BREAKING: Arikana praises Macron

 

Medical Doctor and politician, former African Union Ambassador Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao in a televised interview with DNT’s Jermaine Nkrumah praised France President Emmanuel Macron when asked the question “Macron, you must be his favorite African Politician?”

Dr. Arikana responded to the question by saying;

I don’t know, but I like the guy.

He’s a young man and I think that if we have any hope of really truly having a relationship with France as equitable, we have a better chance with Macron than any other leader that might come.

In furtherance, the educator narrated that the French President knows the truth, and she believes He would’ve made some great changes if He had his way but for his hands which are tied. She continued saying; And He also faces the reality that France is a very poor nation.

It is still not known how the young French President Emmanuel Macron won the admiration of Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao, but the former AU Ambassador to the States has no doubts that at the core, Macron would like to do the right thing.

He’s a young man who knows the truth,

I don’t think He wants himself brawled with all this nonsense but;

The reality is, He has a country to protect

A poor country that has nothing

That is depending on Africa

Dr. Arikana finished her submission by citing that there is a lot for President Macro to analyse and pay rapt attention to, but for that, He would’ve been the preferred candidate for Africa to make parallel with, stressing her believe that if Africa has any hope of improving and having a better relationship with France, is through Macron.

Kindly click the link to watch full interview:

 

………………………………………………………………

New York fire: Officials pledge support after 17 die in ‘unspeakable tragedy’

 New York officials have pledged to support all those affected in an apartment fire on Sunday as the death toll was revised slightly down.

At least 17 people died in the Twin Parks complex fire, including eight children. Several other people are in hospital in critical condition.

It is the deadliest apartment fire in New York City in more than 30 years.

Bronx borough president Vanessa Gibson said she was “determined to rebuild and heal” in the wake of the incident.

“We are resilient, we are tough and we are going to turn our pain into purpose,” said Ms Gibson.

Among the dead were a four-year-old, two five-year-olds, a six-year-old, two 11-year-olds and a 12-year-old, according to US media.

Some 200 firefighters were sent to tackle the blaze. Fire department Commissioner Daniel Nigro said they had found victims on every floor of the 19-storey block.

Investigators say a malfunctioning space heater in one apartment appeared to have caused the fire and, though the building had self-closing doors, the door to that apartment somehow stayed open.

Commissioner Nigro said the fire was on the second and third floors, but the smoke had spread everywhere.

IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES

Image caption,

The local fire chief said the blaze was “unprecedented”

A total of 63 people suffered injuries, including the 32 taken to hospital, a number whom are in critical condition.

Mayor Eric Adams on Monday called the incident “a global tragedy”.

The area of the Bronx where the fire occurred is home to a large Muslim immigrant population and many of those affected by the blaze are believed to have originally come to the US from the Gambia.

Mr Adams urged anyone affected to seek assistance from the authorities, irrespective of immigration status. He assured residents that their details would not be passed on to immigration services.

Speaking alongside him, the Gambian ambassador to the US – Sheikh Omar Faye – said his country was “in a state of shock”.

“We are a very small country of less than two million people and everybody knows everybody,” he said.

A city in mourning

Nada Tawfik, BBC News, New York

Outside, in the cold, some residents are still surveying the exterior damage, the blown-out windows.

I met Joyce Anderson, an elderly woman who needs her heart medication from her apartment. But she was told no-one was allowed back in yet, leaving Joyce in a difficult position.

Otherwise, her and her daughter are doing OK and staying with relatives, unlike their neighbour, who is still in shock.

He had to battle heavy smoke to escape and saw one child wheeled out who did not make it.

New Yorkers are still trying to comprehend how this could happen.

Nearby, at a community centre, people have been donating warm clothes and other supplies. The New York Fire Department has even set up a fire safety booth and is handing out smoke alarms.

The nature of this sudden disaster and the large number of children to die has shaken everyone here.

This is a city in mourning.

Survivor Mamadou Wague told local media the fire started in his third-floor flat, where he lives with his wife and eight children.

“We were sleeping and my kids were screaming, saying ‘Fire, Fire!'” he told ABC News. “So I see the fire in the mattress, and I told everybody, ‘Get out, get out.'”

He said he suffered burns to his face while rescuing his daughter, who was trapped in the burning bed.

The building hosts a number of affordable housing apartments and the blaze is likely to raise questions over the quality of such units in the city.

In a virtual news conference on Monday, Andrew Ansbro, the president of the firefighters’ union, said the building was “well-known in that area for having difficult fires”, noting that its fire protection rules with regard to sprinklers and self-closing doors may have been different from those of the city.

He claimed it was because the building had previously received federal subsidies and therefore was not required to follow the same fire codes.

IMAGE SOURCE,AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Image caption,

New York City Mayor Eric Adams called the fire a “global tragedy”

But Representative Ritchie Torres, who grew up in public housing in the area and was hospitalised with asthma as a child because of poor conditions in his building, rejected the claim that federal housing can follow its own fire codes.

He and other local officials have blamed decades of disinvestment and neglect in the Bronx.

“The two values that are near and dear to most of us are our family and our home, and to lose both in the span of a single tragedy is traumatic and terrifying to an extent few of us can imagine,” said Mr Torres.

The Bronx frequently has the worst residential fires in the city.

New York City’s deadliest fire – which killed 87 of 93 people inside a social club in 1990 – took place in this borough, and the worst fires since then have also happened here.

……………………………………………………………

Covid in Scotland: Nightclubs still waiting on Covid funding support

 Nightclub owners have criticised the slow rollout of financial support for their businesses, which have been closed again under Covid restrictions.

Clubs have been closed since 27 December with Nicola Sturgeon announcing the shutdown will remain in place until at least 24 January.

But trade groups said Scottish government funding promised before Christmas has not yet materialised.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the grants will be paid “very soon”.

Restrictions on large outdoor events in Scotland, including football matches and concerts, are to be lifted from next Monday.

But limits on indoor events and venues will remain in place for at least another week as part of a phased approach to lifting measures brought in to help deal with a surge in Covid cases caused by the Omicron variant.

• Scotland’s nightclubs to close for three weeks from 27 December
• Nightclubs close and 1m distancing returns
• Restrictions on large outdoor events in Scotland lifted

Gavin Stevenson, vice-chairman of the Night Time Industries Association Scotland (NTIAS) and director of the Mor-Rioghain Group of hospitality venues, told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “As of today not a single penny of the funds promised before Christmas have reached businesses.

“It is putting businesses in an incredibly difficult situation, wondering how on earth they are going to pay their staff this week when they’ve got no money in the bank because they have been forced to close or trade is unviable by the current round of restrictions.”

Mr Stevenson claimed the forms for the Scottish government’s nightclub closure fund had not been issued yet, adding this is putting business owners and their staff “in an untenable position”.

IMAGE SOURCE,BBC NEWS

Image caption,

Confetti raining down on people queueing outside the Buff Club in Glasgow which is among the venues affected by lengthy periods of closure over the last two years required by Covid rules

Deputy First Minister John Swinney told Good Morning Scotland that the funding issue “has got the attention of ministers”.

He added: “We’re moving as quickly as we possibly can do to make the financial support available to the sectors which have been affected by the restrictions.

“We work closely with local authorities to make sure such funding arrangements can be put in place.

“The timescale should be very soon, it’s difficult to give a precise timescale but I would think within the next two weeks would be a reasonable expectation.”

Mr Swinney said the delay was partly down to setting up the payment process and the public holidays over the Christmas period.

The government’s nightclub closure fund allows venues to apply for a grant up to £55,000.

‘Not fit for purpose’

Other hospitality businesses have also spoken of the impact restrictions have had on trade.

Restrictions were introduced for pubs, restaurants and other indoor public places on 27 December.

Indoor hospitality and leisure venues have to ensure there is a one-metre distance between different groups of people, and table service is required where alcohol is served.

Scott Mitchell, managing director of Surgeons Quarter, which runs a hotel and events business in Edinburgh, said it had lost £225,000 in sales due to cancellations of Christmas and Hogmanay events.

He said: “While we welcome the apparent mindset shift towards gearing up for living with the pandemic, the government simply isn’t doing enough to save hospitality.

“The first minister is leaving the sector with support measures that are not fit for purpose and arbitrary restrictions that will result in countless lost jobs and livelihoods.

“The support we are receiving equates to roughly 3% of the sales we have lost, which are in excess of £225,000.”

Dr Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, added: “Businesses urgently need the financial support promised to them to be delivered as quickly as possible and additional financial support is made available should restrictions remain in place any longer.”

……………………………………………………………