Germany has sparked outrage in China after a major newspaper put together a £130bn invoice that Beijing "owes" Berlin following the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Germany has followed France, the UK and the US in directing its coronavirus anger at China, where the virus originated. Recent attacks come amid findings that Beijing appeared to cover up the true scale of the crisis, as the source of the outbreak remains a mystery.

On Saturday, Donald Trump warned that China should face consequences if it was “knowingly responsible” for unleashing the coronavirus pandemic.

President Trump told reporters: "It could have been stopped in China before it started and it wasn’t, and the whole world is suffering because of it.
“If it was a mistake, a mistake is a mistake. But if they were knowingly responsible, then there should be consequences. 
He said the Chinese were “embarrassed” and the question was whether what happened with the coronavirus was “a mistake that got out of control, or was it done deliberately?”

This week the city of Wuhan, where the outbreak started, revised its number of fatalities by with a sudden 50% jump in the figure.

The UK has joined US intelligence officials in investigating claims that the virus originated in a Wuhan virus lab and not a wet market. 
A bombshell op-ed this week in Germany's largest tabloid newspaper, Bild, joined this outrage by drawing up an itemised invoice for €149bn (£135bn)

The list includes a €27 billion charge for lost tourism revenue, up to €7.2 billion for the German film industry, a million euros an hour for German airline Lufthansa and €50 billion for German small businesses.

Bild calculated that this amounts to €1,784 (£1,550) per person if Germany's GDP falls by 4.2 percent, under the title "What China owes us."

China responded by claiming the invoice "stirs up xenophobia and nationalism". 

•Tests of the experimental jab on various animals have shown promise
•The next step is to test it on humans - 510 people will take part in the first stageOxford University are confident they can roll it out to millions by autumn 
•The jab is one of 70 currently in development, with trials in China and the US

Hopes of eliminating the coronavirus were raised today after leading British experts revealed trials of a vaccine would begin on humans next week.

Oxford University scientists are confident they can get jab for the incurable disease rolled out for millions to use by autumn.

Tests of the experimental jab on different animals have shown promise - and the next step is to use it on humans to prove it is safe.

The Oxford team are one of hundreds worldwide racing to develop a COVID-19 jab, which experts fear could take 18 months.

More than 70 vaccines are currently in development, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Three different groups - one in China and two in the US - have already began trials on humans. 

How a vaccine is made: Researchers racing to find a cure extract the virus' genetic code and inject part of the DNA sequence into animals to produce antibodies, which fight off diseases. These antibodies - which recognise COVID-19 and know how to beat it - are given to humans

Oxford's vaccine programme has already recruited 510 people, aged between 18 and 55, to take part in the first trial.

They will receive either the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine - which has been developed in Oxford - or a control injection for comparison. 

Professor Adrian Hill, who will lead the research, said: 'We are going into human trials next week. We have tested the vaccine in several different animal species.

'We have taken a fairly cautious approach, but a rapid one to assess the vaccine that we are developing.'

China has approved early-stage human tests for two experimental coronavirus vaccines as it battles to contain imported cases and prevent a second wave of COVID-19.  

The experimental vaccines are being developed by a Beijing-based unit of Sinovac Biotech and by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products , an affiliate of state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

Al Jazeera's Sarah Clarke, reporting from Hong Kong, said China's National Health Commission also confirmed the trials will go ahead. 

In March, Beijing gave the green light to another clinical trial for a coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by the military-backed Academy of Military Medical Sciences and biotech firm CanSino Bio, shortly after US drug developer Moderna said it had begun human tests for their vaccine with the US National Institutes of Health.

"We can confirm now that three particular vaccines are being tested in China, and the National Health Commission has said it will have to clear a number of conditions before they can enable mass production of the vaccines globally," said Clarke.

As of Tuesday, China reported 82,249 coronavirus cases and 3,341 deaths. There were no fatalities over the past 24 hours.

'Very bold decision'

Scientists around the world are racing against time to develop a vaccine for coronavirus, which has killed more than 119,000 people and infected more than 1.9 million globally.

The first approved vaccine in China has started its second phase of the trial, Clarke reported.

"A total of 500 people signed up to volunteer for that in the first phase, which looked at the safety of this vaccine, and the second phase has now introduced a placebo control group," she said.  

But even as hope for a cure is raised, John Nicholls, clinical professor of Pathology at the University of Hong Kong, said: "Vaccines can't be rushed".

His team was one of the first outside mainland China to reproduce the virus in a laboratory for research. 

"Normally with vaccines you start off with small animals and then move to primates and then to the humans," Nicholls told Al Jazeera. "It seems that with this one they have gone straight to the humans, which is a very bold decision.

"Most of the mortality in this disease is in the elderly, so the best thing would be to actually see what the anti-body response is in the elderly rather than the young," he added.

The Anambra State alleged COVID-19 Index case victim, Chief Marcel Eze, yesterday described all the stories being peddled about him testing positive to Coronavirus as all false and fabrications to tarnish his image.

Speaking with Vanguard yesterday in a telephone interview, Chief Eze, who said he deals on Pharmaceuticals, challenged the Anambra State government, particularly the state Commissioner for Health to show him and the world the alleged lab test result that confirmed him positive.

The angry Chief Eze said that he has been abandoned without any care, food or any medical attention since Friday he was taken to General Hospital Onitsha after a call from the State Commissioner for Health.

Chief Eze also called on Governor Willie Obiano to thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding his alleged current travail in General Hospital Onitsha, just as he challenged the governor to visit the hospital to hear his story, claiming that the state is being deceived over the claim that he tested positive to Coronavirus.

Chief Ezeh also said that he has not visited Lagos State since January, contrary to the claim in some quarters that he visited Lagos where he allegedly contacted the virus, saying that “the last time I visited Lagos State was in December and I have been in Anambra State since January.”

According to Eze, “I was admitted for a heart problem at Prof. Nwilo Heart Foundation, St Joseph Hospital Adazi Nnukwu, and was discharged after being confirmed okay by the doctors.

“While I was in the hospital, three people came and introduced themselves that they are from government and are conducting test on Coronavirus that they will take my sample like others in the hospital, and I said no problem.

“They brought something like cotton bud but very long with both ends having cottons, and inserted it into my mouth and nose and later collected it and left. That was before I was discharged from St Joseph Hospital Adazi Nnukwu.

“For three days before I left the hospital, I did not see them again. I was discharged on Tuesday and I went to one of my doctor friends in Awka who advised me to take bed rest in his hospital to avoid disturbance because of the type of person I am and I agreed.

“While I was there, on Wednesday by 11pm, a call came into my phone and on picking the call, a man identified himself as the Commissioner for Health in Anambra State, and he told me they have been looking for me and I asked him for what, and he did not say any reasonable thing to me and because it was late, I told him to come to the hospital the next day.

“On Thursday, the Commissioner came with some of his officials to the hospital and told me that the test conducted on me was positive for Coronavirus and I told him that St Joseph Hospital from where I was discharged on Tuesday did not take any sample from me. They brought a stretcher and asked me to enter. That was the way I found myself in General Hospital Onitsha where they currently dumped me without food, water or any medical care since Friday they brought me from Awka to Onitsha, on this their fraudulent claim of me testing positive to Coronavirus.

Anambra govt reacts

Reacting yesterday to the allegation of the coronavirus index case, Anambra State government said the man does not possess a good frame of mind to discuss his condition.

The commissioner for information and public enlightenment, Mr. Don Adinuba told Vanguard that the man’s problem was that his people were tormenting him psychologically and emotionally in the social media, advising him to stop granting media interviews that would not help him in any way.

Adinuba said: “I wonder why he is saying that he was dumped. I will advise him to stop granting interviews since he doesn’t have the state of mind to speak on this matter.

” I know that he is dispirited. We understand his situation because for someone to be isolated in a very large compound with only two family members, that person will not feel good.

“What he needs is peace of mind especially when his people are tormenting him psychologically and emotionally.”

According to the commissioner, the index case is not in a position to know if he is positive for coronavirus or not. He added that it was NCDC that brought the result of his test.

“We heard the result just like other people and it is wrong for him to be blaming anybody in the state for his situation,” the commissioner said.

Index case poorly handled — Obi

Reacting to the development, the Vice-Presidential candidate of the PDP in the last presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi frowned at the manner Anambrarians handled the index case of COVID-19 in Anambra State, even when he singled out St. Joseph Hospital, Adazi-Nnukwu for commendation for their professionalism.

In a statement made available by Obi’s Media Office, he thanked St. Joseph Hospital for being pro-active, going by the measures they took in handling the case, but described the stigmatisation of the index case by the people through videos and publications in various media platforms and the accompanying psychological trauma, as against the basic principle of collective fight against the pandemic.

Expressing confidence in St Joseph Hospital, Obi said it remained one of the best health facilities in this part of the country and that its Dr. Joseph Nwilo Heart Centre remained the best of its kind in Nigeria, manned by the globally-acclaimed cardiologist, Dr. Joe Nwilo, one of the most patriotic Nigerians who, though based in the USA, comes in from time to time at his own cost to perform free heart operations.”

President Muhammadu Buhari says he tries as much as he can to obey the constitution of the country.

The president said this on Thursday when he received speakers of state assemblies at the presidential villa in Abuja.

In a statement issued by Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, Buhari said the constitution must be adhered to, or altered to reflect dynamics and realities of the country.

He said the autonomy of state legislature has been constrained by the constitution.

The president asked the lawmakers to always put the interest of the people first in all deliberations and negotiations.

“I try as much as I can to always be loyal and obedient to the constitution so long as it is humanly possible,” Buhari said.

“The 8th National Assembly sometimes kept the budget for seven months. And I had to call the Senate President and the Speaker then. I told them by delaying passage of the budget you are not hurting Buhari, but the people.

“We have in the last four years dedicated significant resources to key social services sectors especially in health, education as well as our massive social investment programs. We have also started restoring our infrastructure to levels that this country expects.

“I also want to assure you that we remain committed to ensuring that equity and fairness prevail in governance. I will ensure that we consult your conference to further enhance the positive impact of our interventions across the country.”

The Director-General, Media and Communications, Kano State Government, Salihu Yakasai, is under fire for insulting the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II on Twitter.

Yakasai, who tweeted through his handle, @Dawisu, on Sunday, asked the emir to “stop opening his filthy mouth” for making a comment over the abduction of some children from Kano State.

There had been a heated debate in recent time regarding the abduction of some children from northern Nigeria to the South-East where they were given Igbo names and converted to Christianity.


But Sanusi had on Saturday said Igbos should not be attacked but blamed the parents for the incident, insisting that many northern parents had the bad habit of allowing their children roam the streets to beg thereby making them vulnerable to kidnap.

In his response, however, Ganduje’s aide said, “A very reckless comment to make. I wonder if any of his relatives get kidnapped or stolen, he will act the same way. The kids are not almajiris for goodness sake. SLS (Sanusi Lamido Sanusi) should have kept quiet instead of opening his filthy mouth to make such insensitive remarks. Nonsense!”


However, Dawisu and Emir have since been trending on Twitter over the matter, generating over 10,000 tweets as of 2pm on Sunday.

But many Twitter users cautioned Dawisu for insulting the monarch.

Adamu Sarki Aliyu tweeted, “Our royal highness is on track. What he said is good. Don’t politicise his statement.”

Lamido tweeted, “Dawisu has lost it a long time ago. I don’t know why he chose to be bitter with Muhammad Sanusi.”


Also reacting, @AY_Zarewa said, “Dawisu has been ranting all over Twitter about SLS’ words, where are his children at 10pm? Does he leave them roaming the streets? Go to Yakasai by 10.30pm, you’ll see the meaning of negligence. This contributes to child trafficking and rape, like it or not.”

But Mohd Saleh faulted the emir for blaming the parents, saying, “No, SLS, you cannot blame the victim. This is tantamount to blaming a rape victim for indecent dressing.”


Ganduje’s aide is not new to controversy.

In February, during the Presidential election, he blamed the South-West for not delivering enough votes for President Muhammadu Buhari, insisting that it was a shame given the number of political appointments the region had got under Buhari

In September, he described Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo as the Vice-President academics, a derogatory term used by critics of the President to describe Osinbajo.

Ganduje had in April broken the Kano emirate into five, an apparent attempt to whittle down the power of Sanusi.


Sanusi, who is a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has been berated by a section of the conservative North for his progressive views.

Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on Tuesday warned the newly sworn in commissioners that his administration will not condone any act of corrupt practices.

He urged them to be sincere and focused.

Ganduje, who handed down the warning shortly after assigning portfolios to the new commissioners at the Indoor Sports Hall, Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano, reminded them of the Kano State Anti-corruption Commission which is ever ready to beam its searchlight on any erring commissioner.


He urged them to remain focused, honest and work together with their permanent secretaries for the overall development of the state.

Ganduje enjoined them to ensure effective implementation of the yearly budget so as to actualise the Next Agenda of his administration.

Read Also: Ganduje nominates 20 commissioners
The commissioners are: Muhammad Garba, Information; Murtala Sule Garo, Local Government Affairs; Muazu Magaji, Works and Infrastructure; Ibrahim Muktar, Justice; Musa Iliyasu Kwankwaso, Community and Rural Development; Dr. Kabiru Ibrahim Getso, Environment; Nura Mohammed Dakadai, Budget and Planning; Shehu Na’Allah Kura, Finance and Economic Development and Dr. Mohammed Tahir Adamu, Religious Affairs.

Others include Dr. Zahara’u Umar Mohammed, Women Affairs and Social Development; Dr. Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa, Health; Sadiq Aminu Wali, Water Resources; Mohammed Bappa Takai, Science, Technology and Innovation; Kabiru Ado Lakwaya, Youths and Sports; Dr. Mariya Mahmoud Bunkure, Higher Education; Ibrahim Ahmed Karaye, Tourism and Culture; Muktar Ishaq Yakasai, Special Duties; Mahmoud Muhammad, Commerce and Industry; Muhammad Sunusi Saidu, Education; and Lawan Abdullahi Musa, Housing and Transport.

The governor announced that the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, retains his portfolio as the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The former President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Malam Mohammed Garba, was the first to be screened among the 20 commissioner-nominees who appeared before the House of Assembly yesterday.

The lawmakers asked him to take a bow and go after introducing himself. The exercise took less than three minutes.

The other 19 nominees were equally screened individually by the legislators.

All the commissioners passed the Assembly test.

IamPlato:
do you mind if i write a film script on your story

Deluxewriters:


Are you guys back together now?

1kbusiness:
Wow. This your story get plenty twist. When I thought I knew where it was going, bam, the story took another turn.

Now you've taken my joy away.
Was just ready to bash someone really hard.

Eniola Akinkuotu, Abuja

The lawmaker representing Oyo State’s Egbeda/Ona Ara Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Akin Alabi, has said that, in a presidential system of government such as obtained in the United States and Nigeria, the post of the Chief of Staff is more powerful than that of the Vice President.

The APC lawmaker is reacting to President Muhammadu Buhari’s signing of the Deep Offshore (and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract) Act in London, where he is currently on “private visit.”

His Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, had taken the document to him on Monday, leading to speculations that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has been sidelined.

In reaction to the lawmaker’s claim, two Senior Advocates of Nigeria — Messrs Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa and Ifedayo Adedipe — said Alabi’s assertion had no constitutional basis.

Alabi, who is the founder of Nigeria’s first online sports betting portal, NairaBET, made his views known via his Twitter handle @akinalabi on Tuesday.

In a series of tweets, the APC lawmaker said the Chief of Staff “is the assistant President, while the Vice President is merely a stand-in for the president.”

“Whether you like it or not, in a presidential system of government (eg, US, Nigeria), the post of the Chief of Staff is more “powerful” than that of the Vice President. He is the assistant President. The Vice President is a stand-in for the president,” the lawmaker said.

Continuing, he said, “It is NOT the duty of the Vice President to take a bill to the president. It’s the job of an assistant, like the Chief of Staff. The Vice President has been excellent performing his constitutional duties and the ones assigned to him.”

He surmised that, “If the President decides NOT to see Vice President Osinbajo as a PA, which I don’t think he should, then I’m 100% in support of that.”

Dealing knocks to those he described as noisemakers, Alabi said, “I understand the political agenda of the noisemakers but anyone ready to learn should learn.”

Wondering what Osinbajo’s relationship is with Buhari’s Chief of Staff Abba Kyari, Alabi tweeted further, “I don’t know whether there are problems between the Chief of Staff and the Vice President. Maybe there is. It’s politics and it happens everywhere.

“But with this bill signing issue, there is nothing out of the ordinary for the Chief of staff to bring a document for the president.”

Speaking with The PUNCH on Tuesday, however, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, said the office of the chief of staff was unknown to Nigerian law.

He, therefore, said there was no need for such controversy. Adegboruwa said, “The chief of staff is the head of the President’s personal staff. But our Constitution in Nigeria is different from other countries.

“The Supreme Court has held that the vice-president runs on the same ticket with the President and can act on his behalf when the President is not available.

“The second point is that the vice-president enjoys the mandate of the people through the ballot and can only be removed as recommended by the Constitution, while the chief of staff can be sacked at any time. Elevating a chief of staff above the vice-president is an aberration."

“What is playing out in Nigeria presently is an unfortunate development on how our system is being bastardised, where a bill is taken to the President in London to sign a law for Nigerians.”

Adegboruwa called on the President to surround himself with good legal advisers so as not to undermine the Nigerian Constitution.

“I think it is important for the President not to operate as an offshore leader,” he added.

Speaking in the same vein, Mr. Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN), said the [office of the] chief of staff is unknown to the Constitution of Nigeria. Adedipe said the chief of staff had no statutory role and was an “unelected official” and thus could not be more powerful than a person occupying a constitutional office.

He said, “What law makes a chief of staff more powerful than the vice-president? “The chief of staff is a personal staffer of the President, as opposed to the vice-president who is constitutionally recognised to act.

“If a President is disdainful of the vice-president, it is because the society permits it. “The fact that the chief of staff has the ears of the President doesn’t make him equal to an elected official. “The office of the chief of staff is not known to law.”

Godswill Akpabio, minister of Niger Delta affairs, says the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was treated like an automated teller machine (ATM) by corrupt people.

Akpabio spoke in an interview with the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).

President Muhammadu Buhari recently ordered a forensic audit of the operations of the NDDC from 2001 to 2019 . The president said the directive had become imperative in view of the persistent criticisms of the operations of the commission.

Akpabio lamented that the commission has become known for abandoned projects, adding that political interference has also not allowed the commission to work as it ought to.

“We have also had a lot of political interference, people have not allowed NDDC to work as it ought to, people coming with ideas not to move the region forward but to move their pockets forward. It has always been so,” he said.

“We currently have about 12,000 abandoned projects across the nine states of the Niger Delta. If those things were completed, you can imagine that the area would have been turned into an Eldorado.

“There is no way NDDC road can last (for) even two years. I think people were treating the place as an ATM, where you just walk in there to go and pluck money and go away, I don’t think they were looking at it as an interventionist agency.

“Even the idea of giving out a job to somebody who does not have the requisite skills is corruption on its own. The idea of bloating the contract is also corruption. Even collecting money and abandoning the site is also corruption.

“We have also had a lot of political interference, people have not allowed NDDC to work as it ought to, people coming with ideas not to move the region forward but to move their pockets forward. It has always been so.”

Asked how he felt about the president’s order for an audit, he said: “I believe by now, people would have realised that the president is justified in calling for a forensic audit of the commission.

“I wonder why the leaders in the past didn’t find it necessary to look into the activities of the NDDC, with a view to repositioning it. There is nobody that will be happy to see this kind of situation.”