The story behind 'Oloture', Nigeria's Netflix sex-trafficking drama

Issued on: 04/01/2021 -

Journalist Tobore Ovuorie went undercover to infiltrate a sex-trafficking ring 

PIUS UTOMI EKPEI AFP

Lagos (AFP)

Clad soberly in a chequered knee-length dress, Tobore Ovuorie hardly seems as if she once walked the streets of Lagos in a revealing outfit and high heels.

A freelance reporter with a burning desire to uncover the truth about a sordid backstreet trade, Ovuorie dressed as streetwalker to infiltrate a prostitution ring.

She took on the dangerous mission after a friend left for Europe, became a sex worker and died, leaving Ovuorie shocked and beset with questions.


Today, Ovuorie's remarkable story has been turned into a hit Netflix film, "Oloture," which has shone a bright light on one of Nigeria's darkest trades.

"I needed to do justice, to know the truth. I wanted to know the process, the back story about these ladies," the 39-year-old reporter told AFP.

By dressing up, she sought to gain the prostitutes' trust -- the first step to introducing her to a "madam", a pimp.

After eight months working undercover in 2013, Tobore Ovuorie emerged with a terrifying account about the victims of sex trafficking.

Some were sent to Europe, where they were coerced into becoming sex workers. Others were forced to participate in orgies organised by local politicians. Some became victims of organ trafficking for ritual crimes.

She published her story in 2014 in the Nigerian newspaper Premium Times and Dutch investigative magazine, Zam Chronicles, inspiring a production company in Nigeria to adapt it for the screen.

Released in October on Netflix, the story has been widely watched and applauded in its home country, Africa's most populous market.

"Sometimes investigative journalists in search of the story become the story," director Kenneth Gyang told AFP.

But in this case, the reporter was also "the torch that led us into the lives" of victims, he said.

- Disillusion -

Sex trafficking is rife in Nigeria, in particular in southern Benin City, a recruiting ground for criminal gangs who smuggle women to Europe.

How many are trafficked is unknown but in Italy, authorities say that between 10,000 and 30,000 Nigerians are prostitutes.

Several thousand others are stuck in Libya or other African countries, often exploited by criminals who make them believe they will one day reach Europe.

In the film, a journalist named Oloture, playing the part of Ovuorie during her investigation, heads to neighbouring Benin with a dozen other girls.

From there, their "madam" promises they will depart to Europe in exchange for money (up to $85,000, 70,000 euros) that they will have to repay once they arrive in Italy.

Very quickly, the journey turns sour.

Instead of heading to the border, their minibus stops in a gloomy training camp on the outskirts of Lagos.

There, the girls are roughed up and divided into two groups: "street" prostitutes and "special" prostitutes reserved for wealthier clients.

On screen, the most gripping character is Linda, a young uneducated woman from a poor rural background, who becomes friends with Oloture.

Linda "represents many of those young ladies and how they get in disillusion" said Ovuorie, who came across such a character during her investigation.

For the director, it is exciting that the film is a success in Nigeria.

"We have to see how to make this film available in remote places for young vulnerable women who might be susceptible to be trafficked to Europe," said Gyang.

- Emotional toll -

On social media, the movie -- and its ending -- have triggered passionate debate.

"For most of these ladies there is never any light at the end of the tunnel," said Gyang, "so why would you try to make a film that would end on a happy note?"

Ovuorie said that what she saw and experienced during her investigation still haunts her -- she is trying to find the women she was meant to go to Europe with, and tell their stories.

Her work has inflicted a heavy emotional cost, she said.

"I'm a shadow of myself, I try to smile, to look bright, but most of the time it's been just me fighting to hold onto life".

Poachers' paradise: Gulf hunts fuel Pakistan falcon trafficking

Issued on: 04/01/2021 -

Demand for hunting falcons, largely from the Gulf, has fueled

 a lucrative trade in poaching in Pakistan 

Asif HASSAN AFP

Karachi (AFP)

Since learning to capture birds as a teen, Muhammad Rafiq has amassed a small fortune in Pakistan trapping and trafficking falcons -- including some endangered species -- for wealthy Gulf Arabs.

A single falcon can fetch up to tens of thousands of dollars on the black market, which allowed Rafiq to renovate his family home.

"Every season, dealers come from Karachi and leave their contacts with us, and we call them back if we catch something," said the 32-year-old, from a nearby coastal village.


He recently trapped a peregrine falcon on a one-week hunting mission.

"I desperately needed money," he told AFP. "And God has listened to me."

For years, Pakistan has stood at the nexus of the falcon trade, both as a source of the birds of prey, and then as a destination to hunt with them.

Falcon poaching is officially banned, but demand for the birds is rising, according to the World Wildlife Fund in Pakistan.

It estimates that up to 700 falcons were illegally smuggled out of the country last year alone, often by organised criminal networks.

Their destination is normally Gulf countries, where falconry is a treasured tradition.

Owners treat the birds "like their own children", said Margit Muller, the director of Abu Dhabi's falcon hospital, which treats 11,000 falcons annually, a number that has more than doubled in the past 10 years.

One conservationist told AFP an Arab falconer usually owns around five to six hundred birds, most of which will be captured in the wild in Pakistan or Mongolia.

Wild birds are prized over those bred in captivity because they are believed to be better hunters, though there is no evidence to support those claims.

- 'Pimps for the Gulf' -

Every winter, lavish hunting parties from the Gulf flock to Pakistan's sprawling deserts, where they are given permits to use their falcons to hunt houbara bustards, a migratory bird wrongly prized as an aphrodisiac and classified as vulnerable by conservationists.

These excursions have cast a spotlight on the deep ties between Pakistan and its allies in the Gulf.

For decades, the Gulf states have propped up Islamabad's ramshackle finances with generous loans, with one of the expectations being that they can continue to use Pakistan as a hunting playground.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and two other royals were granted permission to catch bustards by Prime Minister Imran Khan's government in December last year, a soft diplomacy tactic that Khan had openly disagreed with when he was in the opposition.

The government also presents falcons as gifts to world leaders.

"Our officials are working like pimps for the Arabs," a government official requesting anonymity told AFP.

A brief ban on the bustard hunts was overturned in 2016 by the Supreme Court, but conservationists are now pushing for the export of falcons to be regulated in an ongoing case at the Islamabad High Court.

- Demand rising -

Every year, falcons escape the harsh Siberian winter and fly thousands of miles to warmer regions, including southern Pakistan.

During the migratory season, wildlife traffickers descend on villages along the Arabian Sea coastline, offering fishermen cash to briefly abandon their boats and try their hand at poaching.

"We pay them in advance, send food to their families and if they catch a bird that is precious, we happily give them motorbikes," said one trafficker who spoke to AFP on the condition of anonymity.

A range of tactics can be employed -- sticky liquids, net traps or, most commonly, using smaller birds as bait.

Poachers especially target the peregrine falcon, whose populations remain stable -- but also the saker, which is endangered.

Bob Dalton, a veteran falcon conservationist, helped oversee the rehabilitation of dozens of falcons seized by Pakistani authorities in October, with officials estimating the cache to be worth well over $1 million.

"The illegal trade is growing, there is more money being spent, more pursuit from the Gulf," he told AFP.

"With the exception of one or two species, most falcon populations are in decline or on the point of being unstable."

- Regulating the market -

With ongoing efforts to curtail rampant poaching failing, some officials in Pakistan have suggested regulating the falcon trapping market, inspired by a scheme involving another rare native species, the markhor -- an elusive mountain goat with striking twisted horns found in Pakistan's mountainous north.

Every year, foreigners shell out tens of thousands of dollars for a handful of trophy hunting permits, providing a financial incentive for communities to prevent poaching.

With hunting parties set to descend on Pakistan again over the next few months, Kamran Khan Yousafzai, the president of Pakistan's Falconry Association, said the country desperately needs to implement a sustainable wildlife programme.

"Arab falconers can't resist coming to Pakistan. They have been coming to these hunting grounds for generations, and unless they face any real problems, they are not going to search for new destinations."

Race to save Bangladesh hound from extinction

Issued on: 04/01/2021 - 

The rare Sarail hound is a breed on the brink of extinction 

Munir UZ ZAMAN AFP


Sarail (Bangladesh) (AFP)

In a rickety hut on the border with Bangladesh and India, two brothers are among the last local breeders of the Sarail hound, a dog on the brink of extinction.

Tall and lean with a powerful chest, pointed ears and bi-coloured fur, the rare hound -- named after the border town of Sarail -- has been treasured in the South Asian nation for centuries.

Their sharp eyesight and renowned hunting skills have earned them roles with the military and police, and as guard dogs, while masters love them for their devotion.


M.A.G. Osmani, who led Bangladesh's freedom fighters to victory against Pakistan in the 1971 war of independence, is said to have been saved by one of two Sarails he owned when he was attacked.

But pure-bred Sarails -- believed to have descended from English greyhounds and sighthounds owned by Mughal-era feudal landlords, or from hunting dogs brought by Arab traders -- are dwindling in numbers with just dozens remaining in Bangladesh, according to some estimates.

"Many families in this town once had Sarail (hounds)," Topon Rabidas, the younger brother, told AFP.

"But nowadays only a few... families keep it, often for guarding or to ornament their houses with a piece of local history."

Topon, 38, and his brother Joton, 40, are proud of their family's legacy of keeping Sarails for generations.

But the cost of rearing their dogs -- a pair of two-year-old males both named Lion -- is taking its toll on the poor family.

In the densely populated country of 168 million where some 30 percent of people live below the poverty line and access to land is scarce, Sarails are viewed as a luxury beyond the reach of ordinary Bangladeshis.

The brothers, both cobblers, say they mate the pair with bitches owned by neighbours and sell the puppies for up to US$500 each so they can buy the huge amounts of chicken and beef devoured by them.

- 'Uphill battle' -

About 100 kilometres (62 miles) away in the capital Dhaka, wealthy owners are trying to save the breed, with few government resources devoted to conservation since a failed attempt to breed Sarails collapsed in the 1970s.

More recently, they have set up a Facebook group to exchange information about their dogs and to arrange mating sessions.

Kaiser Tamiz Amin, a 58-year-old banker who manages the group, has owned Sarails for two decades and believes just 30 to 40 pure-breds are left.

"This is going to continue to be an uphill battle but we will get there," Amin told AFP at his home in one of Dhaka's most expensive neighbourhoods.

"With the help of (genetics) experts, we hope to restore this breed to its original perfection."

"My grandfather told us to keep at least two of these hounds at home in memory of your ancestors," Joton Rabidas said.

"When a dog dies, our entire family mourns. Every pup is just like a family member to us... But I am not sure whether our next generation would continue breeding these hounds."

France speeds up Covid vaccinations as furious Macron slams slow rollout


Issued on: 03/01/2021 - 

France began its Covid-19 vaccination campaign on 27 December along with most of the EU, but it has delivered far fewer jabs than several of its neighbours.

 FRANCOIS LO PRESTI AFP

Text by:  RFIFollow

France has vowed to speed up its Covid-19 vaccinations after criticism from health experts about the rate of immunisation. A week into the campaign, President Emmanuel Macron scathingly compared the pace of the rollout to a "family stroll", as France lagged far behind other European countries.

The world's most vaccine-sceptical nation had only administered around 430 of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab as of Sunday afternoon, a week after vaccinations began, according to French data website CovidTracker.

That compares to Germany, which has inoculated 238,000 people, and the United Kingdom's 1 million, after it became the first Western nation to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech shot on 2 December.

The French National Academy of Medicine has been joined by many health experts in criticising the slow rollout. Leading geneticist Axel Kahn called the campaign a "disaster".

France's Covid-19 death toll of nearly 65,000 people is the highest in Western Europe.

'Quick, drastic change'

Opposition politicians have jumped on the latest example of what they say is the government's mishandling of the coronavirus since the beginning.

Under growing pressure, President Emmanuel Macron slammed the pace of the vaccine rollout, comparing it to a "family stroll", and saying it "does not meet the needs of the moment, nor the needs French", according to sources close to the Elysée.

"I wage war morning, noon, evening and night. I expect the same commitment from you all," the president was quoted as saying by the Journal du Dimanche.

"This is not good enough. It must change quickly and drastically – and it will."
Ramped-up schedule

Macron said all doctors who wish to be vaccinated will be allowed to do so as quickly as possible to set the example for their patients.

Government spokesman Gabriel Attal added that health workers over the age of 50 would have access to the vaccine from 4 January, instead of from February as originally planned.

Health Minister Olivier Véran vowed to step up the pace of vaccinations for elderly people "within a few weeks” in order to bring France’s programme up to the same level as other countries.

In a move that would significantly speed up the vaccination programme, additional vaccination centres are to be up and running later in January for people aged 75 or over, with the 65+ group soon to follow, Veran said.

Prime Minister Jean Castex promised in early December that 1 million people would be vaccinated by the end of January. To meet that target, France would have to inoculate more than 32,000 people every day until the end of January, according to CovidTracker data.

RIP
Gerry Marsden, Frontman of Gerry and the Pacemakers, Dies at 78

© AP
Gerry Marsden Dead: Gerry and the Pacemakers Frontman Was 78 - Variety

Gerry Marsden, the frontman of Gerry and the Pacemakers and singer of Liverpool Football Club anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” has died, according to the BBC. He was 78.

Marsden’s friend and journalist Pete Price broke the news via Twitter on Sunday, stating that the singer died “after a short illness which was an infection in his heart.”

Marsden formed Gerry and the Pacemakers in 1959 with his brother Fred, Les Chadwick and Arthur McMahon, who was replaced by Les Maguire in 1961. They went on to rival the Beatles in their early career, playing similar venues in Hamburg and Liverpool.

Gerry and the Pacemakers were the second act to sign with Beatles manager Brian Epstein, who later signed them to Columbia Records. Their first single was March 1963’s “How Do You Do It?,” which climbed to No. 1 on the U.K. charts. That song, penned by tunesmith Mitch Murray, was famously rejected by the Beatles after producer George Martin tried to persuade the group to record it as their first single, opting instead for the Lennon-McCartney original “Love Me Do.” The Beatles did record a version, while Gerry and the Pacemakers’ hit with “How Do You Do It?”was vindication of sorts for Martin.

Their next two singles, “I Like It” and a cover of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” also released in 1963 and hit No. 1 on the charts. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” soon became the anthem of Liverpool Football Club, and Marsden re-recorded the hit in 1985 following the Bradford Football Club stadium tragedy along with other well-known singers and personalities.

Marsden wrote many of the band’s songs, including “I’m the One”, “It’s Gonna Be All Right,” “Ferry Cross the Mersey” and “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying,” which became their biggest U.S. hit, peaking at No. 4. Gerry and the Pacemakers also starred in a film in 1965, titled “Ferry Cross the Mersey,” which was often referred to as their version of the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night.”

Gerry and the Pacemakers disbanded in 1967, and Marsden became a television personality, appearing in the children’s series “The Sooty Show” from 1968 to 1976. He also starred in the West End musical “Charlie Girl”with Derek Nimmo and Anna Neagle in 1968.

Marsden reformed the Pacemakers in 1972 with Jose McLaughlin, Billy Kinsley and Pete Clarke. In 1973, they became the only Merseybeat band to record for “The John Peel Show” on BBC Radio. Throughout the years, Marsden occasionally toured with different lineups of the band. Marsden was awarded the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2003 for his charity services following the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. In 2018, Marsden announced his retirement.

Liverpool Football Club paid tribute to Marsden on Twitter, writing: “It is with such great sadness that we hear of Gerry Marsden’s passing. Gerry’s words will live on forever with us. You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

Paul McCartney also remembered Marsden on Twitter alongside a photo of the Beatles and Gerry and the Pacemakers. “Gerry was a mate from our early days in Liverpool. He and his group were our biggest rivals on the local scene,” McCartney wrote. “His unforgettable performances of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and ‘Ferry Cross the Mersey’ remain in many people’s hearts as reminders of a joyful time in British music.”

'Traitors and Patriots': CNN Host Calls 

GOP Senators' Election Challenge a

 'Disgraceful Effort'

'Traitors and Patriots': CNN Host Calls GOP Senators' Election Challenge a 'Disgraceful Effort'

CNN host Jake Tapper on Sunday ridiculed at least 12 Republicans and President Donald Trump for attempting a "bloodless coup" to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory, suggesting such "traitors" are seeking Civil War-era chaos.© Screenshot: CNN | Twitter CNN host Jake Tapper on Sunday ridiculed at least twelve Republicans and President Donald Trump for attempting a "bloodless coup" to overturn President-elect Joe Biden' victory, suggesting such "traitors" are seeking Civil War-era chaos.

The State of the Union anchor highlighted the U.S. experiencing December as its deadliest month yet during the coronavirus pandemic, but juxtaposed such data with Trump and Republicans trying to overthrow the will of American voters. Tapper said this GOP-led "sedition caucus" is too focused on undermining America's democratic voting process and is instead posturing for potential 2024 political campaigns. The longtime CNN host said all 12 Republican senators who have vowed to oppose Biden's victory this week either refused to come on his show or ignored the cable news network's requests to explain their seemingly seditious actions.

Jake Tapper says he invited on all 12 GOP senators who are "involved in plotting this disgraceful effort" to overthrow the election but they all declined or failed to respond.

"It recalls what Ulysses Grant wrote in 1861: There are two parties now, traitors and patriots." pic.twitter.com/BJ50So94G6— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) January 3, 2021

The dozen GOP lawmakers plan to halt a typically innocuous congressional joint session vote on Wednesday where Biden—or any president who wins the election every four years— is set to have his official Electoral College vote count approved.

"We invited all of the 12 senators involved in plotting this disgraceful effort to come on the show this morning to try to defend and explain their position. Each of them declined or failed to respond," Tapper said.

The CNN host quoted an 1861 letter from Ulysses S. Grant to his father, in which the then-Army officer explained his reasoning for siding with the Union Army as South Carolina and other states began to secede from the country and provoke the Civil War.

"'There are but two parties now, traitors and patriots,'" Tapper said Sunday.

The 1861 letter from Grant, who would go on to become a Union Army general and later president, said with more context: "Whatever may have been my political opinions before, I have but one sentiment now. That is, we have a Government, and laws and a flag, and they must all be sustained. There are but two parties now, traitors and patriots and I want hereafter to be ranked with the latter, and I trust, the stronger party."

Meanwhile, Tapper went on to ridicule House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and asked Americans what they think would have happened to their votes if he was leading a Republican majority. One member of the GOP "sedition caucus," Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, did appear on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday, where host Chuck Todd labeled him an "arsonist." Johnson defended his actions in a rant that referenced Hunter Biden and the mainstream media.

The dozen Republicans calling for the "emergency 10-day audit of the election are primarily from Southern states which seceded from the U.S. and formed the confederacy prior to the Civil War. Texas Senator Ted Cruz, John Kennedy of Louisiana and Josh Hawley of Missouri are among those saying they hope to throw up one final roadblock to Biden's path to the White House this week.

President Trump is calling for "wild" mass protests to take over Washington amid the Wednesday joint session.

Tapper continued, demanding Washington Republicans and Trump explain what they are doing to curb COVID-19 cases as there have been fewer than 4 million vaccinations administered nationwide.

"What are the president and a big chunk of congressional Republicans focused on? Undermining the results of the election. Essentially a bloodless coup. Leading the Republican Party into a state of turmoil."

Newsweek reached out to Johnson's office and the White House for additional remarks Sunday morning.

These Freshman Lawmakers Will Join AOC

 and the Squad in the Progressive Caucus

© Drew Angerer/Getty Congresswoman U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) speaks outside of the Democratic National Committee headquarters on November 19, 2020 in Washington, DC. Bush joined the progressive caucus of the Democratic party on Sunday after being…

The November election saw a number of victories for fresh Republican faces like Representative Madison Cawthorn, who replaced Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as the youngest member of Congress, and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory. But Sunday's swearing in of new congressional members also includes a number of progressives.

The so-called Squad, a group of progressive House Democrats including Ocasio-Cortez as well as Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley, inducted a second class of new representatives, thus bolstering the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which includes Senator Bernie Sanders.

As the divide between the Democratic Party's progressive wing and centrist Democrats continues to deepen, the impact these incoming officials will have on the party's future is still to be determined.

Progressives like Tlaib have argued that while Democrats lost House seats in the general election, it was candidates who ran on progressive platforms who were able to hold on to their seats or win their House races.

Here are the four new congressional members joining Sanders, the Squad and other members of the Democratic Party's progressive wing.

Representative Cori Bush

The veteran racial justice activist and former nurse elected to represent Missouri's 1st Congressional District ran on progressive platform, championing policies like the Green New Deal and Medicare for All. Bush first entered politics after becoming involved in the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri, after Michael Brown's fatal shooting by a police officer.

Bush's landslide victory came after she defeated 10-term incumbent William Lacy Clay in an upset during the Democratic primaries, which came on the same night Missouri voters decided to expand the state's Medicaid eligibility.

In her third run for Congress, she was backed by Sanders, the youth-led Sunrise Movement and the left-wing group Justice Democrats, which is well known for recruiting Ocasio-Cortez.

Bush is the first Black woman to serve the House of Representatives from Missouri.

"To all the counted outs, the forgotten abouts, the marginalized and the pushed asides. This is our moment," Bush tweeted on the night of her victory. "We came together to end a 52-year family dynasty. That's how we build the political revolution."

Representative Jamaal Bowman

Bowman, a former schoolteacher and principal, defeated 16-term Democratic incumbent Eliot Engel after being recruited by the Justice Democrats and went on to win in a landslide in New York's 16th Congressional District.

He was endorsed by Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Sunrise Movement, New York state's Working Families Party and the editorial board of The New York Times.

Bowman has said he'd like to elevate the issue of slavery reparations in the same way Ocasio-Cortez did with the Green New Deal.

"I was watching it from afar, watching Bernie Sanders run, and then watching AOC and the Squad not just win but truly come in as voices for the underserved. So to be joining them in Congress in 2021 is surreal and exciting, and I think it illustrates a shift happening in the Democratic Party," Bowman told NBC News earlier this month.

In a Tuesday tweet, Bowman advocated defunding the police after the Justice Department announced that the police officers involved in the 2014 fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland would not face federal charges.

"A system this cruel and inhumane can't be reformed. Defund the police, and defund the system that's terrorizing our communities," the representative wrote.

Bowman and Bush have both declined to comment on whether they will vote for Nancy Pelosi as House speaker, a position Ocasio-Cortez has said should go to someone else.

© Stephanie Keith/Stringer Congressman Jamaal Bowman greets supporters on June 23, 2020 in Yonkers, New York. Bowman is another progressive joining the Squad in the U.S. House of Representatives. Stephanie Keith/Stringer

Representative Marie Newman

Newman, a former marketing consultant and anti-bullying advocate, won her seat in November after defeating an anti-abortion Democrat in Illinois' 3rd Congressional District.

Another Justice Democrat-backed candidate, she was endorsed by Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders, Warren, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Senators Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand in the primaries, where she beat eight-term Representative Dan Lipinski.

Lipinski frustrated the party's left by opposing abortion access, voting against the Affordable Care Act and refusing to endorse former President Barack Obama in his 2012 re-election bid.

Ocasio-Cortez told the Times that Newman "is a textbook example of one of the ways that we could be better as a party—to come from a deep blue seat and to be championing all the issues we need to be championing."

Newman ran on a platform of progressive policies that included Medicare for All, universal basic income, green jobs, the legalization of marijuana, immigrant protections in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and "unambiguous" immigration policies.

© Sarah Silbiger/Stringer Representative Marie Newman (D-IL) arrives to the Hyatt Regency hotel on Capitol Hill on November 12, 2020 in Washington, DC. Newman ran on a platform of progressive policies including Medicare for All and protections for DACA recipients. Sarah Silbiger/Stringer
Representative Mondaire Jones

Jones, a former Obama Justice Department lawyer from New York, won a competitive race in the Democratic primaries after longtime incumbent Democrat Nita Lowey decided not to seek reelection.

Running on a platform of Medicare for All and the Green New Deal in one of the wealthiest of New York City's suburbs, Jones won the nomination and subsequently the general election in the state's 17th Congressional District.

"I'm part of a generation that stands to inherit a planet that's devastated by climate catastrophe," Jones told NBC News. "For me, there's no alternative to a Green New Deal. We have to be fighting for a thing that will make our planet inhabitable for ourselves and our children and their children."

He was endorsed by Obama, Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez and Warren.

"We are uniquely positioned to lead the Democratic Party into the 21st century, and I don't think that has happened yet," Jones said. "I don't think that we have fully addressed as a party the unprecedented challenges that Americans now face, such as the student loan crisis."

Jones and fellow Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres, who represents New York's 15th Congressional District, are the first openly LGBTQ Black members of Congress.

© Timothy A. Clary/AFP Mondaire Jones, Representative for New York's 17th Congressional District, poses outside his home in Nyack, New York, July 23, 2020. Jones, who ran on a platform of Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, joined a new class of progressive lawmakers after being sworn into Congress on Sunday. Timothy A. Clary/AFP

Monolith ‘appears’ in India, finally! What’s exactly the monolith mystery and what’s buzz around it- Explained

By: FE Online | January 1, 2021

A monolith has been spotted in a park in Ahmedabad and local residents are going gaga over it.

The artist who installed the monolith wanted to stay anonymous and is expecting the beauty of the sculpture to evoke conversations. Image: Symphony Forest Park

A monolith has been spotted in a park in Ahmedabad and local residents are going gaga over it. Across many locations in the world, monoliths have been spotted and it’s the first time a monolith has been reported in India.

What exactly is a monolith?

A monolith is said to be a geological feature that has only a single massive stone or rock. It could be a mountain, or in fact a large and single piece of rock which is placed as or within a building or a monument. Many metallic monoliths have been spotted across countries. The one in India too has a metallic sculpture.

Where is it found in India and how does it look?

The monolith reportedly can be seen at the Symphony Forest Park which is in Thaltej region of Ahmedabad. The structure is said to be surrounded by various urban development projects. It has a shiny metal surface and the sides have formed a three-sided structure. According to a report by The Indian Express, one of the sides has some numbers on it that can only be seen if observed carefully. It is likely that these numbers have some clue towards protection of wildlife and nature, the report noted. But the exact meaning of these numbers will only be revealed with time.

Who put up the monolith?

Citing Dilipbhai Patel, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s assistant director of parks and gardens, the report said that the park was developed and is maintained by a private firm and it was put there by the firm only. The firm completed work on the park three months back. The artist who installed the monolith wanted to stay anonymous and is expecting the beauty of the sculpture to evoke conversations and understanding the essence of it. It is also expected to engage thinking.

Where else do these kinds of monoliths have surfaced?

Similar sculptures have been reported in more that 30 countries and that Colombia, the United Kingdom, France, Romania and even near a remote canyon in Utah. According to media reports, these structures appear and disappear mysteriously. Many people have tossed multiple stories in order to give a meaning to such existences. While some have suggested these to be put by artists but there are other mysterious hypotheses linking metallic monoliths to the presence of aliens.

CANADA POST SHOULD BE A SAVINGS BANK
Post Office Savings Bank likely to be interconnected with other banks by April

India Post serves more than 50 crore Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) customers through 1.56 lakh post offices across the country. It has an outstanding balance of Rs 10.81 crore under POSB schemes.

By: PTI | December 31, 2020 

All POSB accounts can be linked to the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) accounts and can be operated through mobile app DakPay.

India Post expects to make the Post Office Savings Bank interoperable with other bank accounts by April and will focus on enhancing digitisation of all services in 2021, a senior official of the department said.

The postal department during the lockdown was at the frontline to deliver essential parcels when rail, road and air traffic were grounded and continues to enhance capacity as trains are not fully operational yet, Department of Posts Secretary Pradipta Kumar Bisoi told PTI.

“We will enhance our focus on digitising services and delivery of service at doorstep in the coming year. Our banking and financial services have been digitised already. We expect to make Post Office Savings Bank also directly interoperable with accounts of other banks by April,” Bisoi said.

The Post Office Core Banking Solution (CBS) system is the largest in the world with 23,483 post offices already on this network.

India Post serves more than 50 crore Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) customers through 1.56 lakh post offices across the country. It has an outstanding balance of Rs 10.81 crore under POSB schemes.

All POSB accounts can be linked to the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) accounts and can be operated through mobile app DakPay.

“Besides making services digitally accessible to people, we are focussing on doorstep delivery of services. This year we remitted Rs 900 crore money through around 85 lakh transactions and verified 3 lakh pensioners on their doorstep,” Bisoi said.

India Post had to suddenly handle responsibility of delivery of essential articles during the lockdown when all the modes of transport were grounded.

The Department of Posts (DoP) started a national level dedicated ‘Road Transport Network’ on 56 routes touching 80 cities and carried approximately 15,000 bags containing 75 tonnes of parcels daily through the network.

“We now have a parcel handling capacity of 9 crore articles per annum. Average transit time of Speed Post reduced from 105 hours in July 2019 to 81 hours in February 2020,” Bisoi said.

During the lockdown, the postal network carried over 10 lakh medical articles across the country, including boxes of medical equipment, ventilators, PPE kits and medicines.

Around 36,000 tonnes of material were delivered through postal channels which also include use of parcel trains.

Not only medicines, India Post also delivered Gangajal to 2.37 lakh homes between April-November 2020.

Bisoi further said the business of India Post was down during the first six month of the current fiscal but it is now getting back to normal.

Moderna COVID-19 vaccine shows 94.1 per cent efficacy in trial: Study
By: PTI |
December 31, 2020 

Results from the primary analysis of the ongoing phase 3 clinical trial of US biotechnology company Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine have revealed 94.1 per cent efficacy of the therapeutic in preventing symptomatic infections and severe illness, according to a peer-reviewed study.

Baden said while these results are encouraging, they are limited by the short duration of follow-up so far.

Results from the primary analysis of the ongoing phase 3 clinical trial of US biotechnology company Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine have revealed 94.1 per cent efficacy of the therapeutic in preventing symptomatic infections and severe illness, according to a peer-reviewed study. The study, published on Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine, found that among over 30,000 participants randomised to receive the vaccine or a placebo, 11 in the vaccine group developed symptomatic COVID-19 compared to 185 participants who received the placebo.

The researchers said this demonstrates 94.1 per cent efficacy in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, adding that cases of severe disease occurred only in participants who received the placebo. “Our work continues. Over the next months, we’ll have increasing amounts of data to better define how this vaccine works, but the results so far show a 94.1 per cent efficacy. These numbers are compelling,” said Lindsey Baden, an infectious diseases specialist at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the US where the trial took place.

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“And, importantly, the data suggest protection from severe illness, indicating that the vaccine could have an impact on preventing hospitalisations and deaths, at least in the first several months post-vaccination,” said Baden, co-principal investigator for the study, and lead author of the paper. The study enrolled 30,420 adult participants at 99 sites in the US, including over 600 participants enrolled at the Brigham.

Eligible participants were 18 years old or more with no known history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and whose locations or circumstances put them at appreciable risk of the infection and high risk of severe COVID-19, the researchers said.
They noted that the race and ethnicity proportion of the trial was 79 per cent white, 10 per cent Black or African American, and 20 per cent Hispanic or Latino participants. The participants received their first injection between July 27 and October 23, followed by a second shot 28 days later.

Each jab, given intramuscularly, had a volume of 0.5 millilitres (mL), containing 100 micrograms (g) of mRNA-1273 vaccine or saline placebo. In the placebo group, 185 participants developed symptomatic COVID-19 illness whereas in the vaccine group, only 11 participants did. In secondary analyses, the vaccine’s efficacy was similar across groups of key interest, including those who already had antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 at the time of enrolment, and among those who were 65 years of age or older, the researchers said.

Thirty participants had severe COVID-19 — all in the placebo group, they said. They were closely monitored for adverse events in the weeks following their injection. The researchers said overall, reactions to the vaccine were mild — about half of recipients experienced fatigue, muscle aches, joint pain and headaches, more so after the second dose.

Baden said while these results are encouraging, they are limited by the short duration of follow-up so far. “Longer term data from the ongoing study may allow us to more carefully evaluate the vaccine’s efficacy among different groups, determine the impact on asymptomatic infection, understand when immunity wanes, and determine whether vaccines affect infectiousness,” she added.