Beijing has claimed that America, not China, is to blame for the COVID-19 pandemic. In a white paper released on Wednesday, China’s State Council Information Office suggested the virus that killed 1.2 million Americans and at least 7 million people worldwide may have originated in the United States.  The document appears to be a rebuttal to renewed backlash from the Trump campaign, which has doubled down on claims that Covid leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), a lab known to be conducting coronavirus experiments. The white paper released by China’s State Council Information Office was meant to rebut the Trump Administration which has claimed the virus came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) which was doing coronavirus experiments at the time. In the report, Chinese officials wrote: ‘The US government, instead of facing squarely its failure in response to Covid-19 and reflecting on its shortcomings, has tried to shift the blame and divert people’s attention by shamelessly politicizing SARS-CoV-2 origins tracing. ‘A thorough and in-depth investigation into the origins of the virus should be conducted in the United States. The United States should respond to the reasonable concern of the international community, and give a responsible answer to the world.’  The report goes on to say: ‘Substantial evidence suggested the COVID-19 might have emerged in the United States earlier than its officially-claimed timeline, and earlier than the outbreak in China.’ Many virologists and epidemiologists still believe that the coronavirus emerged in the human population after being transmitted between various animal hosts. The Chinese government said in its latest report that the US should not continue to ‘pretend to be deaf and dumb,’ but should respond to the legitimate concerns of the international community. The report comes after the White House launched a new Covid website earlier this month, where the official line is that the coronavirus escaped from the WIV labs while criticizing former President Joe Biden and top infectious disease specialist Dr Anthony Fauci. The Chinese government wrote in its white paper that in January 2020, ‘the US was aware that an epidemic of a novel coronavirus was spreading quickly within its borders’ and chose to ‘downplay the severity of the epidemic [on] multiple occasions compared Covid-19 to the flu, saying that it would disappear automatically one day. ‘The US has made China the primary scapegoat for its own mismanaged Covid-19 response. The US government’s indifference and delayed actions wasted the precious time China had secured for the global fight against the pandemic.’ The white paper goes on to allege that the virus has its roots in US soil, detailing respiratory disease outbreaks from May to October 2019 that the Chinese government alleges were Covid cases, though lab test results never concluded this. ‘A US CDC study revealed that out of 7,389 serological survey samples collected from nine states between December 13, 2019 and January 17, 2020, 106 were SARS-CoV-2 antibody positive. This suggests that the virus existed in the US before the first official case was identified,’ the white paper said.The post China claims America is to blame for the Covid-19 pandemic appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.

As Nigerians marked May Day on Wednesday, the country’s leading labour unions – the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) – issued a scathing critique of President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, describing the plight of workers as the worst in the nation’s recent history.

The unions have renewed their demand for a review of the national minimum wage, currently set at ₦70,000, arguing that it no longer meets basic needs in the face of soaring inflation, new taxes, and increased tariffs.

Julius Laye, chairman of the TUC in Bayelsa State, said workers had been plunged into severe hardship following Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidy on May 29, 2023, a move that triggered a wave of economic challenges.

“You know that the government introduced several taxes, and the hike in tariffs has impacted the workers negatively.

“The economic policies and the removal of subsidies have led to hyperinflation, so the minimum wage has become inadequate,” Laye said.

Labour Unions Slam Tinubu’s Economic Policies

He added that essential services, such as healthcare, have become unaffordable for most workers.

“Even the minimum wage is not enough to cover Medicare. Incidentally, they have money to fly out to seek better medical attention, but the Nigerian workers do not have the means to do so,” Laye said.

“We are worse off in this administration than we had ever been at any other time,” he concluded.

The unions stated that a new, realistic wage benchmark is necessary to restore dignity and ensure survival for Nigerian workers.

A woman who d!ed in a skydiving accident in County Durham has been named as 32-year-old Jade Damarell. The experienced skydiver, who had completed more than 400 jumps, fell to her de@th on Sunday, April 27, 2025, at Wrefords Farm in Shotton, County Durham. Company Sky-High Skydiving described her de@th as tragic, adding there were indications it was “a deliberate act taken to end her own life”.  A coroner is yet to rule on the circumstances surrounding her de@th. Sky-High Skydiving said: “It is with great sadness that we confirm a tragic incident took place involving a valued member of our community. “Our thoughts are with her family and friends as they face this unimaginable loss. “We urge anyone in crisis to speak to someone or reach out to a mental health professional.” Wrefords Farm said: “Tragically, last Sunday 27/4/25 a woman lost her life after a parachute incident/accident, please join us in saying a prayer for her and her family, we ask the Lord to accept her into the kingdom of heaven and strength to her family. “We ask for our own and farms privacy for this deeply upsetting matter to be respected. God bless.” One of her friends said the community in Shotton is “devastated and deeply traumatised”. They told Mail Online: “Everyone is devastated and deeply traumatised by what happened because she was very much part of the skydiving community. “She was mad for the sport. In just the two days before she died, she did 11 jumps. She must have done 80 this year.” Durham Constabulary said: “A woman sadly d!ed following a skydiving incident near Peterlee. Police officers and colleagues from the ambulance service were called to the incident in Shotton Colliery at around 10.30am on Sunday. “Sadly, a woman in her 30s was pronounced de@d at the scene. Her de@th is not being treated as suspicious and a file will now be prepared for the coroner.” The post Skydiver falls from plane and d!es in deliberate act to end her life appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.