KICNEWS

Category: News

  • Sweden records its first case of deadly monkeypox strain

    Sweden records its first case of deadly monkeypox strain

    Sweden records its first case of deadly monkeypox strain

    Monkeypox

    The Swedish Public Health Agency on Thursday, confirmed a case of deadly Monkeypox from one of their citizens in Stockholm.

    The infected individual was diagnosed with the Clade 1b subclade of the virus which marks the first time this strain has been identified outside Africa.

    This strain has been responsible for the significant surge in cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since September 2023.

    “A person who sought care in Stockholm has been diagnosed with mpox caused by the clade I variant. It is the first case caused by clade I to be diagnosed outside the African continent,” the agency stated.

    The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a global public health emergency.

    The outbreak in the DRC has been devastating, with 548 deaths reported since the start of the year. On Wednesday, August 14, the WHO declared the situation in the DRC and neighbouring countries a public health emergency of international concern.

    Monkeypox was first discovered in humans in 1970 in what is now the DRC. The virus is transmitted from infected animals to humans and can also spread through close physical contact between people. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, and large boil-like skin lesions.

  • Sad: 3 friends, Alfa behead 14-year-old boy for rituals in Ibadan

    Sad: 3 friends, Alfa behead 14-year-old boy for rituals in Ibadan

    Sad: 3 friends, Alfa behead 14-year-old boy for rituals in Ibadan

    14-year-old boy

    A 14-year-old boy, Malik Kareem was reportedly beheaded by his 3 friends and an Alfa for money rituals.

    The incident occurred on Saturday at the Olorisaoko community in the Akinyele Local Government Area of the state.

    The victim recently wrote his WASSCE at Iyana Community Grammar School, Olode, Moniya, Ibadan.

    Punch reported that the victim, alongside three of his friends, contacted a Muslim cleric for a money ritual on that day.

    Unknown to the victim, the three other boys had bargained with the cleric to kill him for a money ritual.

    News of Kareem’s murder made the family rush to the cleric’s house and confirmed the headless body was their son.

    The bereaved family said they learnt that Kareem was strangled to death, beheaded and his head, which was missing from his body, had been cremated.

    The cleric had burnt the head so the other boys would use the ashes to drink pap daily.

    The Muslim cleric had fled at the time.

    The state Police Public Relations Officer, Adewale Osifeso, said investigations had already commenced on the incident.

    Loved ones have taken to social media to mourn the deceased.

  • Hunger: Customs begins duty-free import of food items

    Hunger: Customs begins duty-free import of food items

    Hunger: Customs begins duty-free import of food items

    Food Items

    The Nigeria Customs Service has been instructed to swing into action in implementing the zero per cent import duty and exemption of Value-Added Tax on basic food items after President Bola Tinubu’s approval.

    The Ministry of Finance confirmed Tinubu’s approval in a letter to the Nigeria Customs Service dated August 8, 2024.

    Subsequently, the Comptroller-General of the NCS, Bashir Adeniyi, instructed officials of the service in a circular to commence enforcement measures.

    In the circular titled, “Approval for the implementation of zero per cent duty rate on basic food items,” the NCS said the Ministry of Finance sent a letter to the service, informing the agency that Tinubu has approved the implementation.

    The letter dated August 14, 2024, and signed by the Deputy Comptroller-General, C.K Niagwan, noted that the food commodities include maize, husked brown rice, wheat, grain beans, and millet.

    She stated that the policy is limited to the items listed and is effective from July 15 to December 31, 2024.

    The letter read, “I am directed to forward herewith a copy of the Federal Ministry of Finance letter, confirming His Excellency, Mr President’s approval for the implementation of zero per cent duty rate and Value Added Tax exemption on some basic food items.

    “You are to note the following, ‘the policy is restricted to the items listed in the letter and it is effective July 15, 24 until December 31, 24. The importation of these items shall be limited to investors with milling capacity and a verifiable Backward Integration Programme for some of the items.”

    The deputy director further stated that the finance ministry would provide the list of importers and approved quotas during the implementation period and called for wide coverage to ensure strict compliance.

    “The Federal Ministry of Finance shall from time to time, during the implementation period, furnish the Nigeria Customs Service with the list of importers and their approved quotas to guide the importation of the basic food items. Ensure wide circulation for strict compliance, please,” the circular added.

    Recall that the Federal Government announced on July 10 the suspension of duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of food staples through land and sea borders to reduce inflation.

    On August 7, the NCS said the duty waiver on imported foods would be implemented within the coming week.

  • N21M Salary: I’m vindicated – Shehu Sani tells RMFAC

    N21M Salary: I’m vindicated – Shehu Sani tells RMFAC

    N21M Salary: I’m vindicated – Shehu Sani tells RMFAC

    Shehu Sani
    Senator Shehu Sani

    Shehu Sani, a former lawmaker, says he has been vindicated by the confession of Senator Kawu on receiving N21 million monthly as salaries and allowances.

    Sani, who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District had earlier claimed that senators receive a monthly running cost of ₦13.5m in addition to a ₦750,000 salary.

    Reacting to this claim, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) refuted Sani and stated that the salary of a senator stands around N1.06 million.

    However, in a twist of events, a lawmaker of the Nigerian Senate, Sumaila Kawu, in an interview with BBC Hausa Service said his salary and other allowances amount to N21m every month.

    He said this serves as funds needed for the running cost of his office as a senator. The lawmaker also stated that the few deductions on his salary are done by the RMFAC.

    Reacting to Kawu’s revelation, Sani took to X to write: “Yesterday, the RMFAC refuted my statement but I’m vindicated by Senator Kawu Sumaila who confirmed that the monthly alert is N21 million and not N1 million.

    “RMFAC make una mind yourself.”

    The controversy surrounding the salaries of lawmakers started after former president Olusegun Obasanjo alleged that members of the National Assembly fixed their salaries.

    Obasanjo also said that the present crop of lawmakers are being bribed by the executive.

  • Court Acquits dissident Iranian rapper of death sentence

    Court Acquits dissident Iranian rapper of death sentence

    Court Acquits dissident Iranian rapper of death sentence

    Iranian rapper
    Iranian rapper, Toomaj Salehi

    Dissident Iranian artist Toomaj Salehi who was previously sentenced to death for his involvement in the 2022-2023 protests has been acquitted.

    Salehi’s lawyer, Amir Raisian stated this in his post on X. The lawyer revealed that the Revolutionary Court of Isfahan on Wednesday had acquitted the artist of “corruption on earth” charges.

    Salehi was arrested in October 2022 after publicly backing the mass protest movement triggered by the killing of Mahsa Amini. Amini was killed by the Iranian security forces following her arrest for not wearing her hijab.

    He had released rap songs and social media posts in support of the protests and criticizing the government.

    With his death sentence acquittance, Raisian is hopeful that other charges against the rapper will be dropped too.

  • WHO declares Monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency

    WHO declares Monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency

    WHO declares Monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency

    Monkeypox

    The World Health Organization during a virtual meeting on Wednesday declared the ongoing Monkeypox outbreak in Africa a global health emergency.

    WHO convened the emergency committee amid concerns that a deadlier strain of the virus, clade Ib, is spreading across Africa.

    The disease which was initially reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to previously unaffected countries in Africa.

    WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “The further spread within Africa and beyond is very worrying.”

    “The emergency committee met and advised me that the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice,” he added.

    Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declared the outbreak a public health emergency of continental security on Tuesday, the first such declaration by the agency since its inception in 2017.

    Africa CDC reported 17,000 mpox cases and more than 500 deaths have been reported in 13 countries in Africa, which classifies the outbreak as a “very high-risk event.”

    The highest number of cases — more than 14,000 — is in the DRC, which reported 96% of confirmed cases this month.

    Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease that can spread easily between people and from infected animals.

    It is a communicable disease that can be gotten through touching, kissing, sex, as well as through contaminated materials. The symptoms include a fever, a painful rash, headache, muscle and back pain, low energy and enlarged lymph nodes.

    Mpox is characterized by two genetic clades, I and II. A clade is a broad grouping of viruses that has evolved over decades and is a genetic and clinically distinct group. Clade II was responsible for the 2022 outbreak, but clade Ib causes more severe disease.

  • Canadian government warns pandemic worse than COVID is coming

    Canadian government warns pandemic worse than COVID is coming

    Canadian government warns pandemic worse than COVID is coming

    Canadian government
    Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau

    The Canadian government has warned businesses in their country to prepare for a new hypothetical virus considered to be far worse than COVID-19 in the future.

    The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety rolled out a second edition of its Flu and Infectious Disease Outbreaks Business Continuity Plan Handbook.

    The guide provides information for employers on what to prepare for in the face of another pandemic.

    In the new edition, released in June, they focus on a “hypothetical virus”, that they warn could trigger further disruption than Covid-19.

    It states that “based on trends from past pandemic flu, there may be a higher average number of illness and deaths in age groups different than what we typically see during annual flu seasons.”

    The guide advised employers to prepare for a scenario like a disease outbreak or a pandemic which forces people to stay home.

    The guide reads, “If there is a pandemic, how many people will be off work? It is impossible to determine with certainty.

    “Estimates vary because no one will know for sure how ill the new virus will make people, how fast it will spread, or how many people will not go to work until it happens.”

    A future pandemic “will come in two or three waves about three to nine months separating each outbreak”, it adds.

    The hypothetical virus could also last in these cycles for as much as two years, the report warns.

    It adds that people should brace for disruptions like reduced labour, supply chain issues and shifts in consumer demand.

    Other areas it would affect include telecommunications, banking, water, gasoline, medicine and food.

  • Mark Zuckerberg idolizes love for his wife with a giant statue

    Mark Zuckerberg idolizes love for his wife with a giant statue

    Mark Zuckerberg idolizes love for his wife with a giant statue

    Mark Zuckerberg
    Priscilla Chan’s giant statue

    The CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg has gifted his wife, Priscilla Chan, a giant statue as his unique way of idolizing his love for her.

    He made the post on his Instagram page, Tuesday, August 13, with a photo of his wife standing in their garden beside the massive piece.

    Mark explained that he was bringing back the Roman tradition of husbands making sculptures for their lovely wives.

    He wrote, “Bringing back the Roman tradition of making sculptures of your wife,”

    Chan, 39, wore a pink robe next to the massive turquoise statue, as she drank from a mug that complements the sculpture’s color.

    The tech mogul shared that he commissioned world-renowned sculptor and artist Daniel Arsham to create the piece.

  • We are paid N21m per month, Senator Kawu reveals

    We are paid N21m per month, Senator Kawu reveals

    We are paid N21m per month, Senator Kawu reveals

    Senator Kawu
    Senator Sumaila Kawu

    The lawmaker representing Kano South, Senator Sumaila Kawu, has revealed that senators are paid the sum of N21m per month as the cost of running their office.

    In an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, Kawu said the official pay of N1 million fixed by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) drops to around N600,000 after deductions.

    However, he added that other allowances elevate their total pay to N21 million per month.

    The lawmaker said the allowances include office running, newspaper money, local travel and others.

    Lindaikejisblog reported that Kawu made the revelation a day after RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Shehu said senators only get N1.06m monthly.

    But in his BBC Hausa interview, Kawu said, “The amount of salary received per month is less than N1 million. If there are cuts, it comes back to about N600,000. In the Senate, each senator is given N21 million every month as the cost of running his office.”

  • Breaking: Court removes Thailand’s Prime Minister from office

    Breaking: Court removes Thailand’s Prime Minister from office

    Breaking: Court removes Thailand’s Prime Minister from office

    Thailand's Prime Minister
    Thailand’s Prime Minister, Srettha Thavisin

    A Constitutional Court ruling earlier today has removed Thailand’s Prime Minister, Srettha Thavisin from office over violation of the country’s constitution.

    The verdict comes a week after the same court dissolved the country’s popular progressive Move Forward Party, which won the most seats in last year’s election, and banned its leaders from politics for 10 years.

    CNN reported that the Constitutional Court in Bangkok ruled Wednesday that Srettha, a real estate tycoon and relative political newcomer, had breached ethics rules by appointing a lawyer who had served prison time to the Cabinet.

    The case against Srettha was filed in May by a group of 40 military-appointed former senators, who wanted him removed from office due to the Cabinet appointment of Pichit Chuenban, a close aide to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

    Pichit was jailed for six months in 2008 for contempt of court after trying to bribe Supreme Court officials in a land case involving Thaksin.

    Five of the court’s nine judges voted to dismiss Srettha and his Cabinet, ruling that the prime minister was “well aware that he appointed a person who seriously lacked moral integrity.”

    A new government will be formed immediately, with the ruling Pheu Thai-led coalition nominating a new candidate for prime minister, which will be voted on by the 500-seat parliament.

    Speaking to newsmen after the ruling, Srettha said he “accepts the verdict” insisting that his decision was in the best interest of the country. He added that he was unsure whether the next government would continue with his policies.