Issue #1
Nigerian Senate considers bill to control sickle cell disease
The upper chamber of the Nigerian National Assembly is deliberating a bill that will help curb the high rate of sickle cell in Nigeria.
The bill reached its third hearing after the chairman of the committee of health, Yahaya Oloriegbe gave a report to the house this week.
This move has become expedient as Nigeria has the highest number of sickle cell cases in the world, according to a 2006 WHO report.
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a heritable disease that is caused by a defect in a gene. The gene haemoglobin, which is a protein that carries blood to tissues of the body. This gene defect leads to anaemia, pain, fever, jaundice and other illnesses,
collectively called a crisis.
The disease is inherited by the offspring of two "carrier" parents, with a 25% chances of two carriers giving birth to a sickle cell affected pedigree. That is, 1 in 4 chances. Thus far, Nigeria records over 15000 cases yearly.
Chairman, house committee on health,Hon Yahaya Oloriegbe explained that with this bill, there would be a legal structure and
framework that would better prevent, control and manage the disease. This will greatly save the cost of medical expenses on families, avert lots of death, and save individuals from physical and psychological trauma implicated by sickle cell
disease.
Salle, Nigeria's trending sensation
The 17 year old musical artist became a sensation after video of her singing went viral on social media, trending for hours on platforms like Instagram and Twitter. The video gathered attention after it was shared by celebrity influencer Tundeednut.
The video showed Salle with her hawking tray, singing sonorously. Her beautiful, powerful voice almost too fierce for a tender body. There was a tenderness that came with her singing that felt so surreal, almost hypnotic.
Since the viral video, she has since created official accounts on Twitter (@Realcallmesalle) and Instagram (@callmesalle) where she posted recordings of her songs, gathering followership and fandom. Salle has also thus far been recognised by Mavin record's Don Jazzy and DMW's Davido.
Interestingly, she's been spotted in a studio recording a new song. It is also alleged that CNN's Christine Amanpour has invited her for an exclusive on her show "Amanpour".
Salle is a grass to grace story that's got lots of audience rooting for her, with hopes of getting an EP or album out soon, and not just another fifteen minutes of fame tale.
One Charger to rule all Devices
The executive arm of the European Union has announced plans to force smartphone and other electronics manufacturers to fit a common USB-C charging port on their devices.
Why is this important?
The essence of the policy is to reduce electronic waste by allowing people re-use existing chargers and cables when they buy new appliances and electronics. Under the proposal, customers will be able to buy new devices without an included charger.
Impact of the policy
This new policy is likely to impact Apple the most because the company continues to use its proprietary Lightning connector rather than the USB-C connector adopted by most of its competitors.
Checking the numbers: According to an EU Assessment in 2018, around 29 percent of phone chargers sold in the EU used USB-C, 21 percent used Lightning, and around half used the older Micro USB standard. However, these figures may have shifted considerably as USB-C port has replaced Micro USB across most devices, excluding the least expensive Android phones.
In addition to phones, the rules will apply to other devices like tablets, headphones, portable speakers, videogame consoles, and cameras. Manufacturers will also be forced to make their fast-charging standards interoperable, and to provide information to customers about what charging standards their device supports.
According to an EU spokesperson, this move will reduce environmental waste and put an end to a situation where consumers purchase more chargers because the ones that are sold are not interchangeable or unnecessary.
“With our proposal, European consumers will be able to use a single charger for all their portable electronics – an important step to increase convenience and reduce waste,” commissioner Thierry Breton said.
“European consumers were frustrated long enough about incompatible chargers piling up in their drawers. We gave industry plenty of time to come up with their own solutions, now time is ripe for legislative action for a common charger,” European Commission executive vice-president Margrethe Vestager said.
Apple has expressed their disagreement with the policy stating that they were concerned about a strict regulation that mandates one type of connector only. Adding that it will stifle innovation rather than encourage it, which they think will harm consumers in Europe and around the world.
The company has also previously objected to the proposals because it says they risk creating e-waste by forcing people to throw out their existing Lightning accessories if they’re incompatible with the universal standard.
While this policy applies to wired chargers, wireless chargers are increasingly becoming popular across smartphones these days. There have also been rumours that Apple could ship an iPhone without a Lightning port and have it rely entirely on wireless charging for power.
What we’ve been up to…
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