GRAPHITTI NEWS collates 12 national and international highlights of late-breaking news,
upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Friday:
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HIGHLY
COMMENDABLE! Meet some of the medical team that treated the index #Ebola case
in Nigeria. In total, nine of them got infected with the virus; four of their
colleagues passed away. Photo: WHO/A. Esiebo
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1.
GIRL, 2, IS FIRST CONFIRMED EBOLA CASE IN MALI
The
first case of Ebola in Mali was confirmed tonight, making it the sixth West
African country to be touched by the worst outbreak on record of the deadly
disease.
Health
Minister Ousmane Kone told state television that the patient was a two-year-old
girl who had recently arrived from neighbouring Guinea, where the outbreak
began.
The
child was brought to a hospital in the Malian town of Kayes - which is about
375 miles from the capital of Bamako - on Wednesday, and her blood sample
tested positive for the virus.
'The
condition of the girl, according to our services, is improving thanks to her
rapid treatment,' the minister said.
He
added: 'The sick child and the people who were in contact with her in Kayes
were immediately identified and taken care of.'
A
health ministry official, who asked not to be identified, said the girl's
mother died in Guinea a few weeks ago and the child was brought by relatives to
Bamako, where she stayed for 10 days in the Bagadadji neighborhood before
heading to Kayes.
Health
officials have long viewed Mali as one of the most vulnerable to Ebola's spread
as the nation borders Guinea - one of the hardest-hit countries - and Senegal.
The
news emerged after the World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier today that
it had 'reasonable confidence' the Ebola virus plaguing three West African
countries had not spread into neighbouring states.
Mali
becomes the sixth West African country to report an Ebola case - though nearly
all the cases and deaths have occurred in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Senegal
and Nigeria had imported cases though both have now been declared Ebola-free. Last
week, the WHO said it would send teams of experts to Mali and Ivory Coast to
check their preparedness.
The
economic damage of a major outbreak in Ivory Coast would be felt around the
world, since it and next-door Ghana produce about 60 percent of the world's
cocoa beans.
Although
Senegal and Nigeria managed to contain the disease imported by travellers,
Ebola is still raging in the three countries at the heart of the epidemic.
The
WHO's Emergency Committee advising on Ebola said screening people leaving
Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea by air, land and sea remained critical for
reducing its spread.
At
a minimum, exit screening should consist of 'a questionnaire, a temperature
measurement and, if fever is discovered, an assessment of the risk that the
fever is caused by Ebola', the independent experts said after closed-door
talks.
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Mrs. Patience
Jonathan
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2.
JONATHAN’S WIFE RESIGNS AS BAYELSA PERMANENT SECRETARY
Wife
of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, has resigned her appointment as
Permanent Secretary in the Bayelsa State Civil Service.
The
57-year-old Patience was said to have left the service voluntarily.
She
was one of the appointed 17 permanent secretaries in the state civil service in
July 2012.
The
appointment had caused outrage in the state at the time with some Bayelsa
residents accusing Governor Seriake Dickson of politicising the civil service
in the state.
Though
Ministry of Education sources said Patience disengaged from service
voluntarily, there were speculations that she resigned because of alleged rift
between her and Dickson.
The
alleged frosty relationship between the governor and the President’s wife was
said to have been triggered by Patience unwillingness to support Dickson’s
second term bid.
Instead,
it was learnt that Jonathan’s wife had expressed her preference for the Special
Assistant to the President on Domestic Matters, Mr. Waripamowei Dudafa.
It
was learnt that Patience resigned her appointment to enable her to have the
moral justification to push her candidate.
At
the state’s Ministry of Education on Thursday, many of the civil servants
refused to comment on the development.
But
our correspondent learnt from reliable sources that the ministry had computed
her terminal benefits already.
One
civil servant, who agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity, said, “The
whole thing is political. It appears Madam (the President’s wife) is not happy
with the governor. With her resignation, the battle line has been drawn.
“I
feel the President’s wife resigned to enable her to have the moral right to slug
it out with Dickson ahead of the governorship poll in the state. Let no one
deceive you, the whole thing is politics. After all, she is 57 and the
retirement age is 60.”
When
contacted, Chief Salo Adikumo, who resigned during the week as Commissioner for
Education, said he was no longer the commissioner.
“I
resigned recently as commissioner to enable me to pursue my political ambition.
Please direct all your enquiries to the ministry,” he said.
However,
a ranking official of the ministry said it was true Patience had resigned
voluntarily.
The
official, who did not want her name in print because she was not authorised to
speak on the matter, said she was not aware of the resignation having political
undercurrents.
She
said, “I can say Patience Jonathan has voluntarily retired. But whether there
is political undertone in her resignation or not, I cannot say.
“I
think the First Lady felt that her continued stay as Permanent Secretary will
be depriving others. Now that she has resigned, it will afford others the
opportunity to take over her position.
“Already,
in accordance with the civil service rules, we have prepared all her
entitlements. Whatever is due her will be given to her. She will also be
receiving her pension.”
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Craig Spencer works as a fellow of
international emergency medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital
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3.
NEW YORK CITY DOCTOR TESTS POSITIVE FOR EBOLA
A
New York doctor who recently returned from Ebola-hit Guinea in West Africa has
tested positive for the disease.
Dr
Craig Spencer, who treated Ebola patients while working for the charity Médecins
Sans Frontières (MSF), came down with a fever on Thursday, days after
his return, officials say.
He
is the first Ebola case diagnosed in New York, and the fourth in the US.
Meanwhile,
Mali has confirmed its first case of Ebola after a two-year-old girl tested
positive for the virus.
4,900 people have died of Ebola - mainly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra
Leone - since March.
EU
leaders pledged at a summit on Friday to boost aid to combat Ebola in West
Africa to 1bn euros (US$1.25bn; £785m), EU president Herman Van Rompuy tweeted.
Member
states and the European Commission have already pledged nearly 600m euros.
Dr
Spencer, 33, left Guinea on 14 October, and returned to New York City on 17
October via Europe. On Tuesday he began to feel tired and developed a fever and
diarrhoea on Thursday.
He
immediately contacted medical services and was taken to the city's Bellevue
Hospital, where he is being kept in isolation.
President
Barack Obama said his thoughts and prayers were with the patient.
New
York officials said Dr Spencer had travelled on the subway and gone out jogging
before he started feeling unwell.
But
at a news conference late on Thursday, they sought to ease fears of an outbreak
in the densely populated city of 8.4 million people, saying officials had
prepared for weeks for an Ebola case. They added that those who came into
contact with Dr Spencer were not at risk.
WHO
describes outbreak, which has claimed 4,900 lives including at least 1,250 in
Sierra Leone, as global public health emergency.
