More than 100 illegal immigrants have drowned when their boat capsized off the Libyan coast, Eugenio Ambrosi, chief of staff of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), revealed later Thursday.

“Reports of at least 100 lives lost in the Central Mediterranean today,” Ambrosi tweeted. “These are the human consequences of policies which fail to uphold international law and the most basic of humanitarian imperatives.”

Libya has become a preferred point of departure for thousands of illegal immigrants who attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach European shores.

In 2020, a total of 11,891 illegal immigrants were rescued and returned to Libya, the IOM said, adding that 381 died and 597 others went missing on the Central Mediterranean route last year.

The rescued were sent to overcrowded reception centers across Libya, despite repeated international calls to close those centers. (XINHUA)

Chief Imam of Masjid Bilal Sheikh Essa Jawara has called on the nation’s Muslims to spend part of their wealth in Allah’s cause and by helping the less fortunate.

Muslims in The Gambia have been observing the Muslim fast month of Ramadan, with the month registering a second Friday.

And in his sermon to his congregation, Imam Jawara said: “If you have three million, you can give out the one million by helping the poor and spending in the cause of Allah. That is good. Allah will reward you.

“Likewise if you have 30 million, give out the 10 million and keep the 20 million for yourself and your family.

“In the next world, you will see a stockpile of reward yet you will regret why you did not spend more in helping the poor and in the cause of Allah.”

President Adama Barrow will travel to Sierra Leone on Monday to grace the 60 Independence Anniversary of the country.

In a statement Friday, No. 1 Marina Parade said: “The Office of The President informs the general public that His Excellency, Adama Barrow, President of the Republic of The Gambia, will travel to Freetown on Monday, April 26th, 2021, as a Guest of Honour at the 60th Independence Anniversary of the Republic of Sierra Leone.

“The visit comes at the invitation of His Excellency, Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, and it will further strengthen the already cordial ties between the two sisterly countries.”

Dr Mamadou Tangara on Thursday assured the Ambassador of the European Union Delegation to The Gambia Corrado Pampaloni that The Gambia will continue collaborating with the bloc to boost ties in various areas of cooperation.

Foreign Minister Tangara made the remarks during a meeting he had with Ambassador Pampaloni in his office in Banjul, where they discussed modalities of further consultation, renegotiation and coordination regarding issues of bilateral concern, the foreign ministry said in a statement. The ministry did not give specifics of the bilateral concern.

“Both sides agreed to further partner in the consolidation of peace, stability and economic development for both people,” the ministry said.

The ministry has also said Dr Tangara also received in audience Joel GODEAU, French Charge d’affaires and the two officials discussed bilateral and regional issues of interest to both countries.

QNET, one of the fastest growing e-commerce powered direct selling companies from Asia, recently received recognitions from the Middle East and North Africa Stevie® Awards and Communitas Awards.

At the second annual Middle East and North Africa Stevie® Awards, QNET won a Gold Stevie® for its mobile application, QNET Mobile, in the Innovation in Shopping of E-Commerce Apps category. The award-winning app serves as a portable gateway for QNET’s international distributors to conduct and manage their direct selling business from the palm of their hand. The QNET Mobile app received high praise from the judging panel of Stevie Awards for its user-friendly interface and design, comprehensive library of features, and multi-language functionality.

At the Communitas Awards, QNET was named winner in the Leadership in Community Service and Corporate Social Responsibility category for its international CSR programmes which were showcased through a video titled: ‘QNET Gives Back to Communities Through RYTHM Foundation’. QNET works closely with RYTHM Foundation, the CSR arm of the company on community development projects around the world.  The impact and effectiveness of QNET’s mission to bring sustainable change to communities worldwide resonated with the spirit of Communitas, a Latin word that means people coming together for the good of a community.

The Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards are the only business awards program to recognise innovation in the workplace in 17 nations in the Middle East and North Africa region.  The Stevie® Awards are widely considered to be the world’s premier business awards, conferring recognition for achievement in programs such as The International Business Awards® for 19 years.

Nicknamed the ‘Stevies’ derived from the Greek word for “crowned,” the awards will be presented to winners during a virtual ceremony on 2 June 2021. Over 400 nominations from various organisations across the Middle East and North Africa were submitted for the award. Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners were determined by the average scores of more than 60 executives around the world acting as judges on six juries.

The Communitas Awards recognizes exceptional businesses, organizations and individuals that are unselfishly giving of themselves and their resources, and those that are changing how they do business to benefit their communities. Communitas Awards was started in 2010 as an outgrowth of the pro bono recognition program of the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, a several-thousand-member group that honors creative achievement and fosters partnerships with charities and community organizations.

Chief Executive Officer of QNET, Malou Caluza, says “One of QNET’s core values is centred on Service. Our aim is to serve our customers and our communities in the best way we can. The recognition from Stevie for our QNET Mobile App is testament to the fact that we’ve designed a product with the needs of our distributors at the forefront, to serve their business needs in the most effective way. And the recognition from Communitas goes further to showcase our commitment to serving the communities in which we do business.”

QNET was awarded two Stevie® awards the previous year. The company won a Bronze for the Best Use of Social Media for Covid-19 Related Information in the 17th Annual International Business Awards® for the campaign titled: ‘QNET Comes Together for Tomorrow’. The second Bronze Stevie® was awarded for the Innovation in Sponsorships category at the 7th Annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards through their collaboration with Manchester City Football Club (MCFC). Previously and in West Africa, QNET won CSR e-Commerce Company of the Year organised by the Centre for CSR, West Africa, for company’s various CSR initiatives across the region.

QNET is one of Asia’s leading e-commerce based direct selling companies offering a wide range of health, wellness and lifestyle products that enable people to lead better lives. QNET’s grass-roots business model fuelled by the power of e-commerce has helped empower millions of entrepreneurs in more than 100 countries worldwide.

QNET is headquartered in Hong Kong and has a presence in more than 25 countries around the world through subsidiaries, branch offices, agency partnerships, and franchisees.

QNET is a member of the Direct Selling Association in several countries, as well as the Hong Kong Health Food Association and the Health Supplements Industry Association of Singapore, among others.

QNET is also active in sports sponsorships around the world. Some of the more prominent partnerships include being the Direct Selling Partner of Manchester City Football Club and the African Club League Championships of CAF. For further information on QNET, visit www.qnet.net

President Adama Barrow on Tuesday received the outgoing International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda at the State House in Banjul, according to State House.

In a statement, State House said: “Ms Bensouda was at the Presidency to thank the government of The Gambia and President Adama Barrow in particular, for the support rendered during her tenure, particularly when she was sanctioned by the United States under the Trump administration.

“President Barrow congratulated Ms Bensouda for her outstanding leadership at the ICC and for projecting a positive image of The Gambia.

“Ms Fatou Bensouda commended the government of The Gambia among other nations for standing firmly by her for the unfair treatment by the Trump administration for merely doing her work.”

“The Gambia did not remain silent, they raised their voice and recently those sanctions have been lifted,” said Ms Bensouda, according to State House.

“She added that the audience with the President was also an opportunity for her to express words of gratitude to the President and the government, as well as update him on the transition process as her nine (9) years mandate as the ICC Prosecutor draws an end.

“The outgoing prosecutor also stated that The Gambia will continue to play its role and perform its duties, obligations and responsibilities as a state party to the Rome Statute,” State House added.

One can get a 50kg bag of America rice in the country between D1,300 and D1,400, according to a guide circulated by the trade ministry.

The trade ministry on Tuesday issued a statement along with a guide of various food commodities that came with various prices the ministry dubbed, ‘indicative prices’.

The food commodities include rice, sugar, flour, edible oil and onions.

American rice is the most popular rice among Gambians and its price ranged from D1,300 and D1,400 across the country.

The purpose of publishing these prices is to increase the public awareness on the prevailing prices to guide their domestic market transactions, the trade ministry said in its statement.

Brikama Area Council Chairman Sheriffo Sonko has strongly rejected any claims it was UDP supporters who voted for him as chairman of BAC.

“That’s not true. So many people voted for me who are members of APRC and so many members of GDC voted for me. It’s 100% clear that it’s not only UDP [supporters] who voted me in here but it is that it is the UDP ticket but they did not spend a penny on  me,” Sonko told The Fatu Network in an exclusively interview.

Sonko was a member of the UDP and his standing in the party saw him swat aside his challengers in the party to become the party’s candidate in the Brikama Area Council local government election in 2018.

However, Sonko is no longer a member of the party as he has fallen out with the party after the party sacked him last year. UDP accused him of straying from the cause of the party.

The United Democratic Party has said it has been vindicated as the party announced the conviction of the man who was driving the party’s vehicle when he was arrested with cannabis.

The Standard reported on Thursday Yusupha Jambang was convicted by a court in Brusubi.

And in a statement on its official Facebook page, UDP said: “Alhamdulillah the United Democratic Party has been vindicated.

“Yusupha Jambang has been convicted and sentenced to a fine of D7000 dalasi in default to serve 14 months in prison with no mention of drugs/Cannabis.”

According to The Standard, Jambang pleaded guilty to three counts of driving a motor vehicle without care and attention causing an accident, driving the said vehicle without a driver’s license and failing to stop when required.

The State Funeral of Former Chad President Idriss Déby Itno will take place on Friday, 23rd April, military officials announced on Tuesday.

A statement from the new military council that took over after his death said the funeral will take place “in the presence of heads of state and government of friendly countries”.

It will be held in Ndjamena, the capital, before his burial in his native region in the far east, the presidency said.

The heads of state expected to be present were not named in the statement.

Deby, who has been President of Chad since 1990, died on Tuesday, a day after leading his army’s fighting against rebels.

The rebels that launched the offensive against the regime have however rejected the transition government led by one of Deby’s sons, General Mahamat Kaka and vowed to pursue the offensive.

“We categorically reject the transition,” said Kingabe Ogouzeimi de Tapol, spokesman for the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) on Tuesday. “We intend to pursue the offensive.”

Officials said Idriss Deby died from injuries sustained in the Monday morning attack. (CGTN Africa)

Colonel Yuri Mironenko, Military, Air, and Naval Attaché to the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Dakar, Senegal, on Tuesday 20 April 2021, paid a courtesy call on the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gambia Armed Forces (GAF), Lieutenant General Yakuba A Drammeh at the Defence Headquarters in Banjul, according to the army.

The two men discussed on wide range of issues centering on military-to-military cooperation and capacity building programs, the army said in a statement on its official Facebook page.

It comes amid a top US army general Andrew Rohling meeting with the nation’s top military official Yakuba Drammeh.

The Commander United States Army Southern European Task Force, Africa Command, Major General Andrew M. Rohling on Tuesday 20 April 2021, paid a courtesy call on the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gambia Armed Forces (GAF), Lieutenant General Yakuba A Drammeh at the Defence Headquarters in Banjul, according to the army.

The army on its official Facebook page said the purpose of the visit of the top American general was to “discuss future military-to-military capacity building engagements with the US military, including Counter Terrorism, Maritime Law Enforcement and Security, and Peacekeeping Operations”.

The event was a colourful one as the traditional military welcoming quarter guard was mounted by guards from 1 Infantry Battalion to welcome the visiting General, the army said.

Chadian interim head of state General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno has chosen fourteen other generals to compose the transitional military council (CMT), which was established Tuesday following the death of former Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno.

Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, whom Chadians are already starting to call MIDI (like his father, Marshal Idriss Deby Itno), has chosen offcials of defense and security forces in place to ensure the transition.

Among them, there are General Souleyman Abakar Adoum, defense minister in the last government dissolved on Tuesday; General Mahamat Ismail Chaibo, former head of intelligence and minister of territorial administration; General Abakar Abdelkerim Daoud, chief of the general staff of the armed forces; General Djimadoum Tiraina, director general of the gendarmerie; General Youssouf Mahamat Itno, director general of the national police; General Tahir Erda Tairo, Director General of Military Intelligence.

Within the CMT, there are also General Bichara Issa Djadallah, chief of staff of ex-president and twice defense minister; General Oki Mahamat Yaya Dagache, defense and security adviser to Deby; as well as General Mahamat Nour Abdelkerim, former defense minister.

General Azem Bermandoa Agouna, spokesperson for the army, also sits on the CMT. It was him who announced on Tuesday on national television the death of Deby, as a result of injuries received during fighting against rebels from Libya.

All the fifteen generals of the CMT, most of whom were alongside ex-president Deby during the battle in western Chadian province of Kanem (some 300 km north of the capital N’Djamena), have responsibility of ensuring the security of the country and to conduct an eighteen-month transition leading to new elections.

According to a statement of the CMT, the National Assembly and the government are dissolved, and a transitional government will be put in place. A transitional charter will be promulgated to replace the constitution.

The CMT has also instituted a curfew ranging from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. throughout the country, and borders are closed until further notice.

A national mourning of 14 days is decreed throughout the territory from Tuesday. The funeral of the ex-president is scheduled for Friday in his birthplace Amdjarass, in the north of Chad. (XINHUA)

By Fatou Camara II

The less fortunate who ask for food and money along Kairaba Avenue have pleaded with Gambians to stop taking their pictures when giving out charity.

The Pipeline area of Kairaba Avenue is always littered with people whose survival comes from begging. They’re mostly made up of women and children.

On the issue of their pictures being taken, one said: “During Ramadan many people come out to give us alms and this is something we really do appreciate.

“However, we would prefer he or she who will give us aid without taking pictures or film but then we have some specially organization that would argue they need the pictures to serve as evidence for their sponsors and to my opinion I think even organisations can simply take images of whatever it is that they want to give out and send the pictures to their sponsors.”

Another said: “I am a married woman with eight kids. My husband travelled to Europe for ages and never returned.  I’ve been through a lot of hardship trying to take care of my children but circumstances went beyond me and I had no choice but to turn to begging on the streets.

“I am not sick nor am I mad. I concur with my colleague on the idea of concealed aid because it makes us feel comfortable.”

One Islamic scholar told The Fatu Network it was the Prophet Muhammad’s ways to give charity in secret.

“Prophet Muhammad used to do it in secret. In fact that is what he recommended, your reward gets intact when you give alms in secret,” Oustass Muhammed Sey of Serekunda said.

By Lamin Njie

The defence in the rape trial of businessman Bubacarr Keita on Wednesday protested a notice by prosecution to have a new witness testify in the trial.

The prosecution had apprised the court of their intention to bring forward a new witness who was not listed among a list of at least five witnesses.

However on Wednesday, the defence told Judge Momodou SM Jallow the notice of additional summary filed by state prosecutors on Tuesday to enable the new witness testify was faulty.

“My Lord we will be objecting to this witness being called,” Keita’s lawyer Lamin Camara quickly said when the prosecuting lawyer Alasan Jobe told the judge the prosecution would like to call on Pa Modou Johm as its second witness.

According to Camara, the notice of additional summary ran counter to Section 175(D) and 175(C) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

“My Lord if you look at the notice of additional summary, it has all the hallmarks of trial by ambush. For the reason that… My Lord, these notices do not contain anything that can be called summary if your Lordship looks at the statements,” Camara argued.

He then continued: “What appears to be a summary is not even a summary. And with the permission of the court My Lord, can I draw your attention if you have one, to the summary of the statement of [witness]. Two lines. The summary of a statement, two lines. And with the permission of the court My Lord if I can read the summary. [It says] ‘this witness is a sister to the complainant, she will explain the nature of her relationship with the accused person when she was in the compound and everything she knows about the case’. Where is the summary, is that summary?”

Camara then told the judge even if the Criminal Procedure Code did not give the scope of the summary, the constitution guarantees one’s right to fair hearing.

“[It] says you need to put the accused person in a stead to know the evidence that is coming in,” Camara said. “And this summary, there is no statement attached. So what are you telling the defence? Nothing. That amounts to trial by ambush.”

Camara then told the judge the same applies in the case of Pa Modou Johm saying the proposed witness’s statement summary comes in just three lines.

“The witness is a former boyfriend of the complainant. He was questioned by the police at the time the case was reported. He will explain the nature of the relationship,” Camara said reading from the notice of additional summary.

“This is not a summary,” he insisted further.

He then said if the prosecution had attached the witness statements, they would not have objected “because we would have been given an opportunity to know what the witnesses are coming to say”.

“With no such statements, we have no idea of what these witnesses are coming to say. That amounts to trial by ambush which is not allowed in criminal proceedings,” Camara added.

Senior state counsel Alasan Jobe fired back that the defence lawyer made a ‘very bizarre’ objection.

“My Lord a summary is defined under the Merriam-Webster dictionary as ‘covering the main points succinctly’. That is one definition of what a summary is. Other definitions under the same dictionary is that summary is an ‘abstract or an abridgement’.

“My Lord a summary need not contain all relevant information. My Lord a summary is just an overview of something. My Lord we believe that we summary of evidence as contained in the documents we filed is exactly what the said witnesses are coming to talk about,” Jobe told the judge.

Jobe also addressed his opponent’s argument the proposed witnesses statement were not attached saying, “My Lord this is very surprising to us”.

He said: “Because it is not all witnesses who make statements at the police. My Lord oral evidence is as good as documentary evidence as far as it passes the test of relevance as provided for under Section 3 of the Evidence Act.

“My Lord the same mode of drafting the summary of evidence is the same mode of drafting summary of evidence as it is contained in the notice we filed. It’s the same mode of drafting we used in the bill of indictment, the same three lines that counsel for the defence is complaining is the same three lines that we have in the bill of indictment and he never objected to it.”

Jobe continued his argument by telling the judge he agrees with the defence counsel that the accusation leveled against the accused is very serious.

He however warned: “And the threshold to prove rape is very high and it behooves on the prosecution to call on any material witness that will help it in proving its case beyond reasonable doubt.”

Jobe then sparked another protest from the defence when he said for Pa Modou Jobe to testify was because the defence had made reference to his relationship with the complainant.

“Counsel for the defence is the very one who made reference to his relationship with the complainant,” Jobe said.

Camara blasted back: “Sorry My Lord, can we rectify that anomaly. That is a mis-statement, my learned friend is misdirecting the court, that is not true. I don’t know Pa Modou Johm, I don’t know him from Adam. I only asked PW1, ‘do you know one Pa Modou Johm’, she said ‘yes’. ‘Who is he?’ She said, ‘it’s the boyfriend’. Did I make that statement? It’s their witness who said he is the boyfriend to the complainant. So he is misleading the court.”

Jobe who waived his right to reply on points of law asked that the objection by the defence counsel could be sustained except the part they were trying to mislead the court.

“We do not intend to mislead the court,” Jobe clarified.

Jobe went ahead to explain that the testimonies of the proposed witnesses are so vital to their case that their exclusion will case an unfair prejudice to us.

“We therefore urge this honourable court to dismiss the objection and allow the witnesses to testify based on the notice we filed. In any case, we would like this honourable court to take cognizance of Section 175(C)(2) of the CPC,” Jobe then prayed.

The judge in an easily ruling said: “The Honourable court rules that no superior court of The Gambia would allow any trial by ambush in a criminal trial especially for a serious commission allegedly. The prosecution not having given any gist of what the testimony of their statements would be to avail the defence with the opportunity to prepare its case as in the instance clearings which having made in sufficient disclosure and being in one of such requirement, the honourable court would maintain defence counsel’s objection against the calling of the two named witnesses as notice filed from yesterday to beef up the in focal theme and serve such requisite witness statements as the prosecution wish to call with time given to or opportunity given to the defence to prepare against the prosecution’s case. That’s all.”

The prosecuting lawyer had earlier on brought to the attention of the court two typos on the notice of additional summary: the witness’s surname and Criminal Code. The lawyer said the witness’s surname should be ‘Johm’ and not ‘Jobe’ as written on the document and ‘Criminal Procedure Code’ instead of ‘Criminal Code’. The prosecution has agreed to amend the notice and file it again.

The Gambia successfully eliminated trachoma as a public health threat, the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) announced on Tuesday.

As a result, The Gambia became the third African country to be validated by the W.H.O. as having eliminated the disease as a public health problem.

Trachoma is a neglected tropical eye disease that mainly affects children, with infection less common with increasing age. It spreads from person to person through contaminated fingers, fomites and flies that came into contact with discharge from the eyes and nose of an infected person.

The W.H.O. said the achievement was largely in part due to “strong collaboration” with partner organizations to implement the W.H.O.-developed SAFE strategy.

This strategy, the global health agency said, encompasses surgery for trichiasis (in-turned eyelashes), antibiotics to clear infection, and facial cleanliness and environmental improvement to reduce transmission.

The W.H.O. also paid tribute to the West African country’s community volunteers who “played a crucial role in mobilizing communities and promoting behaviour change.”

W.H.O. Regional Director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti said the achievement was “remarkable” as it will save many people from preventable visual impairment or blindness and improve their quality of life and well-being

“It is also a clear sign that we can achieve significant milestones through dedicated efforts in tackling health challenges in the region,” Moeti said.

The W.H.O., however, warned that non-formal schools, especially those situated in previously trachoma-endemic areas, remained a concern due to poor living conditions, including overcrowding and inadequate sanitary facilities, water supply and basic hygiene.

Schools also are a concern as students come from both within and outside The Gambia, raising the risk of transmission across geographical areas.

The W.H.O. pledged to continue to closely survey such areas, in collaboration with the government, to ensure a “rapid, proportionate response” to any resurgence of the disease.

In adults, women are up to four times more likely than men to be affected by the late complications of trachoma mainly due to their close contact with infected children.

Two-thirds of the 45 countries globally where trachoma is endemic are located in Africa, according to the W.H.O. (CGTN Africa)