Argentina Covid Row: City Mayor Wins Case Against Government Restrictions

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May 4, 2021

Argentina’s supreme court on Tuesday ruled in favor of the city of Buenos Aires in a dispute with the federal government over the suspension of school classes.

Last month, President Alberto Fernandez ordered schools in the capital and its surroundings to close as part of measures to combat the latest wave of coronavirus infections.

But the city’s mayor, opposition figure Horacio Rodriguez Larreta, went to court to prevent this from happening.

Four out of the five supreme court judges ruled that Fernandez’s decree violated the capital’s autonomy.

“The City of Buenos Aires and its provinces can manage the opening of classes… prioritizing the opening and resumption of in-person classes,” said the court.

The fifth judge abstained, considering the issue beyond the court’s jurisdiction.

Fernandez said he was “saddened” by the ruling, adding that he would “take care of Argentines’ health no matter how many pages of rulings they (judges) write.”

The center-left president announced on April 18 a raft of measures, including a two-week suspension of classes, aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19 in the capital.

On Friday he extended those measures, including a nighttime curfew, for a further three weeks.

Meanwhile, Vice President Cristina Kirchner questioned the court’s decision and pointed out that the judges met by video conference.

While waiting for the court’s decision, center-right mayor Rodriguez Larreta decided that pre-school and primary classes would remain open and secondary schools would use a mix of virtual and in-person lessons.

Mali Woman Gives Birth To 9 Babies – Government

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Angel Gimalo

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May 4, 2021

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A Malian woman gave birth to nonuplets in Morocco on Tuesday and all nine babies are “doing well”, her government said, although Moroccan authorities had yet to confirm what would be an extremely rare case.

Mali’s government flew 25-year-old Halima Cisse, a woman from the north of the West African state, to Morocco for better care on March 30.

She was initially believed to have been carrying septuplets.

Cases of women successfully carrying septuplets to term are rare — and nonuplets even rarer.

Moroccan health ministry spokesman Rachid Koudhari said he had no knowledge of such a multiple birth having taken place in one of the country’s hospitals.

But Mali’s health ministry said in a statement that Cisse had given birth to five girls and four boys by Caesarean section.

“The mother and babies are doing well so far,” Mali’s Health Minister Fanta Siby told AFP, adding that she had been kept informed by the Malian doctor who accompanied Cisse to Morocco.

They are due to return home in several weeks’ time, she added.

Doctors had been concerned about Cisse’s health, according to local press reports, as well as her babies’ chances of survival.

Mali’s health ministry said in a statement that ultrasound examinations conducted in both Mali and Morocco had suggested that Cisse was carrying seven babies.

Siby offered her congratulations to “the medical teams of Mali and Morocco, whose professionalism is at the origin of the happy outcome of this pregnancy”.

Italy Ready To Welcome Back The World – Draghi

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Angel Gimalo

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May 4, 2021

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Italy is ready to welcome back travellers, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said Tuesday after hosting a G20 meeting that put tourism at the heart of the global post-pandemic recovery.

“It’s time for you to book your holidays in Italy!” Draghi told reporters, promising to provide “clear and simple rules” to ensure visitors could travel around safely.

“The world longs to travel here. The pandemic has forced us to close down temporarily. But Italy is ready to welcome back the world.”

Italy has suffered badly from the pandemic, both in terms of the death toll — the highest in the EU at more than 120,000 — and the recession sparked by coronavirus restrictions.

Home to Venice and Florence, Portofino and Capri, Italy had been the world’s fifth-most visited destination, but visitor numbers collapsed by more than 60 percent from 2019 to 2020.

Draghi noted the European Union is hoping to have its “green” pass up and running from the second half of June, which would allow easier entry for tourists who have been vaccinated, tested negative or can show immunity.

First, he said, in mid-May, Italy hopes to make operational its own national green pass, allowing travel within the country.

But it was not clear whether this would allow international visitors to enter Italy more easily. Arrivals from most countries are currently restricted.

Under rules in place until May 15, for example, tourists from the rest of Europe must self-isolate for five days upon arrival in Italy.

Draghi was speaking after an Italy-hosted virtual meeting of tourism ministers from the Group of 20 most powerful nations.

In a joint statement, they noted tourism was still one of the sectors hardest hit by Covid-19, after countries around the world grounded flights and told citizens to stay at home.

“With nearly 62 million travel and tourism jobs lost globally, representing a drop of 18.5 percent, the outlook remains highly uncertain,” they said.

Egypt’s Fighter Jets From France To Be Financed Through 10-year Loan

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Angel Gimalo

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May 4, 2021

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Egypt’s military has ordered 30 Rafale jets from French defence firm Dassault Aviation, part of a multi-billion-dollar defence mega-deal confirmed by France.

The order, which follows the 2015 purchase of 24 Rafale jets, the first sold to a foreign country, will be financed through a 10-year loan, the military said in a statement.

An Investigative site had reported that the order concluded on April 26 was part of a secret defence mega-deal, including missiles and electronics, worth almost four billion euros ($4.8 billion).

French defence ministry sources confirmed the contract was worth “in the order of” that figure and included weapons and training.

Egypt is to take out loans from French banks, guaranteed by the state in France, the French finance ministry said.

Eighteen single-seat models of the Rafale and 12 twin-seaters are to be delivered between 2024 and 2026, according to the French defence ministry.

Egypt is the world’s third-biggest arms importer after Saudi Arabia and India, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Lebanon, Israel Hold Talks Over Maritime Border

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Angel Gimalo

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May 4, 2021

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Lebanon and Israel held US-mediated negotiations over their disputed maritime border on Tuesday after a months-long hiatus, in efforts to clear the way for offshore oil and gas exploration.

The five-hour indirect talks, between countries still technically at war, were held at the UN base in the town of Naqura in southern Lebanon, the National News Agency (NNA) said.

Washington said Friday they were to be brokered by US diplomat John Desrocher, and called the resumption of talks “a positive step towards a long-awaited resolution”.

Lebanon and Israel last year also took part in indirect US-brokered talks to discuss demarcation.

But those talks stalled after Lebanon demanded they cover a larger area, including part of the Karish gas field, where Israel has given exploration rights to a Greek firm.

Last year’s talks were supposed to discuss a Lebanese demand for 860 square kilometres (330 square miles) of territory in the disputed maritime area, according to a map sent to the United Nations in 2011.

But Lebanon then said the map was based on erroneous calculations and demanded 1,430 square kilometres (552 square miles) more territory further south, including part of Karish.

The Lebanese presidency said in a statement after Tuesday’s meeting that US mediation wanted negotiations to deal with Israeli and Lebanese maps “registered with the UN”, referring to the 860 square kilometre area.

“This contravenes the Lebanese proposal and the principle of negotiating without preconditions,” the statement said.

Polls Suggest Solid Win For Isabel Diaz Ayuso, Spanish Anti-lockdown Leader

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Angel Gimalo

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May 4, 2021

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Madrid residents voted Tuesday in a regional election expected to hand a comfortable victory to its hardline leader who has soared in prominence for stubbornly resisting virus restrictions.

After voting closed at 8:00 pm (1800 GMT), the results of two polls taken in the days running up to the ballot, were released, both suggesting a solid win for Isabel Diaz Ayuso, a rising star in the right-wing Popular Party (PP).

At the helm of Spain’s richest region for just over 18 months, Ayuso has been one of the leading critics of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s leftist government and its handling of the pandemic.

An outspoken hardliner, she has won widespread support for resisting government pressure to impose tighter restrictions on the local economy.

Madrid is the only major European capital that has kept bars, restaurants and theatres open since the national lockdown ended in June 2020.

Just over 5.1 million people were eligible to vote in Tuesday’s election, which comes after a bitterly-fought and divisive campaign in a region that has been ruled by the PP for more than 25 years.

From the early hours, there were long queues outside polling stations, with turnout at just over 69 percent an hour before the close, some 11 percentage points higher than in 2019.

Although Madrid has suffered Spain’s highest numbers of infections and deaths, Ayuso has consistently defied calls to shut restaurants, turning her into the heroine of the hospitality sector.

A year into the pandemic, Ayuso caught the political establishment by surprise, calling a snap election in a bid to cash in on the political capital she has more than likely earned.

And polls suggest her gamble will pay off, with results from a final pre-vote survey by Gad3 suggesting Ayuso’s PP would take 62-65 seats in the 136-seat parliament, up from 30, while Sanchez’s Socialists would end up with 25-28, down from 37.

Another poll by Sociometrica predicted a similar outcome with the PP taking 58-62 seats and the Socialists between 26 and 29.

Tennis: Halep Knocked Out Of Madrid Open

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Angel Gimalo

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May 4, 2021

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World number three Simona Halep was dumped out of the Madrid Open on Tuesday, losing 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 in the last 16 to Belgian Elise Mertens, while Dominic Thiem claimed a straightforward win in his first match since March.

Romania’s Halep, who won the Madrid title in 2016 and 2017, is still yet to reach a WTA Tour final this season and this was her earliest exit in the Spanish capital since a 2015 first-round loss.

Halep had sailed through the first two rounds on the Madrid clay without dropping a set but she ended up second best in a match which yielded 15 breaks of serve.

Halep served 10 double faults in the match, Mertens nine.

Halep, a two-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one, was twice a break up in the final set at 3-1 and 4-3 but finally succumbed after just over two and a half hours of play.

In the quarter-finals, 13th seed Mertens will meet her doubles partner, Belarusian seventh seed Aryna Sabalenka, who dispatched American Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-2 in just 52 minutes.

Two other quarter-final line-ups are also settled, with world number one Ashleigh Barty set to meet ninth seed Petra Kvitova while eighth seed Belinda Bencic is up against Spaniard Paula Badosa, ranked 62 in the world.

The final last-eight tie will see Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova play either Maria Sakkari or Karolina Muchova.

The Russian edged out Australian Open runner-up Jennifer Brady 7-5, 6-7 (8/10), 6-3 despite missing a match point in the second set.

Senate Expecting Security Chiefs’ Briefing Thursday

By

Angel Gimalo

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May 4, 2021

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The Senate on Tuesday shifted its proposed meeting with Service Chiefs, the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Inspector General of Police to Thursday.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan disclosed this at plenary.

Lawan said the security chiefs, who are supposed to brief the Senate, are still engaged at the National Security Council meeting which may extend till Wednesday.

He said: “The briefing will be very crucial, for us to be properly informed and properly guided.The only item on the Order Paper on Thursday will be the briefing.”

The Senate last Tuesday, after an exhaustive debate, resolved to invite the heads of the nation’s Armed Forces and other security agencies over the deteriorating security situation in the country.
It had also resolved its leadership should meet with President Muhammdu Buhari, to seek ways of mitigating the security challenges bedeviling the country.

Lawan said: “You will recall that on Wednesday we announced that the Chief of Defence Staff, the Service Chiefs, the Inspector General of Police and the DG NIA will be coming today at 11.00am to brief the Senate on the security situation.

“Today the National Security Council is continuing its meeting that it started last week. Therefore the invited security heads will not be able to come for the briefing.

“We are not sure if they will finish their meeting today. We assume it could spill to Wednesday too just like it spilled from Thursday to Tuesday.

“So to be on the side of caution, we have now fixed the date for the briefing to be Thursday, 6th May.
“I want to appeal to all of us that the briefing we will take from the Service Chiefs and other security agencies will be very crucial for us to be properly informed, properly guided and that if there is any request for supplementary budget, we should be able to understand why we should consider and approve such request.

“On Thursday, the only item on the order paper will be the briefing. We will do that as a special day for the engagement, the interaction between the Senate and the service.”

Most Gorgeous Girl Nigeria, MGGN, Debuts

By

Koko Lawrence

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May 4, 2021

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Most Gorgeous Girl Nigeria (MGGN) has made its debut with the aim of empowering the girl-child in the country.

Miss Grace Ene, the Chief Executive Officer of MGGN, announced the maiden edition of the beauty pageant at a news conference on Monday in Abuja.

According to her, MGGN is a celebration of youth and empowerment, an important way to convey the true meaning of beauty and the empowerment of all women and girl-child.

She stressed that the MGGN was aimed at creating a formidable voice for the girl-child and making a meaningful impact for them through pageantry.

“The girl-child deserves more in our community, there has been terrible conflict that separated families in our country.

“It is time to make sure change and transition for peace to reign, we need to ensure the love and peace reign because all of us have only one thing in common,” she said.

Ene said that the pageant would be an opportunity to demonstrate at a national level that there was no intercultural barrier in spite of not speaking the same language, culture and tradition.

She said “we all speak the same language of life, respect and integrity through the pageantry.”

She said that the first edition would hold on October 29, with a unique process targeted at spotting young female stars with talents in a bid to accelerate their progress by providing mentorship.

According to her, there is going to be a star prize of a car and cash prizes for the winner, first and second runner up.

Ene said that 37 MGGN finalists would be selected, one from each state in the country and the FCT, adding that they would be in the academy for nine weeks before a winner emerged at the grand finale.

European Commission says Efforts To Ratify China Investment Deal On Ice After Sanctions

By

Elizabeth Williams

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May 4, 2021

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The European Commission said Tuesday that efforts to win approval for the EU’s massive investment deal with China were effectively “suspended” given the soured diplomatic relations between both sides after tit-for-tat sanctions.

“We now in a sense have suspended… political outreach activities from the European Commission side,” EU Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told Newsmen in an interview.

“It’s clear in the current situation with the EU sanctions in place against China and Chinese counter sanctions in place, including against members of European Parliament (that) the environment is not conducive for ratification of the agreement,” Dombrovskis said.

Trying to ratify the deal “will depend really on how broader EU-China relations will evolve”, he added.

To the surprise of many, the European Union and China in late December approved a major investment pact, wrapping up seven years of painstaking negotiations thanks to a final push by Germany.

The pact has been defended as a much needed opening to China’s long-closed economy for European companies, but was sure to face a difficult ratification amongst the 27 member states as well as the European Parliament.

Dombrovskis, a former Latvian prime minister, is in charge of spearheading that approval process in the EU, which has already met with pushback from key MEPs.

The European Union sanctioned four Chinese officials in March over suspected human rights violations in China’s far western region of Xinjiang.

China responded by imposing its own sanctions against European politicians, scholars and research groups.