EBOLA OUTBREAK: Tide Turning In Ebola Fight After Hard Learnt Lessons

A top United Nations official in the fight against Ebola greeted just three patients at one treatment center he visited this week in Sierra Leone. Families in Liberia are no longer required to cremate the remains of loved ones to halt the spread of the virulent disease.

And in the streets of Guinea's capital, it is rare to see the formerly ubiquitous plastic buckets of bleach and water for hand washing.

Ten months after it dawned on health officials that they were facing an unprecedented Ebola outbreak in west Africa, experts and officials agree the tide is turning, although previous lulls have proved short-lived. There is still no vaccine or licensed treatment, nor is it clear whether the international community has actually learned any lessons from an epidemic that killed at least 8,675 people.

"Things have changed drastically for the better — no one can deny that," said Aitor Sanchez Lacomba, Liberia country director for the International Rescue Committee. "How can we make sure that we don't have these kinds of situations in the future?"

Previous disease outbreaks, including SARS and bird flu, prompted calls to build strong health surveillance systems and to reinforce agencies like the World Health Organization. But little has changed.

"Recriminations are counterproductive, but it will be necessary to understand whether this outbreak could have been responded to quicker with less cost and less suffering," Dr. David Nabarro, UN Ebola chief, told the UN General Assembly this week.

Julius Kamara, a father to two girls who remain home instead of going to school in Freetown, Sierra Leone, said there are fewer checkpoints, restrictions on movements are being lifted but gatherings are banned and bars and clubs are closed.

"We are all looking forward to when life can get back to normal," he said.

Sierra Leone plans to reopen schools in March, following Guinea, which opened this week. Liberia is set to reopen schools on Feb. 2.

"The epidemic has turned," Ismael Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the new head of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response known as UNMEER, recently declared. The number of cases in Guinea and Sierra Leone is at its lowest since August, and in Liberia it's the lowest since June.

Still, he and other officials caution that they lack crucial information about the remaining cases. Only about half of new cases in Guinea and Liberia are from known contacts; the remainder is getting infected from unknown sources.

No such statistics exist for Sierra Leone, where deaths are still being underreported because families want to carry out burials in accordance with tradition, which involves touching bodies — one of the quickest ways to spread Ebola.

"There are still numbers of new cases that are alarming, and there are hot spots that are emerging in new places that make me believe there is still quite a lot of the disease that we're not seeing," said Nabarro, the UN Ebola chief.

At its height, one estimate warned that as many as 1.4 million people could become infected with Ebola by mid-January if there were no additional interventions. Instead, the confirmed case toll is 21,797 with 8,675 deaths.

However, nearly every agency and government stumbled in its response to Ebola. In an internal draft document obtained by the Associated Press last year, WHO acknowledged there was "a failure to see that conditions for explosive spread were present right at the start."

The document said the agency was hampered by budget cuts and the need to battle other diseases flaring around the world.

"The world today doesn't have a proper organization to respond quickly to this kind of catastrophe," said Brice de le Vingne, director of operations for Doctors Without Borders.

On Sunday, WHO's executive board plans to discuss several proposals that could redefine how the UN health agency responds to outbreaks. In a recent report, WHO wondered whether the commitment to battling the dreaded disease will remain strong.
"The virus has demonstrated its tenacity time and time again," the report said. "Will national and international control efforts show an equally tenacious staying power?"

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No More P'0rn For Nigerians As Federal Government Plans To Ban P'0rn [MUST READ]

The Nigerian government has said that it is planning to introduce a law banning all pornographic websites in the country.

This was disclosed by the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki on Sunday, January 25, in Kaduna.

Dasuki revealed this at the closing ceremony of a three-day workshop on use of social media organized for Islamic preachers, Imams and youths in the state.

The NSA, who was represented by the Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Turaki, said:

“Government is planning to ban and block websites that inculcate negative attitudes in our children but we need a law to support such move.”

“Because without a law, people can go to court and claim infringement on their rights,” he added.

The workshop, aimed at correcting anomalies in the use of social media, was organised by the national body of Izalatil Bid’a Wa’iqamatis Sunna (JIBWIS).
The NSA also warned preachers to avoid making unguided utterances against leaders.

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Tiwa Savage Impostor Allegedly Dupes Lagos Politician - [MUST READ]

Well, it’s the age of fake social media accounts and Nigerian celebrities are the worst hit when you put together a roll call of victims. With the fake Twitter account of late Muna Obiekwe and atrocities committed by the impostor still lingering in the minds of Nigerians, another case has just been reported.

Even worse, this time, it didn’t even happen on social media. Daily Independent reports that a Lagos politician and managing director of Lagos-based travel agency, Aeroland Travels, Segun Adewale popularly known as Aeroland, has been duped of 500k. 

The report says Adewale, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial candidate for Lagos West in the forthcoming 2015 election, lost half a million Naira to someone posing as Mavin first lady, Tiwa Savage. 

Having declared his intention to run for Senate in 2015 again and obtaining his party’s nomination form in November 2014, Segun Adewale reportedly contacted the fake ‘Tiwa Savage’ to perform at his political declaration party. 

The politician was however disappointed when the ‘Kelekele Love‘ singer did not show up at the event. 

Presently, Segun Adewale is banking on the financial institution through which the money was paid to help get what is left of the amount as a withdrawal has already been made on the beneficiary account.

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EBOLA OUTBREAK: Nurse Infected With Virus Is Cured

THE brave Scots nurse who almost died after contracting Ebola was discharged from hospital yesterday after making a full recovery.


Pauline Cafferkey said she was “happy to be alive” as she left London’s Royal Free Hospital, where she spent more than three weeks fighting for her life.

Thanking the facility’s “amazing” medical staff, the 39-year-old also revealed her battle was aided by Scotland’s favourite soft drink, Irn-Bru.

Ms Cafferkey, from Cambuslang, near Glasgow, caught the deadly virus while volunteering at an Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone, West Africa. And despite her ordeal, the community nurse, who works at Blantyre Health Centre in Lanarkshire, refused to rule out returning to aid work.

Speaking as she bid an emotional farewell to staff at the central London hospital, Ms Cafferkey admitted she had feared for her life.

“I am just happy to be alive,” she said. “I still don’t feel 100 per cent, I feel quite weak, but I’m looking forward to going home.

“I want to say a big thank you to the staff who treated me – they were amazing. They were always very reassuring and I knew I was in the best hands. They saved my life.

“I’m definitely going to keep in touch – I’ve got a strong bond with the place and I’ll be sad to leave, but I want to go home.”

She revealed an iPad gifted to her by the Royal Free charity and Barr’s Irn-Bru helped her while she was suffering at her lowest ebb.

She said: “As I was beginning to recover, I listened to lots of music when I was in the high-level isolation unit and that was a massive help.

“I also had lots of Irn-Bru to help me through!”

Ms Cafferkey was one of five Scots who travelled to Sierra Leone, West Africa, at the end of November to help in the fight against Ebola.

Working with Save The Children, she was based at the Ebola Treatment Centre in Kerry Town.

She returned to the UK on December 28, flying via Casablanca in Morocco into Heathrow Airport, London.

While waiting on a connecting flight to Glasgow, she complained she felt unwell. Her temperature was checked seven times by medical professionals who gave her the all clear to fly. She arrived at Glasgow Airport at 11.30pm and took a taxi home.

Her condition worsened and on December 29 she was admitted to the Brownlee Unit for Infectious Diseases at Glasgow’s Gartnavel Hospital, where she was diagnosed with Ebola.

Ms Cafferkey said: “I had a lovely doctor with me who had the horrible job of breaking the bad news to me.

“She sat with me for a while and she did say to me, ‘How do you feel?’ I just said, ‘Well, I’ve got a battle on my hands,’ which I did.”

Ms Cafferkey was flown by military aircraft to the Royal Free’s the following day and spent three weeks in its high level isolation unit where she was treated by a specialist infectious diseases team led by Dr Michael Jacobs.

Around three weeks ago, Ms Cafferkey’s condition seriously deteriorated and she was left fighting for her life in a critical condition as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

She was given experimental anti-viral drug ZMabb – not to be confused with the drug ZMapp which was used in the successful treatment of Suffolk nurse William Pooley.

Ms Cafferkey also received convalescent plasma taken from the blood of recovered European patients, including Mr Pooley.

Reflecting on her ordeal, she said: “The first few days I was very strong and felt absolutely fine. Then day three or four I did start to get symptoms, and then I started deteriorating.

“I pretty much lost a week of my life that I just can’t remember. I remember having a discussion with my sister, because we had to speak via telephone because I was in a tent, and I was saying, ‘Oh, that’s me been here a week now,’ and she was saying, ‘No you’ve been here two weeks.”

Asked whether there was a point at which she thought she might not make it, she said: “There was a point which I remember clearly saying, ‘That’s it, I’ve had enough.’”

Dr Jacobs said: “We are delighted that Pauline has recovered. I am very proud of the staff who have been caring for her. It is because of the skill and hard work of the entire team that she is now able to go home.

“I’ve got to know Pauline since she’s got better and she’s a wonderful person who is very committed to helping other people.”

Ms Cafferkey is working to regain her strength and can only walk for short periods, but she says she is looking forward to taking a walk along the beach before returning to work. She added: “I’m looking forward to going home – I just want to see my friends and family.

“I just want to get back to normal, get my strength back, and eventually return to work. Obviously that’s going to take some time. I’ll be having a break from aid work – I’ve no plans to return to it at the moment, but who knows in the future?”

Ms Cafferkey, who has been inundated with letters and cards from well-wishers, said she has “no idea” how she contracted the disease which has killed more than 8,000 people in West Africa.

Save The Children has launched an investigation into how she was infected but admits it may never establish the exact circumstances.

Last night, the charity’s chief executive Justin Forsyth said: “The bravery of Pauline and everyone who has worked to defeat Ebola makes us even more determined to redouble our efforts to beat the disease.”

Politicians from north and south of the Border last night welcomed the news of Ms Cafferkey’s recovery.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described herself as “delighted” and said: “Ebola is a terrible disease, and the fact that she has made this recovery is a tremendous tribute to the work of the NHS staff who have been committed to her care over the last few weeks. ”
UK Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt described Ms Cafferkey’s “selflessness and courage” as “remarkable”.

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EBOLA OUTBREAK: Worker Still Fearful Even As Infection Rate Slows Down

Epidemiologist and Ryerson University assistant professor Jordan Tustin, just back from Guinea, cautions against complacency, warning 'We're not good until we're at zero.'

For the ongoing Ebola epidemic, 2015 seems to have ushered in a hopeful new chapter: in Liberia, treatment centres are sitting empty; in Guinea, kids are finally heading back to school; and in Sierra Leone, the president is predicting zero new cases by end of March.

On Tuesday, the World Health Organization reported 75 new infections since the day before — relatively good news considering that in October, the UN health agency was predicting up to 10,000 new cases every week by this point.

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But none of this is reassuring for epidemiologists like Jordan Tustin, an assistant professor at Ryerson University’s School of Occupational and Public Health. For her, only one number will let her exhale.


“We’re not good until we’re at zero,” said Tustin, 35. “We can never be complacent and think, ‘Oh it’s going down, it’s getting better.’ Until we’re at zero, that’s the only time that we can breathe.”

On Jan. 11, Tustin returned from a month-long stint in Guinea where she worked as a consultant for the World Health Organization. As an epidemiologist, she performed one of the most crucial jobs for stopping this Ebola epidemic, which has now infected 21,689 people and killed more than 8,600: finding new cases and tracking down their friends and family, a process known as contact tracing.

Anyone who watched Kate Winslet in the pandemic thriller Contagion will have already seen an epidemiologist in action. But in the mud-hut villages of Guinea’s Kankan prefecture, Tustin faced obstacles that Winslet’s character never had to worry about — for example, accessing a photocopier for her reports (the only one she could use was near the local university and powered by a generator) and getting fuel for her team, so that they could visit the villages and investigate potential new Ebola cases.

“One time during a meeting, I wrote down in my notebook, ‘Everything is about fuel.’ It was a recurring issue,” Tustin recalls. “If you have people in the field but they don’t have the tools to do their job . . . then Ebola will not go down to zero.”

READ ALSO: READ ALSO:EBOLA OUTBREAK: West Africa Strain Mutating Faster Than Drugs Being Developed

As the WHO’s Dr. Bruce Aylward once said, there is no such thing as having “a little bit less Ebola,” just as there is no such thing as being “a little bit pregnant.” “This is a horrible, unforgiving disease,” he told reporters in October. “You’ve got to get to zero.”

In Guinea, Tustin learned firsthand about the kind of dread and anxiety that can come with even a single additional case.

This Christmas, she found herself feeling hopeful. After celebrating with other aid workers at her hotel — where they dined on delicacies brought from France, and even a yule log — she went to bed with the sense that the situation in Kankan was coming under control.

The very next day, someone from a nearby village reported a sick woman; she was dead by the time Tustin’s team reached the hospital, which had already released the infectious corpse to her family. When they then rushed to the woman’s village, they found her body already been washed and prepared for burial, meaning several villagers were now likely exposed to the deadly virus.

This one missed case introduced an entirely new chain of Ebola transmission — and more than 60 villagers that Tustin and her team now had to follow for 21 days, Ebola’s maximum incubation period. More than 20 hospital workers also had to be placed in quarantine.

“There were days when I felt ‘We’ve got this. We’re following all our contacts, they’re welcoming us into their villages . . . feels good,” Tustin said. “Then you get that case that pops up out of nowhere . . . It’s frustrating.”

The Guinean government now aims to become Ebola-free by the middle of March. But for Tustin, she is reluctant to make any such predictions and warns that complacency is now the biggest threat to West Africa, which still needs the world’s help to stop this terrible epidemic.

“As human beings with compassion and as countries with great resources, we need to put more efforts into the response,” she said. “We can’t become complacent just because it is not in our backyard. One Ebola case is one too many.”


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EBOLA OUTBREAK: West Africa Strain Mutating Faster Than Drugs Being Developed

The strain of Ebola that has devastated West Africa is mutating faster than scientists can develop drugs, experts have warned.

The Ebola outbreak has left over 8,500 dead, with 21,614 cases confirmed. At present, there is no cure and experts are working to put experimental drugs into clinical trials. No regulatory body has approved any of the drugs being developed yet.

However, their efforts may be futile, as genetic mutations in the Ebola virus could have already outpaced the therapies being developed to combat it.

Researchers at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) published their findings in American Society for Microbiology journal mBio.

In it, they tracked the genetic mutations of the virus over the last 40 years to identify changes in the current strain that could interfere with experimental, sequence-based therapies.
The most promising drugs being developed bind to and target part of Ebola's genetic sequence or protein sequence. However, if this sequence changes, the drugs will not work as effectively.

"We wanted to highlight an area where genomic drift, the natural process of evolution on this RNA virus genome, could affect the development of therapeutic countermeasures," said Gustavo Palacios, senior author of the study.

"Our work highlights the genetic changes that could affect these sequence-based drugs that were originally designed in the early 2000's based on virus strains from outbreaks in 1976 and 1995."

The current strain of Ebola, EBOV/Mak, was compared with strains from previous outbreaks in the 1970s and 1990s. Findings showed mutations in about 3% of the genome. They then narrowed down the search to find the mutations that change genetic sequences targeted by the various drugs.

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Findings showed 10 new mutations that could interfere with the drugs currently being tested. Three of these appeared during the current outbreak in West Africa.

"The virus has not only changed since these therapies were designed, but it's continuing to change," said US Army Captain Jeffrey Kugelman, a viral geneticist at USAMRIID.

"Ebola researchers need to assess drug efficacy in a timely manner to make sure that valuable resources are not spent developing therapies that no longer work. The virus mutates rapidly and it's an ongoing concern."

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BOKO HARAM: Cameroon And Chad Troops Storms Nigerian Territory

The Chadian and Cameroonian government has ordered its troops into Nigerian soil to recapture Baga from Boko Haram terrorists without the consent of the Nigerian government.

The Nigerian military today confirmed that they are in the dark and don’t know of an order by President Idriss Deby of Chad, deploying that country’s armed forces in pursuit of Boko Haram in Nigerian territory.

The defence spokesman, Chris Olukolade however revealed that it wasn’t against the law because Chad,Nigeria, Cameroun and Niger, all belong to a Multinational force set up to tackle the insurgent group.

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Boko Haram insurgents had taken the town on January 3 after attacking the Multinational Joint Task Force, MNJTF attached in the town.

Amnesty International claimed that the attack saw the death of over 2000 people but the military said that the casualty figures was less than 150.

Nigerien and Chadian troops part of the MNJTF were said to hae been pulled out days before the attack.

The Chadian president had on Thursday said that his army’s mission was to recapture Baga from the terrorists.

READ MORE: EBOLA OUTBREAK: Spread Of Virus Slowing Down In West Africa - UN
President Deby said: “We answered the call of (Cameroon’s) President Paul Biya. We cannot remain indifferent to what happens to our neighbours. Cameroon must not be left alone to face this threat that has so hurt innocent people in Cameroon and in Nigeria” .

The Nigerian military’s defence spokesman, Chris Olukolade revealed that government was unaware of the deployments but said that he would need to “verify”.

He told Premium Rimes: “I’ll need to verify what you are saying but it is not as if everything is out of order, there is Multinational Joint Task Force which allows us to interact with forces of neighbouring countries among which they are”.

“But even with that being the case, there cannot be solo operations in that area that will ignore the existing Nigeria’s arrangement for that area,” he added.

Security experts have said that the Nigerian Army’s reaction to the development was troublesome.

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Peregrino Brimah, of the civil society group, Every Nigerian Do Something (ENDS). said: “The Nigerian government saying through the army spokesperson, General Olukolade that they are ‘lukewarm’ to Chad’s mission to Nigeria is very troubling to say the least. If Chad’s intentions and mission is good intended then why should the Nigerian government be kept out of the loop and be unenthusiastic? This questions the trust we as a people have in both governments. Would the Nigerian government not wish Chad assist them in rescuing occupied territories? Is there intelligence with the Nigerian administration that makes them suspicious of Chad; or are they uninterested in Nigeria’s liberation?” Peregrino Brimah, of the civil society group, Every Nigerian Do Something (ENDS).

Brimah said that Deby’s announcement is similar to Mexico crossing the border to rescue Texas.

“Chad setting out to assist Cameroon at their request is appropriate, however for the Chadian president, Idriss Deby to announce formally to his people and to the international press that his troops will be invading Nigeria to “re-capture” Baga, without express permission and willful authorization by the Goodluck Jonathan administration is absurd. It is like Mexico deciding it will invade the United States to rescue a “plagued Texas” without the explicit approval of the United States government.”

Boko Haram insurgents have been said to be crossing the border to Chad and Cameroun whenever Nigerian army applies some pressure to the terrorists, this was the reason the Multinational force was formed by Nigeria, Cameroun and Chad.

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EBOLA OUTBREAK: Mali Declared Ebola Free

The United Nations and Mali’s government have declared the West African nation free of Ebola following a 42-day period without a new case of the deadly virus.
The country’s Health Minister Ousmane Kone made an announcement during a national broadcast on Sunday night. “I declare on this day, January 18, 2015, the end of the end of the Ebola epidemic in Mali,”

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The country “had come out” of the epidemic, confirmed Ibrahima Soce Fall, the head of the Malian office of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER).

Countries must report no new cases for 42 days – or two incubation periods of 21 days – to be declared Ebola-free. Mali recorded seven deaths caused by the Ebola outbreak that began just over a year ago.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO) data, the worst epidemic of the viral haemorrhagic fever on record has killed more than 8,400 people, mostly in neighbouring Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

At least 21,296 people have so far been infected with the virus, the WHO has said,

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Mali’s last infected patient recovered and left hospital early last month. At one point health officials had been monitoring more than 300 contact cases.

Mali became the sixth West African country to record a case of Ebola when a two-year-old girl from Guinea died in October. It was close to being declared Ebola free in November before a second wave of infections.

It will be recalled that the World Health Organisation has announced that the three countries with the highest recorded Ebola epidemic have recorded their lowest weekly number of new cases for months.
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EBOLA OUTBREAK: Spread Of Virus Slowing Down In West Africa - UN

An outbreak of Ebola that has claimed more than 8,400 lives in West Africa appears to be slowing down, though the battle to contain the disease is not over, the U.N. special envoy on Ebola said on Thursday.
"The change in behavior that we've been hoping for, working for, anticipating, is now happening everywhere," Dr. David Nabarro told Reuters in an interview.

READ ALSO: EBOLA OUTBREAK: Sierra Leone Cemetries Full Of Children

"The facilities to treat people are available everywhere," he said. "Safe burial teams are providing safe and dignified burial services everywhere and the result is that we're seeing the beginnings of the outbreak slowing down."

Nabarro declined to predict when the outbreak of the virus could be definitively over.

The hemorrhagic fever is spread through contact with bodily fluids of infected people or the highly contagious body of someone who has died of the virus. Nabarro said burial practices that involved people touching and cleaning bodies of Ebola victims had helped fuel the outbreak.

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The worst Ebola outbreak on record infected about 21,200 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea since it was detected in March, according to the World Health Organization.

The government of Liberia said earlier on Thursday that it could be free of the virus by the end of next month after success in curbing transmission. It said the country had only 10 confirmed Ebola cases as of Jan. 12.

"It's an incredible drop," Nabarro said, adding that he believed the Liberian figures were "absolutely correct." Nabarro described "a remarkable collective change in patterns of behavior" and said Liberia had "come to terms with the reality that the outbreak of Ebola is being driven by the way in which people behave."

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More than 3,500 of the 8,400 dead were from Liberia.

Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea now have capacity to quickly set up mobile centers to handle localized outbreaks.

"Those who are involved in the response have worked out that they can organize rapid mobile responses in case there's a flare up anywhere, so they can set up small temporary treatment facilities wherever they are needed," Nabarro said.

He said the U.S., British and French military, which built treatment centers, had played a crucial role.

"This external help was absolutely vital in bolstering and supporting the capacity of the people in the country to make the changes," Nabarro said, adding that "much of the external help came from within Africa."

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Nigerian Drug Convict And Five Others Executed In Indonesia

Indonesia has executed by firing squad 38 year-old Nigerian Daniel Enemuo, four other foreigners and one local woman convicted of drugs offences.
They were executed on Sunday(Indonesia time), unleashing a diplomatic storm as Brazil and the Netherlands condemned the execution of their citizens.

The executions — the first under Indonesia’s new President Joko Widodo — were carried out by firing squad on foreigners hailing from Brazil, the Netherlands, Vietnam, Malawi and Nigeria.

Indonesia has tough anti-drugs laws and Widodo, who took office in October, has disappointed rights activists by voicing strong support for capital punishment despite his image as a reformist.

A spokesman for Brazilian President Dilma Roussef said she was “distressed and outraged” after Indonesia defied her repeated pleas and put to death Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira, who was convicted of smuggling cocaine into Indonesia in 2004.

“Using the death penalty, which is increasingly rejected by the international community, seriously affects relations between our countries,” the spokesman said in a statement.

Meanwhile Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said the Netherlands had temporarily recalled its ambassador to Indonesia over the execution of Dutchman Ang Kiem Soei, and described all six deaths as “terribly sad” in a statement.

“My heart goes out to their families, for whom this is marks a dramatic end to years of uncertainty,” Koenders said. “The Netherlands remains opposed to the death penalty.”

Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Prime Minister Mark Rutte had been in contact with the Indonesian president on the matter, he said, and the government had done “all in its power” to attempt to halt the execution.

All the prisoners, who had been sentenced to death between 2000 and 2011, were executed around the same time shortly after midnight, Tony Spontana, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, told AFP.

Vietnamese woman Tran Thi Bich Hanh was executed in Boyolali district in central Java, while five others were put to death on Nusakambangan Island, home to a high-security prison, off the south coast of the archipelago’s main island of Java.

They included an Indonesian woman, Rani Andriani, along with 53-year-old Brazilian Moreira and 62-year-old Dutchman Ang.

A Nigerian, Daniel Enemuo, and Namaona Denis, from Malawi, were also executed.

– No presidential pardons -
They were all caught attempting to smuggle drugs apart from the Dutchman, who was sentenced to death for operating a huge factory producing ecstasy.

All of them had their appeals for clemency to the president — their last chance to avoid the firing squad — rejected last month.

Jakarta halted capital punishment in 2008 but resumed executions again in 2013. There were no executions in Indonesia last year.

Widodo, known as Jokowi, has taken a particularly hard line towards people on death row for narcotics offences, insisting they will not receive a presidential pardon as Indonesia is facing an “emergency” due to high levels of drug use.

His tough stance has sparked concern for other foreigners sentenced to death, particularly two Australians who were part of the “Bali Nine” group caught trying to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia in 2005.

One of the pair, Myuran Sukumaran, also had his clemency appeal rejected last month but authorities say he will be executed with the second Australian — his accomplice Andrew Chan — as they committed their crime together.

Chan is still waiting for the outcome of his clemency appeal. 

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New 'Charlie Hebdo' Cover Continues To Roil Muslim World

The deadly attack on controversial Paris magazine Charlie Hebdo last week has served to heighten not just terrorism-related security issues but also the cavernous divide between some Muslims and the West.

While many Muslims have expressed outrage at the killing of 12 people, many of them cartoonists who had a hand in a series of drawings depicting the Prophet Mohammed, others chose to focus on what they consider to be theoffensive nature of the publication. In mainstream Islamic culture, showing the Prophet Mohammed in any form - even flattering - is considering blasphemy.

READ ALSO: EBOLA OUTBREAK: Sierra Leone Cemetries Full Of Children

That the remaining staff of Charlie Hebdo chose to defiantly return to publication this week featuring a cover cartoon of the prophet - with the bubble Je suis Charlie, the rallying cry of Hebdo supporters - has led not only to violent protests but also injuries and deaths.

In Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, encounters between police and protesters gathered in front of the French embassy saw four shot, including two journalists. Pakistani lawmakers called the Hebdo cartoons hate speech; a parliamentary resolution noted that "freedom of expression should not be used as a means to attack or hurt public sentiments and religious beliefs."

In the West African nation of Niger, President Mahamadou Issoufou said at least 10 people have been killed after violent protests broke out against the latest cartoon depicting Mohammed in the French publication. Issoufou said that five deaths were reported after demonstrations in the capital of Niamey on Saturday. The victims were inside churches and bars that were set ablaze, he said. On Friday, at least five people were killed in the town of Zinder after prayer services there.

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Iranian judicial authorities on Saturday banned a daily newspaper for publishing a front-page headline that allegedly indicated support for Charlie Hebdo. Mohammad Ghoochani, chief editor of the daily Mardom-e-Emrooz, or Today's People, told the semi-official Tasnim news agency that his paper had been ordered closed. The paper's Tuesday edition featured a front-page article with a headline that quoted filmmaker and activist George Clooney as saying "I am Charlie Hebdo." However the accompanying article did not actually express support for Clooney's statement, nor for the magazine itself.

The Iranian government has publicly condemned both the attack on Charlie Hebdo and the magazine itself, calling the continued publishing of Mohammed caricatures "provocative" and an insult to Islam.

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Elsewhere in the Muslim world on Saturday, Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani condemned Charlie Hebdo, calling the newest cover image of Prophet Mohammed a blasphemous and irresponsible act.

"Freedom of expression should be used in a way to boost understanding between the religions," he said in a statement issued by the presidential palace. "Afghanistan has suffered many years of war and violence, more than any other country, and it is necessary to understand and promote peaceful coexistence among all the people of the world."

Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi also issued a statement of condemnation, warning that, "offensive words might lead to further bloodshed."

Al-Abadi called on all parties to "desist such practices that create an atmosphere of division and rejection." He also reiterated his condemnation of the attacks on innocent victims in Paris, saying that terrorism, "has nothing to do with Islam in any way."

Protesters also demonstrated in front of the French Embassy in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, as well as in the Pakistani city of Karachi. In Egypt, the Islamist Noor Party denounced the latest Charlie Hebdo cover on its French-language Facebook page. "Just as the Noor Party rejects the assault on civilians and the negative effects it has for all Muslims of Europe, it also rejects this barbaric, irresponsible act under the name of freedom of expression," the statement declared.

In Gaza City, the capital of the Gaza Strip, unknown vandals scrawled graffiti on the walls of the French Cultural Center. In addition to statements praising the Prophet Mohammed and declaring him off-limits for ridicule or satire, the vandals also wrote: "To hell, to a miserable destiny, French journalists."

Source: USATODAY

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EBOLA OUTBREAK: Sierra Leone Cemetries Full Of Children

Named after a long-forgotten tribal ruler of Sierra Leone, the King Tom cemetery hides behind flaking grey walls in the suburbs of northern Freetown.
For years, it has fought a losing battle for space with the neighbouring municipal refuse dump, from which piles of rubbish overflow on to the rows of overgrown headstones. Now, though, the tide is in reverse – as the cemetery overflows with the casualties of Sierra Leone's Ebola crisis.

When The Telegraph visited the cemetery last week, a procession of three burial workers picked their way through the graves, each with a tiny, knapsack-sized bag cradled in their arms. Edward Conteh, aged 3, Amna Kabbah Dumbaya, aged four months, and Mamayo Sesay, aged two weeks, were buried in a section specially set aside for children. It is also by far the fastest-growing section.

READ ALSO: EBOLA OUTBREAK: Red Cross Worker Dies in Sierra Leone
"There are a staggering number of children being buried here on a weekly basis," says Fiona Mclysaght, Country Director for Concern Worldwide, which is supervising the burial operation.

"Between the first and the fifth of January 156 children under the age of five were buried here in King Tom."
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227 Soldiers Protest Their Dismissal In Jos

About 227 members of the Nigerian Army serving with the 3rd Armoured Division in Jos, yesterday protested against their General Officer Commanding (GOC), asking for the intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan, Thisday reports.
The soldiers who claimed they were dismissed by the military authorities illegally, stormed the Plateau State Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat in Jos with placards saying they were dismissed without any reason and without the benefit of defending themselves.

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Leading the protest was Sergeant Abiona Elisha, he said, “We were dismissed this week Tuesday from the service of the Nigerian Army after sending us to go and suffer fighting insurgency in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states.

“All of a sudden, we were recalled to the barracks and made to face trial. Even in the trial, we were not given the chance to defend ourselves. They just took decision and dismissed us. We were not even told what our offences were during the so-called trial.

“We are surprised that we can be treated like this in our own country. We were sent to fight insurgents without weapons. A lot of our colleagues were killed in the course of defending our fatherland. Even those who are in hospitals treating injuries they sustained from battle fields were also dismissed while still on hospital admission.

READ ALSO: EBOLA OUTBREAK: Red Cross Worker Dies in Sierra Leone

“The worst situation is that families of our colleagues killed in Adamawa and Yobe are languishing in hunger as Nigerian Army refused to pay their entitlements.
The soldiers called on the President and Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Kenneth Minimah, to intervene in their case and reinstate them.

When contacted, Deputy Director of the 3 Armoured Division Jos, Col. Texas Chukwu, said : “I am not aware of the development; I just returned from Yola on Tuesday. So I am not aware of anything. Thank you.”

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BIRD FLU: Fresh Cases Of Disease Diagnosed In Kano And Lagos

Fresh cases of the avian flu aka bird flu have been diagnosed in Lagos and Kano States, authorities say. The discovery was announced by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Thursday, January 15.
The ministry said in a statement that some samples were taken for testing after a high mortality rate was discovered in two poultry farms and live bird markets in the states.

READ ALSO: EBOLA OUTBREAK: Red Cross Worker Dies in Sierra Leone

The samples were examined at the the National Veterinary Research Institute and they tested positive for H5 strain of Avian Influenza Virus. The statement added that confirmatory samples had also been sent to the International Reference Laboratory in Padova, Italy, for further characterization.

The statement reads:

“All state directors of veterinary services and the Federal Capital Territory, Poultry Association of Nigeria and other stakeholders have been informed and advised to be on alert with intensified bio-security measures to avert possible spread of the disease to other states.”

“The World Organisation for Animal Health and Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resource and development partners have been appropriately notified in compliance with our statutory international obligations.”

“It added that it had ensured immediate reactivation of all animal health component of the Emergency Preparedness Plan on bird flu for Nigeria, adding that the conduct of surveillance activities around infected areas to determine the level of spread of the disease was being undertaken.”

READ ALSO: Politicians Are Liars - RCCG Leaders

“All stakeholders in the poultry industry are urged to enhance hygienic practices (bio-security measures) which include, but not limited to, regular disinfection, proper disposal of dead carcasses and poultry products and timely reporting of mortalities in poultry and other bird species to veterinary authorities.”

“We wish to assure the public that, given our experiences in handling previous outbreaks and with your full cooperation in the implementation of containment measures, we are determined to contain this disease again within a short time. We will keep you informed as events unfold.”

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Politicians Are Liars - RCCG Leader

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Enoch Adeboye has reportedly stated that he doesn't trust politicians because they are liars.


Pastor Adeboye stated this on Friday, January 16, during a visit to Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Punch reports.

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The respected cleric, who was at the institution for a two-day interdenominational prayer session, also added that politicians are not trustworthy because they don’t fulfill promises made.

“I don’t trust politicians; politicians are liars. They don’t fulfil most of their promises. A politician can tell you that they will give all of you (students) chicken each, which we all know it is impossible,”Adeboye said.

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The Pastor also urged Nigerians to stop worrying about the outcome of the presidential elections saying that God the “master planner” had already planned the leadership development of Nigeria.

The Vice-Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Yemi Osinbajo is a pastor at the RCCG and is also said to be a close associate of Adeboye’s.
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EBOLA OUTBREAK: Red Cross Worker Dies in Sierra Leone

The Red Cross has lost its first worker to the Ebola virus, the organization said on Thursday, January 15.

The unidentified employee, a male nurse, is said to have succumbed to the disease on Tuesday, January 12, in Sierra Leone.

READ ALSO: UKWU ALERT: Amber Rose & Jennifer Lopez Rocks White At Golden Globes After-Party [PICS]

The deceased worker is said to have worked at an Ebola treatment center in Kenema before his death.

The humanitarian organization is investigating how he came to be infected and 29 people who made contact with him are being monitored for symptoms.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has said that cases of Ebola are now on the decline in West Africa.
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EBOLA OUTBREAK: WHO Approves 2 Vaccines - Trials Begin Jan 2015

After an expert meeting last week, WHO said there is now enough information to conclude that the vaccines have “an acceptable safety profile.”

In a statement released last week, Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, Head of WHO’s Ebola vaccine efforts, said “the cupboard (for Ebola vaccines) is filling up rapidly.”

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She said further trials in healthy people in West Africa, including health workers, are scheduled to start later in January or early February. Several other vaccines were being developed in the U.S., Russia and elsewhere.

vaccine-EbolaDespite the temporary suspension of a trial of the vaccine made by NewLink and Merck in December, the trial was put on hold while experts investigated reports of joint pain in a number of participants. No such side effects have been reported with the other vaccine.

The next phase of trials will likely take about six months and manufacturers will ramp up their production at the same time, meaning millions of doses could be available later this year. It’s unclear if that will be quick enough to help slow the epidemic, which appears to be on the decline.

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So far, Ebola has sickened more than 20,000 people and killed over 8,000, mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Officials estimate the death rate to be about 71 percent.

“We will have to take stock when we have the vaccines,” said Helen Rees of the University of Witwatersrand, who chaired the WHO meeting. She said experts would have to consider at that point whether it’s useful to vaccinate entire populations or focus only on high-risk groups.

GAVI, a private-public vaccine alliance, has pledged to spend $300 million on WHO-recommended Ebola vaccines, which it estimates could translate into 12 million doses.

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