Jigawa State Records 2,000 Cases of Cholera

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July 20, 2021

Jigawa State government has confirmed the death of 30 people as a result of cholera outbreak while over 2,000 have been hospitalised.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health in Jigawa, Salisu Mu’azu, s disclosed this, saying the cases were reported in nine local government areas of the state. Hadejia and Dutse local governments are the most affected, he said.

Mu’azu said: “The outbreak was worse in Dutse and Hadejia local government areas which may not be unconnected to the suspected flow of water from open spaces into wells and other sources of water used for domestic purposes.”

According to him, the cases started in the last days of the month of June and became worse as rainfall increases flooding in the areas.

“The state government has directed for the release of drugs at three centres of Hadejia, Dutse and Ringim local government areas to enable the victims have an immediate medical attention free of charge.

“Some partner agencies such as UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders have joined hands with the state government in mitigating the scourge from further spreading,” Muazu said.

Jigawa State government has confirmed the death of 30 people as a result of cholera outbreak while over 2,000 have been hospitalized.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health in Jigawa, Salisu Mu’azu, disclosed this, saying the cases were reported in nine local government areas of the state. Hadejia and Dutse local governments are the most affected, he said.

Mu’azu said: “The outbreak was worse in Dutse and Hadejia local government areas which may not be unconnected to the suspected flow of water from open spaces into wells and other sources of water used for domestic purposes.”

According to him, the cases started in the last days of the month of June and became worse as rainfall increases flooding in the areas.

The state government has directed for the release of drugs at three centres of Hadejia, Dutse and Ringim local government areas to enable the victims have an immediate medical attention free of charge.

“Some partner agencies such as UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders have joined hands with the state government in mitigating the scourge from further spreading,” Muazu stated.

South Korean Climber Missing After Fall In Pakistan

By

Angel Gimalo

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July 20, 2021

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Fingerless South Korean mountaineer Kim Hong-bin, who became the world’s first disabled person to conquer all of the world’s 14 highest mountains in the Himalayas

A celebrated South Korean climber who lost his fingers to frostbite 30 years ago has gone missing during his descent from a mountain in Pakistan.

Kim Hong-bin had just scaled the 26,400ft (8047m) high Broad Peak in the Karakoram mountains before he is thought to have fallen into a crevasse.

The climb made the 57-year-old the first disabled person to scale all the world’s tallest mountains.

An initial search failed to locate him and a large operation is being planned.

Kim, who had all his fingers amputated after suffering severe frostbite while climbing in Alaska in 1991, reached the summit of Broad Peak on Sunday as part of an expedition organised by a small group, the Korea Herald reported.

The climber is believed to have later slipped and fallen while descending the Chinese side of the mountain in poor weather, the secretary of the Pakistan Alpine Club, Karrar Haidri, said.

“Since then no information is available about him,” he added, telling the Associated Press that planned search efforts on Tuesday included help from the South Korean embassy in Islamabad.

The other mountaineers who were on the climb with Kim initially searched for him, but were hindered by bad weather conditions, Haidri said. They were reportedly all safe and continuing their descent on Tuesday.

Kim made history by reaching the summit of Broad Peak, conquering the 14 highest mountains in the Himalayas – all of which are above 8,000m.

In 2007, he successfully scaled Mount Everest, the world’s tallest mountain which is located on the border of Nepal and China.

Kim represented his country as part of the Alpine skiing team at the Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City in 2002.

The mountaineer also founded an organisation promoting outdoor activities – including mountain climbing – for children with disabilities.

Nigerian Singer, Tiwa Savage Loses Father

By

Koko Lawrence

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July 20, 2021

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Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress, Tiwatope Savage a.k.a Tiwa Savage has lost her father.

The African super musician took to her social media page @tiwasavage on Monday to announce the sad news.

She wrote, “Early hours of this morning you made peaceful transition, you fought till very end.

“You really fought daddy and it had been rough for you these past couple of years but you are resting now.

“This is tough on me, I am so numb, so weak. Rest in perfect peace my king.

“I love you daddy.

Meanwhile her fans had flooded her page with condolence messages.

Alex Ekubo wrote, “please be strong, daddy is in a better place.”

Another fan, Denolagrey, “I am sorry for your loss love. God is with you. Stay strong. Sending so much love.”

Djbign said ‘‘we were just talking about him yesterday. He is with the Lord.”

Dareynow also wrote, “Please accept our heartfelt condolences for your loss Tiwa.”

Tiwatope made her debut studio album ‘Once Upon a Time’ in 2013.

It was supported by seven singles: ‘Kele Kele Love’, ‘Love Me (3x)”, “Without My Heart”, ‘Ife Wa Gbona’, ‘Folarin’, ‘Olorun Mi’ and ‘Eminado’.

The album was nominated for Best Album of the Year at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards and for Best R&B/Pop Album at The Headies 2014.

She has many other released hit songs and awards.

Today In History – July 20 – 1st Telephone Introduced In Hawaii

By

Angel Gimalo

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July 20, 2021

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514 St Hormisdas Elected As Pope Succeeding Pope Sympowerus

1031 Henry I Succeeds Father Robert II As King Of The Franks (1031-60)

1054 Patriarch Of Constantinople Michael Caerularius, As Head Of A Synod Held In Constantinople Excommunicates Cardinal Humbert Of The Western Church (Rome)

1304 Wars Of Scottish Independence: Fall Of Stirling Castle – King Edward I Of England Takes The Last Rebel Stronghold Of The War

1402 Battle At Ancyra/Angora/Ankara: Timur’ Beats Sultan Bajezid I’s Ottoman Forces

1402 Timur, His Army And 32 Elephants Win The Battle Of Ankara, During His Invasion Of Anatolia, Capturing The Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I

1495 French Viceroy Of Naples Montpensier Surrenders

1498 Emperor Maximilian Names Albrecht Governor Of Netherlands

1553 John Dudley, Lord President Of The Council Under Edward VI, Captured In Cambridge

1609 Emperor Rudolf II Grants Silezische Protestants Freedom Of Religion

1619 Gerardus Vossius Resigns As Dutch Regent States College Leader

1654 Anglo-Portuguese Treaty, Portugal Comes Under English Control

1712 The Riot Act Takes Effect In Great Britain.

1738 North America: French Explorer Pierre Gaultier De Varennes Et De La Vérendrye Reaches The Western Shore Of Lake Michigan

1749 Earl Of Chesterfield Says “Idleness Is Only Refuge Of Weak Minds”

1773 Scottish Settlers Arrive At Pictou, Nova Scotia (Canada)

1793 Scottish Explorer Alexander Mackenzie Completes The First European East-To-West Crossing Of America North Of Mexico

1801 Elisha Brown Jr Presses A 1,235 Pound Cheese Ball At His Farm

1808 Napoleon Decrees All French Jews Adopt Family Names

1810 Citizens Of Bogotá, New Granada (Now Colombia), Declare Independence From Spain

1837 Euston Railway Station Opens In London As The Terminus Of The London And Birmingham Railway (L&BR), The City’s 1st Intercity Railway Station

1847 German Astronomer Theodor Discovers Comet Brorsen-Metcalf

1849 Start Of 1st Lancashire-Yorkshire Clash At Hyde Park, Sheffield

1855 1st Train From Rotterdam To Utrecht In Netherlands

1858 Fee 1st Charged To See A Baseball Game (50 Cents) (NY Beats Bkln 22-18)

1858 Gathering Of Plombieres – Napoleon III Meets Cavour

1861 Confederate States’ Congress Began Holding Sessions In Richmond, Virginia

1862 Guerrilla Campaign In Georgia (Porter’s & Poindexter’s)

1864 Battle At Stephenson’s Depot, Virginia: 200 Killed Or Injured

1864 Battle Of Peachtree Creek-Atlanta Campaign

1866 Sea Battle Of Lissa-Austria Vs Italy

1868 1st Use Of Tax Stamps On Cigarettes

1871 British Columbia Joins The Confederation Of Canada.

1876 1st US Intercollegiate Track Meet Held, Saratoga, NY; Princeton Wins

1877 Military Shoots On Stopped Railroad Workers In Baltimore, Kills 9

1878 1st Telephone Introduced In Hawaii

1890 “Gibbons Stamp Monthly” begins publishing

1890 Snow and hail in Calais, Maine

1894 2000 fed troops recalled from Chicago, having ended Pullman strike

1896 Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: Harold Mahony beats 3-time champion Wilfred Baddeley 6-2, 6-8, 5-7, 8-6, 6-3

1901 Morocco signs an agreement with France fixing Morocco’s frontier with Algeria, a French colony

1906 Brooklyn Superbas pitcher Mal Eason no-hits St Louis Cardinals, 2-0 at Robison Field, St. Louis

1907 A train wreck on the Pere Marquette Railroad near Salem, Michigan kills thirty and injures seventy more

1910 Former Dutch premier Abraham Kuyper acquitted of corruption

1911 Boston Red Sox Smokey Joe Wood no-hits St Louis Browns, 5-0

1911 Generals Henry Wilson/Auguste Dubail sign plan for British Expeditionary army in case of war with Germany

1912 Phillies Sherry Magee steals home twice in 1 game

1913 Turkish troops take Adrianopel & Erdine from Bulgaria

1914 Armed resistance against British rule begins in Ulster

1916 Giants trade Christy Mathewson to Cincinnati Reds

1917 Pact of Corfu signed: Serbs, Croats & Slovenes form Yugoslavia

1917 WW I draft lottery held; #258 is 1st drawn

1920 Dutch soccer club Sportclub Heerenveen is formed; initially known as Athleta; KNVB Cup Champions 2008–09

1921 Congresswoman Alice Mary Robertson becomes the first woman to preside over the floor of US House of Representatives

Abductors Return 1 Out Of 121 Students Kidnapped In Kaduna

By

Angel Gimalo

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July 19, 2021

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Abductors of 121 students of Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna have freed one student on the basis of ill health.

The student, it was stated, was returned by two of the abductors.

A source disclosed that the released student had since been taken to the hospital and is gradually recuperating.

The source said the freed students narrated that the bandits were treating them well, adding that the leader of the abductors directed that none of the abductees be molested.

The source added that the released student said their abductors always allowed them to observe their religious obligations.

According to the source, the student said, “We sing choruses and pray loudly without molestation. The leader of the bandits said we must be allowed to worship our God.”

The source explained that the abductors even asked the students to pray for them each time they were leaving the camp either for operations or market so that they will return safely.

Also according to the source, the church is doing everything possible to meet the conditions laid out by the bandits for the students to be released.

China Accused Of Cyber-Attack On Microsoft Exchange Servers

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Zoe Maven

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July 19, 2021

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The UK, US and EU have accused China of carrying out a major cyber-attack earlier this year.The attack targeted Microsoft Exchange servers, affecting at least 30,000 organisations globally.

Western security services believe it signals a shift from a targeted espionage campaign to a smash-and-grab raid, leading to concerns Chinese cyber-behaviour is escalating.

The Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) has also been accused of wider espionage activity and a broader pattern of “reckless” behaviour.

China has previously denied allegations of hacking and says it opposes all forms of cyber-crime.

The unified call-out of Beijing shows the gravity with which this case has been taken. Western intelligence officials say aspects are markedly more serious than anything they have seen before.

It began in January when hackers from a Chinese-linked group known as Hafnium began exploiting a vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange. They used the vulnerability to insert backdoors into systems which they could return to later.

The UK said the attack was likely to enable large-scale espionage, including the acquisition of personal information and intellectual property.

It was mainly carried out against specific systems which aligned with Hafnium’s previous targets, such as defence contractors, think tanks and universities.

Western security sources believe Hafnium obtained advance knowledge that Microsoft intended to patch or close the vulnerability, and so shared it with other China-based groups to maximise the benefit before it became obsolete.

Ivory Coast To Become Regional Medicine Hub With IFC Loan

By

Zoe Maven

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July 19, 2021

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A World Bank programme to help medical clinics in Ivory Coast procure equipment from General Electric and Philips could spur the cocoa-producing country’s development into a regional medical hub.

Prime Minister Patrick Achi said on Sunday If we do not solve the problem of equipping our private clinics and hospitals, this goal of seeing the private (health) sector grow and create jobs will be a failure.

A $300 million financing agreement signed on Friday by Ivory Coast and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) aims to remedy that situation by providing credit to clinics hoping to get supplies from Philips and General Electric.

As in other African countries, many smaller clinics in Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa producer, struggle to obtain the bank loans necessary to buy or rent essential medical equipment.

The programme is part of the IFC’s Africa Medical Equipment Facility, which partners with African financial institutions and global medical supply firms to give local currency loans to small- and medium-sized clinics for equipment purchases.

As part of the agreement, Philips and General Electric will become the only two companies from which Ivorian private and public medical facilities procure medical equipment, Achi said.

Achi sees the agreement’s exclusivity clause as a reason for optimism. By limiting options to just two suppliers, Achi said that clinics will be able to secure their equipment at lower costs and with easier access to spare parts.

But the programme’s greatest impact will be on clinics seeking to grow into larger medical facilities, Achi said. If smaller institutions can finance their own expansions, so too can the country expand its regional medical footprint.

Morocco Court Jails Journalist Omar Radi For Six Years

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Zoe Maven

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July 19, 2021

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A Moroccan court on Monday sentenced journalist and human rights activist Omar Radi to six years in jail on charges of espionage and rape, offences which he has denied.

Radi’s trial opened in June last year, just days after rights group Amnesty International charged that Moroccan authorities had planted Israel-made Pegasus spyware on his cellphone.

Rabat denied the report at the time, and on Monday the authorities “categorically rejected” using Israeli spyware to monitor critics at home and abroad.

Radi is a known vocal critic of the authorities and has been detained since July 2020 and his arrest and detention sparked protests by rights activists, intellectuals and politicians at home and abroad.

He faced charges of rape and “undermining the internal security of the state” in two separate cases investigated separately but judged together.

Radi was also accused of having received “foreign funds” in exchange for providing “intelligence” information to a third party.

On Monday Amnesty in a statement labelled the proceedings “flawed” and “not justice”, and called for “a fair retrial in line with international standards”.

Radi has protested his innocence throughout, and last month told the court the case against him was void and “did not justify my imprisonment for nearly a year”.

He said he was the victim of people “who consider themselves above the law”, and rejected both charges of rape and espionage.

A government statement denied that Rabat had “infiltrated the phones of several national and international public figures and heads of international organisations through computer software.

Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine Hold ‘Milestone’ EU Summit

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Zoe Maven

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July 19, 2021

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The leaders of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine on Monday met European Council chief Charles Michel to push their EU membership bids, with Michel hailing the summit as a “milestone”.

Seeking to emerge from Moscow’s orbit, the eastern European nations set up the Associated Trio diplomatic format in May to jointly advance their bid to join the European Union.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, Moldova’s Maia Sandu and Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine held talks with Michel near Georgia’s Black Sea city of Batumi, in the ancient clifftop Petra fortress overlooking the sea.

Addressing the three presidents, Michel said: “Our meeting here with you is an important milestone.”

He said the EU has pledged an “unprecedented investment package” worth 2.3 billion euros with the potential to mobilise up to 17 billion euros in public and private investments for the region.

At the end of the summit, the three presidents signed a joint declaration pledging to work together for their countries’ “European future.”

In an effort to derail former Soviet republics from seeking EU and NATO membership, Moscow has lavished economic and military aid to separatist regimes in Georgia’s breakaway enclaves of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and in Moldova’s Transnistria region.

The refusal of Ukraine’s then-president Viktor Yanukovich in 2013 to sign an association agreement with the EU triggered a revolt that toppled his pro-Russian government.

It was followed by Moscow’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014, sparking an ongoing conflict with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Haiti Interim Prime Minister Joseph Set To Step Down This Week

By

Zoe Maven

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July 19, 2021

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Haiti’s acting Prime Minister, Claude Joseph, who has nominally led the country since the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, will hand power to a challenger backed by the international community.

The announcement appears to end a power struggle in the Caribbean nation between Joseph and Ariel Henry, the 71-year old neurosurgeon who was appointed prime minister by Moise two days before the killing but had yet to be sworn in.

Haiti foreign ministry senior official Israel Jacky Cantave said that Joseph took charge following Moise’s assassination to help ensure continuity of state but would hand over power to Henry now that there is a consensus on the future of the country and protests have calmed.

Cantave said that Haiti’s Council of Ministers would meet on Monday and that if all goes well, Joseph could hand over power to Henry in a ceremony on Tuesday.

Moise was shot dead when attackers armed with assault rifles stormed his private residence in the hills above Port-au-Prince.

The assassination has pitched the poorest country in the Americas into political uncertainty at a time of surging gang violence that has displaced thousands of people and hampered economic activity.

Joseph told the Washington Post in an interview published Monday that he and Henry had met privately over the past week, and that he had agreed on Sunday to step down “for the good of the nation” and was willing to transfer power “as quickly as possible.”

Haiti, a country of about 11 million people, has struggled to achieve stability since the fall of the Duvalier dynastic dictatorship in 1986, and has grappled with a series of coups and foreign interventions.