for Presidency or governorship on the platform of a new party hardly win elections? They have not served a significant number of people in a significant way to command that significant level of trust!
Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!
A plague called degree (2)
Tribune Online
Source: Tribune
When Cathy Hsu and Tony Hsieh wanted to build an English language app for Chinese children, they decided to follow Facebook and Google's lead.
Source: CNBC World News
Manuele Baiocchini, speaking on Sky Italia, confirmed that AC Milan and Correa, the Argentine striker of Atletico Madrid, have reached an agreement on the personal terms.
Therefore, the ball is now in the court of the two clubs, who will have to find the right agreement. The Spanish side are looking for no less than €50m for the striker, while the Rossoneri aren’t willing to go any higher than €40m.
In the coming days, new negotiations are expected between the two sides to try and work out the deal. In the meantime, Milan have secured some funds for the deal, as Andre Silva is one step away from joining Monaco.
The Rossoneri will receive around €30m for the sale, which they can then use in the Correa negotiations, reducing the gap between their spending limit and Atletico’s demands.
The post Correa Agrees To Join AC Milan appeared first on Independent Newspapers Nigeria.
Source: Independent
Whether you’re managing people or simply interacting with them, giving and receiving feedback can often be tricky. I believe that being able to both share and receive feedback is a true skill that only few people have truly mastered.
The main premise of “Radical Candor” is that you don’t need to cuss or shout or act rude to be a great boss. In contrast, the book encourages leaders to create relationships based on trust with the people that you work with.
I really like Kim Scott’s definition of a boss’ responsibility: “bosses guide a team to achieve results.” Bosses are ultimately responsible for achieving results. Rather than doing all the work themselves, bosses rely on other people to achieve results, and will guide them accordingly.
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The point about the importance of building and maintaining “trusting relationships” is probably the crux of the book. Once a relationship of trust has been established, it becomes so much easier to practise “radical candor” on a daily basis. Unfortunately, there’s no set formula for developing trust. Scott, however, has identified two dimensions that help people move in the right direction: “Care Personally” and “Challenge Directly”.
Care personally — I was really pleased to read about Scott slashing the idea of people having two radically different personas — with people’s work persona being radically different to their private persona. Scott makes the point that you need to be your whole self to have a good personal relationship. She also talks about genuinely caring for the people who work for you as a critical prerequisite for a strong relationship.
Challenge directly — This involves telling people that their work isn’t good enough. Scott argues that challenging people “is often the best way to show them that you care when you’re the boss.” As counterintuitive as it may sound; challenging people directly can be a great way to establish a relationship. Challenging people, in a clear but constructive way, is often appreciated — despite it feeling hard initially.
“Operationalising” good guidance — The book introduces a helpful matrix, which has four quadrants to consider in light of how to best care personally and challenge directly: “Ruinous Empathy”; “Manipulative Insincerity”; “Obnoxious Aggression” and — the desired one — “Radical Candor”. Scott stresses that each quadrant refers to guidance, not to personality traits. These quadrants are not used to label people, but to learn about the types of guidance we are or should be providing to the people we interact with.
How to criticise without discouraging? — Scott mentions a number of useful tips on how to criticise people without discouraging the person. Also, it’s important to ask for criticism before giving it. As hard as it can sometimes feel, it’s important to actively and continuously ask for feedback, as a way of building a two-way relationship. Scott provides some pointers to make it easier to ask for guidance, particularly from people that report to you.
Secondly, be humble and helpful, offer guidance in person and immediately, criticise in private, and don’t personalise. Thirdly, make it clear that the problem isn’t due to some inflexible personality flaw, and share stories when you’ve been criticised for something similar.
Main learning point: Being radically candid doesn’t mean that you can just be rude and upset people. Instead, “Radical Candor” does a great job of offering readers with lots of valuable tips about how to care personally and challenge directly.
Guidance: Guidance is often called “feedback”. People dread feedback — both the praise, which can feel patronising, and especially the criticism. However, in order to solve problems or make the most of opportunities, people do need to solicit guidance from others, and encourage it between them.
Team-building: Building a cohesive team means figuring out the right people for the right roles: hiring, firing, promoting. Once you’ve got your team in place, the focus should be on engaging with your team (without micro-managing) and keep people motivated.
Results: Ultimately, it’s all about achieving results. As a boss it’s your responsibility to guide your team towards achieving key results.
Obnoxious aggression:
A word of warning: “Radical Candor” isn’t about offering bosses a blank cheque to be rude or aggressive and act like a jerk. Whilst I believe in directness over sugarcoating things , I’ve learned that 100 per cent directness doesn’t work for everyone and can easily be perceived as aggressiveness. Scott’s point about the debilitating nature of obnoxious aggression therefore really resonated with me.
Manipulative insincerity:
Manipulatively insincere guidance happens when you don’t care enough about a person to challenge directly. People give praise and criticism that’s manipulatively insincere when they are too focused on being liked or think they can gain some sort of political advantage by being fake — or when they’re just too tired to care or argue anymore. When you challenge directly, as Scott explains, you truly care about the people that you challenge. The flip side happens when you don’t care and end up simply wasting your and everybody else’s time by trying to fake it.
Source: Tribune
