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The Philippines receives its first vaccines from China

Lantana Nasir
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The Philippines received its initial batch of COVID-19 vaccine doses on Sunday in a shipment donated by China, a day before its inoculation drive is due to begin, but President Rodrigo Duterte will not be among the first to be vaccinated.

Duterte attended a ceremony to mark the arrival of the initial 600,000 doses of Sinovac Biotech’s CoronaVac, which were delivered by a Chinese military aircraft ahead of a further 25 million CoronaVac doses due to be delivered in batches this year.

But Duterte, who turns 77 next month, told a news briefing that, though he wants to be vaccinated, his doctor wants a different Chinese brand of vaccine for him.

His comment emphasises the lack of support the Phillipines’ faces as it launches its inoculation drive. One opinion poll showed that less than a third of Filipinos are willing to be vaccinated because of perceptions over potential side-effects.

The country’s vaccination campaign is targeting healthcare workers, police and military personnel initially. It has also negotiated supply deals with other manufacturers, aiming to inoculate 70 million people, or two thirds of the population.

The Philippines is the last Southeast Asian country to receive initial vaccine supplies, fuelling concerns over recovery prospects for a consumption-driven economy that suffered its worst slump on record last year, hit by lengthy coronavirus lockdowns.

“What you see now are donated vaccines. The problem is everyone is rushing to secure supplies.

Until there is residual supply, we’ll just have to wait,”

Duterte vowed to ease restrictions further to support economic recovery but only when more vaccines become available.

 

German to vaccinate younger people with unused AstraZeneca vaccines

Lantana Nasir
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Several German states called on Sunday for unused AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines to be given to younger people, as worries about side effects and efficacy, as well as a recommendation it be used only for under 65s, have meant low take-up of available doses.

The German health ministry said this week it had administered only 15% of the AstraZeneca shots it has available, confirming concerns that Germans were being selective, slowing vaccination efforts.

Elderly people are first in line to be vaccinated, but Germany has recommended that the AstraZeneca vaccine be given only to people aged 18 to 64. EU regulators have declared it safe for all.

The prime ministers of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria and Saxony told German papers on Sunday that if shots earmarked for older Germans stay unused, the prioritisation scheme should be softened, allowing younger people to get it sooner than originally planned.

“We cannot afford the vaccine sitting around and not being used because some of those entitled reject it”, Baden-Wuerttemberg’s prime minister Winfried Kretschmann told Welt am Sonntag.

Bavaria’s Markus Soeder made similar remarks to Bild am Sonntag and Saxony’s Michael Kretschmer to Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

Health authorities in some European countries including Germany are also facing resistance to the AstraZeneca vaccine after side-effects including fever and muscle pain led some front-line workers to call in sick. The other shots approved in Europe, developed by Pfizer and Moderna, have been linked to similar temporary side-effects.

The German government urged the public on Friday to take the AstraZeneca vaccine while the head of the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases, Lothar Wieler, said data from Britain and Israel showed it was “very, very effective”.

The recommendation that the vaccine go only to people under 65 came from Germany’s expert panel on vaccine use (STIKO). STIKO’s head, Thomas Mertens, said on Friday that it would update its recommendation very soon.

“Somehow the whole thing went kind of badly”, he told broadcaster ZDF.

 

Thailand begins COVID-19 vaccination programme

Lantana Nasir
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Thailand kicked off its COVID-19 inoculation campaign on Sunday, with cabinet ministers, health officials and medical professionals among the first in the queue to receive vaccinations.

The first doses of vaccine, developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech, were given to Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who is also the health minister, among others at an infectious diseases institute on the outskirts of Bangkok.

“I hope that the vaccination will result in people being safe from the spread of COVID-19 and it allows Thailand to return to normalcy as soon as possible,” Anutin told reporters afterwards.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, 66, attended the event, although his age falls outside the range of 18 to 59 suitable to receive SinoVac’s CoronaVac vaccine, so he did not get it.

Thailand received its first 200,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine from China and 117,00 imported doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine this week.

CoronaVac has been distributed to 13 high-risk provinces, which will start injecting front-line health professionals and volunteers on Sunday, the health ministry has said.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine will be ready for use by the second week of March, after going through quality control tests, the company said in a statement.

Thailand is expected to take delivery of a further 1.8 million doses of CoronaVac in March and April.

A mass campaign to administer 10 million doses a month is set to begin in June, with 61 million shots of AstraZeneca vaccines produced by local firm Siam Bioscience.

With a tally of just over 25,000 infections, Thailand has escaped the kind of fallout suffered by some other countries since the pandemic began last year.

 

Poor sanitation: Nasarawa government threatens shutdown of Lafia market

Nnenna Okoronkwo
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The Nasarawa State Government has given the management of Lafia modern market seven days ultimatum to clear the filth in the market or face shutdown.

Mr Musa Ibrahim, Commissioner of Environment and Natural Resources gave the ultimatum on Saturday while inspecting the market during the monthly sanitation exercise in the state.

The commissioner particularly expressed dissatisfaction with the filthy environment around the section where chickens were being been sold and the abattoir.

The odor oozing out from this small abattoir in the market is worrisome. It poses a serious health hazard and cannot be tolerated.

“As such, the environmental and public health laws have given our ministry the right to shutdown any facility including a market for failure to keep it clean,” the Commissioner added.

Ibrahim, however, said the government is giving the management of the market seven days to tidy up the place and all other sections or the entire market would be shutdown.

He called on members of the public to always keep their environment clean to guard against outbreaks of diseases.

Meanwhile, a Mobile Court sitting in Lafia has prosecuted 42 persons for violating the State’s environmental sanitation law.

The Prosecutor, Mr Abubakar Mohammed, who is also the Chief Environment Officer, told the court that the suspects were transacting their private businesses while the sanitation exercise was in progress.

Mohammed said that the offenses violated Section 9 (2) of the State Environmental Sanitation Law.

He urged the court to sanction them accordingly to serve as a deterrent to others.

The Judge, Mr. Shittu Umar, convicted and sentenced accused persons to six months imprisonment with options of fine of between N5,000 to N10,000 respectively.

 

Several dead in bloodiest day of Myanmar anti-coup protest

Bilkisu Halilu Pai
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Myanmar police fired on protesters on Sunday in the bloodiest day of weeks of demonstrations against a military coup and at least seven people were killed and several wounded, sources said.

Myanmar has been in chaos since the army seized power and detained elected government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership on Feb. 1, alleging fraud in a November election her party won in a landslide.

The coup, which brought a halt to tentative steps towards democracy after nearly 50 years of military rule, has drawn hundreds of thousands onto the streets and the condemnation of Western countries.

Police were out in force early and opened fire in different parts of the biggest city of Yangon after stun grenades, tear gas and shots in the air failed to break up crowds. Soldiers also reinforced police.

Several wounded people were hauled away by fellow protesters, leaving bloody smears on pavements, media images showed. One man died after being brought to a hospital with a bullet in the chest, said a doctor who asked not to be identified.

A woman died of a suspected heart attack after police swooped to break up a Yangon teachers’ protest with stun grenades, her daughter and a colleague said.

Police also opened fire in Dawei in the south, killing three and wounding several, politician Kyaw Min Htike said.

The Myanmar Now media outlet reported two people had been killed in a protest in the second city of Mandalay.

Police broke up protests in other towns, including Lashio in the northeast and Myeik in the deep south, residents and media said.

Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing said last week authorities were using minimal force to deal with the protests.

Nevertheless, at least 10 protesters have now died in the turmoil. The army said a policeman has been killed.

The crackdown would appear to indicate determination by the military to impose its authority in the face of widespread defiance, not just on the streets but more broadly in the civil service, municipal administration, the judiciary, the education and health sectors and the media.

“The Myanmar security forces’ clear escalation in use of lethal force in multiple towns and cities … is outrageous and unacceptable,” Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of New York-based Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

Hundreds of protesters refused to leave the streets by early afternoon in Yangon. Many set up barricades while others chanted slogans and sang protest songs.

Police also hurled stun grenades outside a Yangon medical school, sending doctors and students in white lab coats scattering. A group called the Whitecoat Alliance of medics said more than 50 medical staff had been arrested.

State-run MRTV television said more than 470 people had been arrested on Saturday when police launched the nationwide crackdown. It was not clear how many were detained on Sunday.

The police action came after state television announced that Myanmar’s U.N. envoy had been fired for betraying the country, after he urged the United Nations to use “any means necessary” to reverse the coup.

The ambassador, Kyaw Moe Tun, remained defiant. “I decided to fight back as long as I can,” he told Reuters in New York.

While Western countries have condemned the coup and some have imposed limited sanctions, the generals have traditionally shrugged off diplomatic pressure. They have promised to hold a new election but not set a date.

Suu Kyi’s party and supporters said the result of the November vote must be respected.

Suu Kyi, 75, who spent nearly 15 years under house arrest, faces charges of illegally importing six walkie-talkie radios and of violating a natural disaster law by breaching coronavirus protocols. The next hearing in her case is on Monday.

Reuters

Yobe Polls: Over 1m Registered Voters, Six Political Parties To Participate

Nnenna Okoronkwo
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Over one million, three hundred and sixty-five registered voters and six political parties in 178 wards of the 17 local government councils are expected to participate in the local government elections in Yobe State.

The Chairman of the State Independent Electoral Commission, Mamman Mohammed stated that  3,425 presiding officers and clerks, as well as 3,428 security personnel, will man the polling units.

Out of the total 1,714 polling units, seven political wards in Geidam, three in Tarmuwa, two in Bursari, one in Damaturu and five in Gujba local government councils have been relocated to safer areas as a result of security threats.

The Nigeria Police Force in the state has also placed a restriction on vehicular movement between 7 am to 6 pm today Saturday, February 27, 2021 to enable security operatives and other officials conduct a hitch-free, fair and peaceful election.

According to the police spokesman, ASP Dungus Abdulkarim, vehicles on essential services are excepted from the restriction.

 

ChannelsTv/Nnenna.O

2020 Admissions: Jamb sets June 15th deadline

Ime Njoku
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All admissions in the nation’s tertiary institutions for the 2020/2021 Academic Session would end by 15th June, 2021.

The decision was collectively taken at a virtual meeting the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board ,Prof. Ishaq Oloyede held with Heads of Tertiary Institutions in the country 24th of February, 2021.

In his remarks , the Registrar of JAMB,Prof Oloyede said the  meeting with the institutions was aimed at knowing the level of progress on the 2020/21 Admissions scale.

According to him, the essence of the interactive meeting was to forestall an endless admission regime generated by the series of disruptions to daily life occasioned  by the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the meeting would enable the Board to put necessary machinery in place for the 2021/2022 UTME/DE Registration Exercise”

The Registrar had earlier informed the scholars that only 30% of institutions had started admissions into the 2020/2021 Academic Session.

He stated that there was the need to collectively decide when  to close the 2020/2021 Admission Exercise.

He added that the proposal was for Public Universities to end admissions four weeks  ahead of Private Universities, the Polytechnics, Colleges of Education and IEIs.

After a robust and insightful deliberation, members collectively agreed that all public universities are expected to finish their admissions on or before 15th May, 2021, while the private universities and all IEIs, polytechnics and COEs would complete theirs at the agreed date of 15th June, 2021.

Prof.Oloyede reiterated that the chosen deadlines remained sacrosanct and binding on all institutions as the Board would not tolerate any breaches of the collective decision reached at the meeting.

He added that the Board would announce in a week’s time the commencement date for the sale of application documents for the 2021/2022 Academic Session.

Meanwhile, the Board has urged all institutions to adhere strictly to all advisories issued to them on inter/intra-university transfers, foreign inter-university transfers and fresh foreign candidates, change of programmes and institutions and other essential processes related to admission in order to avoid unnecessary bickerings that could endanger the future of innocent candidates and their subsequent mobilization for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). He added these advisories and procedures were to serve as guides for them on how to handle the various issues as they arose.

The Registrar disclosed that transfer of candidates within institutions locally or internationally is an acceptable process as approved by the senate or council of the respective institutions but said that due  process must be followed.

He pointed out that the Board, as a responsible organisation and gate keeper, would not allow the process to be circumvented to allow unqualified candidates to gain access to our institutions.

He said, “JAMB would not be a party to any improper transfer or breach of set guidelines adding that adequate measures or checks must be done to verify if such candidates meet minimum requirements or possess the prerequisite qualifications to be in the institution in the first instance.”

 

Ime N

Dozens of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists charged with subversion

Bilkisu Halilu Pai
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Forty-seven Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners and activists were charged on Sunday with conspiracy to commit subversion in the largest single crackdown on the opposition under a China-imposed national security law.

Among them was Sam Cheung, a 27-year-old activist and a participant in an unofficial primary election last summer, who was charged after reporting to a local police station.

Cheung was arrested in a dawn raid along with 54 other pro-democracy campaigners on Jan. 6 in the largest national security operation since the law passed last June.

They were accused of organising and participating in the unofficial primary last July aimed at selecting the strongest candidates for a legislative council election.

The Hong Kong police said in a statement that they had laid a charge against 47 persons with the single count. They will appear in court on Monday morning.

The decision to charge many activists in a single swoop could potentially strike hard at the opposition movement. Those charged included veterans like Leung Kwok-hung, Eddie Chu and Alvin Yeung; former law professor Benny Tai and prominent young campaigners like Lester Shum, Joshua Wong and Owen Chow.

The European Union Office in Hong Kong called for the immediate release of those arrested.

 “The nature of these charges makes clear that legitimate political pluralism will no longer be tolerated in Hong Kong,” it said in a statement.

Some who reported to police stations across the city pumped their fists and expressed defiance, flanked by supporters.

Of those arrested in January, only eight were not charged on Sunday, including U.S. human rights lawyer John Clancey and veteran activist James To, who remain on bail.

The tightening legal noose on local activists comes as Chinese officials prepare to unveil electoral reforms that will likely further diminish the role and influence of opposition forces in public office.

The Hong Kong police say 99 individuals have been arrested for suspected violations of the security laws so far.

Some of these, including media mogul and prominent China critic Jimmy Lai, have been denied bail despite protracted legal appeals.

The sweeping national security laws punish acts of subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorism with possible life imprisonment.

China justified the laws to restore order following mass protests in 2019 against perceived Chinese suppression of Hong Kong’s basic liberties and autonomy under the “one country, two systems” arrangement. This was put in place in 1997 when the city reverted from British to Chinese rule.

 Reuters

IITAA to launch new cassava seed variety

Nnenna Okoronkwo
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The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, IITA, under the Building an Economically Sustainable, Integrated Cassava Seed System, Phase 2 (BASICS-II) and SANO Food Limited have partnered to launch new cassava seed varieties and organic foods.

The move is to boost cassava production and create wealth for farmers with Nigerians having access to organic and nutritious food, wherefore seek to promote the cultivation of improved cassava varieties as well as the consumption of locally processed products in Nigeria.

Part of the deal is to create awareness on the newly released cassava varieties and at the same time draw consumers’ attention on the availability of locally made and nutritious foods designed to tackle malnutrition.

The two organizations also had a joint public exhibition of fortified foods and cassava varietal display at IITA, Ibadan, which the newly released cassava varieties included Game Changer, Obasanjo-2; Hope, Poundable; Baba-70; TME 419; Farmer’s Pride; Dixon; Ayaya; Sunshine; and Fine face.

According to IITA these varieties have yields above 20 tonnes per ha as opposed to local varieties that give less than 10 tonnes per ha.

Meanwhile, processed foods that were displayed included fortified Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) Garri, Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) Bread, Lemon Grass Tea, and others.

Also on the IITA Yam Improvement for Incomes and Food Security in West Africa, Phase II (YIFSWA-II) had improved yam varieties and value-chain products on display while the IITA mechanization unit displayed locally made cassava harvesters.

During the exhibition, Deputy Director-General (Partnerships for Delivery), IITA, Dr Kenton Dashiell, noted that breeders were making great progress in the development of crop varieties but needed inputs of other stakeholders like the government and processors, who would add value to the research products.

According to Dashiell the final development needed partnerships and collaborations with the private sector to add value to these crops.

He said: “I believe that is what SANO is doing and I’m sure we will get to learn more from them.”

The Director, Development and Delivery Office of IITA, Dr Alfred Dixon, in his address described the SANO-BASICS-II partnership as a win-win collaboration.

“Private sector-led cassava development in Nigeria was essential for the transformational change of cassava in the country.

“Together we will create an economically sustainable cassava value chain where every actor will have space and benefit from cassava.

“We will raise awareness and trigger the adoption of these varieties by farmers”, Dixon added.

The renowned cassava breeder harped on the need to harness the potentials of cassava as a poverty fighter to create jobs, fight food insecurity and boost the nation’s economy.

Also speaking was the Acting General Manager of Sano Foods, Solomon Ojeleye, who highlighted the SANO’s vision, which is to provide foods that are healthy and rich in vitamins.

Ojeleye also identified Turmeric Garri and OFSP Garri, as two products the company developed through research to add nutritional value to cassava.

His said: “We have over 39 products in the market and all of them are organic because we put the health of our consumers first. We use puree, flour, and roots of yellow cassava, Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato, yellow maize, and other crops for the production of several confectioneries which include varieties of bread, cookies, and cakes, and baby food.”

Also speaking was a Vegetative Seed Production Expert at IITA GoSeeed, Dr. Mercy Diebiru-Ojo, who said some of the new and improved varieties currently being promoted boast of high vitamin A content. They also have excellent garri and fufu qualities and superb dry matter content, properties that are important to food processors, flour mills, and industries.

IITA BASICS-II Project Manager, Prof Lateef Sanni, said working with organizations such as Sano Foods would advance the cassava value chain.

Other scientists who also spoke at the event include Director for West Africa Hub, IITA, Michael Abberton; NextGen Cassava Project, Ismail Rabbi; and YIIFSWA-II Tissue Culture Specialist, Morufat Balogun; Post-Harvest Engineer, IITA, Engr Thierno Diallo, also made a presentation on locally produced cassava harvesters.

 

Nigerian government will eliminate multiple taxation in mining sector – Minister

Nnenna Okoronkwo
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0

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Olamilekan Adegbite, has assured miners that the Federal Government would eliminate multiple taxations in the mining sector.

Adegbite gave the assurance on Sunday in Abuja at a forum of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He said that the mines and steel development ministry was working with the National Economic Council and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to ensure that miners were not made to pay multiple taxes.

Observers have been lamenting what they describe as the destructive impact of multiple taxations on the economy of Africa’s most populous nation.

The minister explained that the Federal Government had sole jurisdiction over the mining sector, but that whatever was realised from any state, 13 percent would be paid to the state as derivation as practiced in the oil sector.

“Right now, the money is small because the sector is not so developed so the states are not paying attention that they are getting the money but we call their attention to it.

“Therefore, if we get royalties for gold from Osun State for instance, before it is distributed into the general purse, Osun State will get 13 percent first.

“The same thing applies to the gold we get from Zamfara State, the derivation goes first to that state.

“We are making the governors to be aware that if they support the Federal Government, they will of course, make money in turn and we are getting good cooperation from the governors.”

The Federal Executive Council had, in 2020, authorised the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to directly deduct the federal allocation of any state or local councils found to be imposing illegal taxes on mining activities.

The decision followed a memo by Adegbite, seeking the council’s approval to address major challenges facing the nation’s mining industry.

Suzan O/NAN

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