BAKKACIMA BLOG

India's first domestic candidate to get the green light from the government's drug regulator to proceed with  human trials of  COVID-19 vaccine is  Bharat Biotech International Ltd. The Drug Controller General of India has approved the company's application to conduct a Phase I and II clinical trial of Covaxin, which was developed along with the Indian Council of Medical Research's National Institute of Virology, the company said in a statement on Monday. Human clinical trials are scheduled to start across the country in July for the vaccine, which was developed and manufactured in Bharat Biotech's facility at Genome Valley in Hyderabad, India. More than 16,000 people have died from the disease since the first case in India in January - low when compared with countries with similar numbers of cases. But experts fear hospitals in the densely populated nation will be unable to cope with a steep rise in cases,  as cases surge in a country with more than 1.3 billion peo...

In China, a  new flu virus has been found in pigs which has now  become more infectious to humans and needs to be watched closely in case it becomes a potential "pandemic virus", a new study has found. A team of Chinese researchers looked at influenza viruses found in pigs from 2011 to 2018 and found a ("G4" strain of H1N1) with "all the essential hallmarks of a candidate pandemic virus", according to the paper, which was published in the US journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS. This is because workers on pig farms showed elevated levels of the virus in their blood, the authors said, adding that "close monitoring in human populations, especially the workers in the swine industry, should be urgently implemented.

Iran has just issued an arrest warrant for Donald Trump - the US President, over the drone strike that killed a top Iranian general (Qasem Soleimani) in January, the semi-official Fars news agency reported Monday. Trump is one of 36 people Iran has issued arrest warrants for in relation to the death of Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), according to Fars, but the Tehran attorney general Ali Alqasi Mehr said Trump was at the top of the list. Fars reported that Mehr claimed Trump would be prosecuted as soon as he stands down presidency after his term ends. Furthermore, Iran also said it had asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice for these 36 individuals, semi-official state news agency ISNA reported, though it was unlikely that Interpol would grant the request. Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike at Baghdad International Airport in January along with five others, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of the Iran-backed Iraqi Popular Mo...

The wife of late Ex-Governor of Oyo State, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi, yesterday, accused the Oyo State government of playing politics with her husband’s death. She also accused Governor Seyi Makinde of not calling her or paying a condolence visit to her since the death of her husband last Thursday. She said this on a day her husband’s remains were laid to rest amid tight security at his Oluyole residence at 10:05 am on yesterday. Earlier, there was a heated controversy over where the former governor should be buried. Newsmen gathered that the Oyo State Government was reportedly reluctant in allowing the Ajimobi family to bury the body at Agodi GRA due to a pending court case. The widow of the former governor advised the governor to avoid playing politics with the death of her husband. Ajimobi said: “I read in the newspapers a few days ago that the governor of Oyo State, Mr. Seyi Makinde, claimed to call me and I didn’t pick up, he never visited Ajimobi’s family since my husband was admitte...

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency - CFIA is launching an investigation after the arrival of a Ukraine International Airlines flight from Kyiv to Toronto's Pearson International Airport with approximately 500 puppies on board, 38 of whom were found dead. This incident place on June 13. The French bulldog puppies who survived were exhibiting symptoms such as dehydration, vomiting and weakness. The breed is popular in Canada. The agency said; "CFIA officials are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding this incident and will determine next steps once the investigation is complete." Ukraine International Airlines condemned the incident on their Facebook page, saying they were working with local authorities to determine what happened. A spokesperson for Transport Canada told newsmen that there were no set Canadian Aviation Regulations for pet transportation in airline cabins or in cargo holds, and that air operators set their own policies regarding pets on board...

Access Bank/Access Diamond on Sunday said it will refund stamp duty deductions from accounts of its customers on Saturday. According to reports, the stamp duty deductions applied to all credits received into current and savings accounts in respect to electronic transfer and teller deposits of N10,000 and above. The money is remitted to the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), according to the bank. The collection of the fees took effect in February but the bank inadvertently delayed implementation until this week. Access Bank, said in an email it sent to customers on June 23 that it “will be required to process the accumulated charges” incurred between February 1, 2020 and April 30, 2020. Some customers, who took to social media to express their dissatisfaction, described the deductions as outrageous and unnecessary. “We have have heard our customers’ feedback that this charge is unwelcome, especially at this time against a challenging economic drop,” the bank said in a statement “We have con...

The two brothers claimed they were paid by “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett to stage a racist, homophobic attack against him. They said in a new statement on Thursday that they will now testify against him after announcing their decision not to just one day earlier. The issue came up in 2019 when the two brothers,  Abel and Ola Osundario were thrust into the public eye. They told the police that the actor had paid them $3,500 to jump him on a Chicago street in an effort to raise his profile because he was unhappy with his role on the Fox drama. "Yesterday's decision to voluntarily stop cooperating in the prosecution of Jussie Smollett has nothing to do with the veracity of the statements made to police and prosecutors by Abimnola ('Abel') and Olabinjo ('Ola') Osundairo," their attorney Gloria Schmidt Rodriguez said. "The brothers have consistently stood by their statements and testimony and continue to tell the truth about their involvement." Accor...

India has been trending recently on different levels of incidents which have been marked by protests across the country. The latest is the  death of a father and son in police custody in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which has caused outrage after the victims' family accused the police of torturing the duo in custody. P Jayaraj, 59, and his son J Bennix, 31, were imprisoned by police last Friday in Thoothukudi district for violating coronavirus lockdown orders in the state. The police accused them of opening their mobile phone shop beyond the 8pm limit. The police claim Bennix complained of chest pain and Jayaraj suffered from high fever while they were lodged inside the sub-jail of Kovilpatti. They were taken to Kovilpatti government hospital where both of them died within hours of each other, the police said.

The flash floods which pummelled Ivory Coast's Abidjan for two days, killed at least seven people on Thursday.  This comes less than two weeks after 13 people were killed by a landslide nearby. On Friday, the country's meteorological services warned more rain was expected through the weekend. The administrative head of the Abidjan area, Vincent Toh Bi Irie, said on Facebook that "in some places, the rainfall could reach 300 millimetres (12 inches) today, or six times the threshold for a critical alert". Vincent Toh Bi Irie  urged residents not to go to regions where there is a risk of flooding and told people in areas prone to landslides to leave.

A British teenager  has been sentenced to at least 15 years in prison for throwing  a six-year-old French boy from a viewing platform at the Tate Modern art gallery in London. Judge Maura McGowan told Jonty Bravery, 18, he could spend his whole life in prison. Judge Maura said: "I cannot emphasise too clearly that this is not a 15-year sentence. The sentence is detention for life. The minimum term is 15 years,"  "Your release cannot be considered before then. You may never be released." McGowan  told Bravery he would remain "a grave danger to the public", adding: "You almost killed that six-year-old boy ... The injuries you caused are horrific."     

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic,145 Nigerians who were stranded in Sudan, were evacuated and they arrived the country on Friday, June 26.   They were evacuated via an Air Sudan flight which arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Int’l Airport, Abuja at about 12.45pm local time. All Evacuees will now proceed on 14 days self Isolation as stipulated by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control NCDC.     Also, 167 Nigerians stranded in South Africa, were evacuated to Nigeria on Thursday, June 25. All 167 of them tested negative to the novel virus before they were evacuated.  

Voting is ongoing now in a seven-day referendum on constitutional amendments that would allow President Vladimir Putin to run for re-election twice more and potentially remain in the top job for the next 16 years. Election officials said they were opening polls on Thursday across the country before the official July 1 vote to avoid overcrowding that could spread coronavirus infections. Meanwhile, masks and disinfectant gels are being made available to 110 million voters across 10 time zones, from the Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on the Pacific Ocean.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said there is no evidence that face shields alone can protect against COVID-19. The Director General of the NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, said this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja. The warning follows the new trend of Nigerians wearing face shields in public settings. The NCDC director said there is evidence that a face shield might reduce exposure in healthcare workers but not meant to function alone as protection. “Presently there is no evidence on the effectiveness of face shields for community use by the public.  “Face shields are most important in healthcare settings to protect healthcare workers during healthcare processes.  “We do not have evidence at the moment that using face shields outside healthcare settings can protect members of the community. He warned that the use of face shields should not be promoted until there is sufficient evidence. "Face shields are used in comb...

The Republic of South Korea has challenged Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in her bid to emerge as the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, WTO. South Korea yesterday threw a challenge to the bid of Nigeria’s economist who is seeking to replace Roberto Azvedez, who will be stepping down on 31 August 2020. The Asian country has nominated Ms Yoo Myung-Hee, who’s the country’s first female Trade Minister to run against Okonjo-Iweala. Myung-Hee has been a negotiator, strategist and pioneer in her 25-year career in the trade sector. She has played in the multilateral trade arena from the early days in 1995 when she took charge of WTO affairs in the Korea Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, through her role as Korea’s FTA strategist. Most recently, she served as negotiator of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Korea-China FTA and the critical Korea-U.S. (KORUS) FTA renegotiations, among other trade initiatives. Recall that P...

Juventus and Barcelona have agreed the main terms for a swap deal involving midfielders Arthur Melo and Miralem Pjanic. Though there has not been any concrete agreement over the finances involved, there is now genuine expectation that the move will happen, with Barca potentially receiving a fee in the region of €70 million (£63m/$79m). Arthur, who only joined the Liga champions from Gremio in 2018, had previously expressed his desire to remain at Camp Nou. Barca head coach Quique Setien having publicly claimed that talk of the player joining the Serie A leaders is likely to be playing on his mind, while refusing to confirm he'll remain a Barca player next season. He told reporters when asked if Juve's interest in the midfielder had affected his performance in the 1-0 win over Athletic Club: "If this is the case I'm sure it's affecting him, yes. "I'm very happy with what he's doing, he's an important player for us and we'll try to get the best o...