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Substandard Products: SON Warns Manufacturers Against Prosecution

Coordinator, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), in-charge of Rivers and Bayelsa, has warned manufacturers against producing and trading in substandard products to avoid prosecution.

Ayuba gave the advice on Monday, in Port Harcourt, at the presentation of 31 certificates to 27 different manufacturing companies, tagged: “SON Certification, a stimulant to industrialization growth”.

He said that the significance of the certification was to provide guarantees of safety and confidence to manufacturers and consumers in Rivers and Bayelsa, as well as the country at large.

He urged consumers to express dissatisfaction, through consumer complaint desks, on any substandard products sold to them in stores, markets or companies.

According to him, this would enable SON to prosecute manufacturers who refused to produce standard products in the country.

“This is so important because we will use the distributors to reach the companies where these products are manufactured and prosecute them for not complying with the Nigerian manufacturing standards.

Pandemic Preparedness Treaty: Global Leaders Push For One Health Approach

A call came in a joint article published in international newspapers on Tuesday, penned by leaders from five continents.

The signatories included Germany’s Angela Merkel, Britain’s Boris Johnson, France’s Emmanuel Macron, South Korea’s Moon Jae-in, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, Indonesia’s Joko Widodo and Chile’s Sebastian Pinera.

Leaders from 25 countries, the European Union and the World Health Organization (WHO) sought to get the ground rules down in writing to streamline and speed up the reaction to future global outbreaks.

The treaty would aim to ensure that information, virus pathogens, technology to tackle the pandemic and products such as vaccines are shared swiftly and equitably among nations.

In other words the treaty seeks to solve and address the problems of data sharing , techology sharing, and strenghtnening national capacity.

Leaders from key world powers including the United States, China, Russia and Japan are not among the signatories so far.

First proposed by European Council president Charles Michel at the United Nations in December, the notion of a treaty has since been endorsed by EU and G7 countries.

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) lobby group said the importance of incentives to develop tests, treatments and vaccines should be reflected in the treaty.

“The biopharmaceutical industry and its supply chain is part of the solution for future pandemics and therefore should play a role in shaping an international pandemic treaty,” IFPMA chief Thomas Cueni said in a statement.

The joint article said the additional treaty should be aimed at “greatly enhancing international cooperation” on alert systems, data-sharing and research to help track rising threats and the production of vaccines, medicines and protective equipment to tackle diseases.

World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says, in May as Members States of World Health Assembly seats  there will be a resolution on the Proposal.

Pandemic Preparedness Treaty is a global move to ratify one health system riding on the covid-19 vaccine equity drive to all nations of the world.

South Korea’s Biggest Automaker To Suspend Production In Ulsan

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The global shortage of semiconductors is forcing Hyundai Motor, to temporarily suspend production at its plant number one in Ulsan.

The nation’s biggest automaker is suspending production there from April 7th until the 14th.

The supply issue involves the front view camera systems for the Kona SUV and another part for the IONIQ-five, Hyundai’s first all-electric model.

The chip shortage slowed down the production of carmakers around the world, including GM, Toyota and Volkswagen.

Bushiri Wins Bid to Have South Africa Accusers Testify in Malawi Court

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Magistrate Court in Lilongwe has ruled that Prophet Shepherrd Bushiri’s South African accusers should come to Malawi to testify as part of authenticating their sworn affidavits.

Bushiri had asked the court to let his South African accusers appear before Malawi courts to be cross-examined by the defence.- The magistrate says, the law says, the court must receive evidence in the same way that a preliminary inquiry would.

In his ruling, magistrate Patrick Chirwa said that state argued that the court must interpret the law is wrong.

He said that the law as he reads it in section 9 of extradition act says the court must have same powers and jurisdiction as in a preliminary inquiry.

Chirwa noted that the court must rely on part 8 of the same section. He further said that he he agreed with defence that the state violated the law by not reading out charges, and not interviewing witnesses for evidence.

He also said the state cannot rely on statements taken by other people in some other places, adding that the law allows the accused people should be allowed to interview witnessed.

Magistrate further added that the Bushiri’s have a right to question all witnesses and that the state must allow the Bushiri’s the right to question witnesses.

He then ruled that witnesses must be present in Malawi and sign under oath in Malawi

U.S. Military Wraps Missile Defense Units Exercise In Indo-Pacific

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The U.S. military has completed a two-week training of its missile defense units in the Indo-Pacific region in an apparent move to better counter ballistic missile attacks from North Korea and China.

According to the U.S. Army website the “combined command post-training,” wrapped up on March 12th, and it involved the 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do Province.

They are also in charge of operating the Patriot and the THAAD systems installed in Seongju base.

It’s speculated the exercise is held to test the improvements being made to integrate the THAAD and Patriot missile interceptor systems.

President Buhari Expected Back In Nigeria Second Week Of April

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President Muhammadu Buhari has presided over a security meeting at the State House in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

This took place hours before his scheduled trip to the United Kingdom today for a routine medical check-up.

Those in attendance Chief of Defence Staff, Lucky Irabor who arrived at the State House shortly before 10.00 am; the Chief of Army Staff, Ibrahim Attahiru; Chief of Naval Staff, Awwal Gambo, and the Chief of Air Staff, Marshal Isiaka Amao.

Others at the meeting include Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari; the National Security Adviser, Babagana Munguno; and the Inspector General Of Police, Mohammed Adamu.

The President is expected back in Nigeria during the second week of April 2021.

Seoul’s Foreign Ministry Protests Japan’s Territorial Claims

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South Korea has slammed Japan and summoned its senior diplomat to Seoul on Tuesday.

This comes as Tokyo authorized new high school textbooks that renew its false territorial claims to Korea’s Dokdo Islets.

Seoul’s foreign ministry on Tuesday strongly protested to the Japanese government about the approval of Japanese high school textbooks that contain unilateral claims to South Korean territory and called for an immediate correction.

The ministry made it clear once again that the Dokdo Islets belong to South Korea historically, geographically and under international law.

It also called for Japan to educate its young people in accordance with the same apologetic manner that Japan expressed regarding its system of wartime sexual slavery so that there can be a constructive and future-oriented relationship.

Seoul’s foreign ministry summoned a senior official at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to lodge a complaint.

Expert says forensic investigation can curb Nigeria’s $10b yearly illicit financial outflows

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The application of Forensic science in Nigeria will halt the pervasive illicit financial outflows estimated at a whopping $10 billion yearly, particularly by the multinationals from Nigeria.

Also, the deployment of fraud preventive technology will help Nigeria account for recovered loot and prevent their re-looting.

These assertions were made by a forensic expert and Chairman Board of Trustees, the Society for Forensic Accounting and Fraud Prevention, Mr. Ilyiasu Gadhinbaki at the weekend in an exclusive interview with The Guardian.

Gashinbaki, whose society is seeking a chartered status at the Nigerian House of Representatives, said such savings from illicit and corrupt practices would assist Nigeria to address critical needs. He insisted that if properly employed, it will detect crime a thousand miles away before it is perpetrated.

He advised the country to quickly employ the forensic science application ahead of the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) owing to the expected exposure to risk.

EFCC arrests suspected bitcoin fraudster in Delta

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Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a 24 years old female, Queen Jonathan, for alleged involvement in a Bitcoin scam in Oghara, Delta State.

The spokesman of the commission, Wilson Uwujaren made this known in a statement on Tuesday.

Uwujaren said the suspect was arrested on Friday by men from the Benin Zonal office of the commission.

According to him, the suspect presented herself as one Sophia Rodriguez, an expert in Bitcoin, on Instagram, to defraud unsuspecting victims.

He said items recovered from her include an Infinix Hot 8 mobile phone.

Tear gas reportedly fired on Tunisian anti-government protesters

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Tunisian police fired tear gas at demonstrators in an attempt to disperse crowds gathering at local government headquarters in the southern city of Tataouine, demanding action on jobs and the economy, according to local reports.

On Tuesday a group of primarily young Tunisians marched on government headquarters in Tataouine, where they called for the governor to step down. They also demanded the state do more to improve employment and investment in the region.

The protesters claim the government has failed to implement changes agreed to last November in an evolving group of economic and employment measures called the El Kamour pact of 2017.

Local media reports say clashes erupted between demonstrators and police near the government office that protesters had attempted to storm with the intention of holding a sit-in demonstration on Tuesday. Witnesses told Reuters by telephone that the protestors threw stones at police and burnt tires.

Security forces also closed the road between Tataouine and Medenine, firing tear gas canisters at protesters who hadn’t left the area, the witnesses reportedly said.