Headlines
British junior doctors embark on strike over pay dispute
British junior doctors embark on strike over pay dispute
Thousands of junior doctors have gone on strike across England as the dispute with the British Government over pay continues.
The 72-hour walkout by medics who can have up to eight years of experience as a hospital doctor or three years in general practice ran until 7 a.m. (0600 GMT) on Saturday and is expected to lead to thousands of National Health Service appointments and operations being cancelled.
This latest development follows a warning by NHS chiefs that the number of people seeking emergency help would rise as the hot weather continued across the UK.
NHS leaders have said that urgent and emergency care would remain the priority.
The strike is the third this year by junior doctors and is expected to cause mass disruption.
There have also been concerns about staffing, with some consultants saying they would not provide strike cover unless their employers agreed to a higher overtime rate.
The British Medical Association is calling for “full restoration” of pay, which it says has seen a 26 per cent cut.
The Government has offered five per cent to end the dispute.
Dr Vivek Trivedi and Dr Robert Laurenson, co-chairmen of the BMA junior doctors committee, said in a statement that “Junior doctors are in despair at this government’s refusal to listen.
“It should never have taken two whole rounds of strike action to even put a number on the table.
“And for that number to be a 5 per cent pay offer in a year of double-digit inflation, itself another pay cut beggars belief.
“We have made it clear that junior doctors are looking for the full restoration of our pay, which has seen a 26 per cent cut,’’ it noted.
The junior doctors in England had seen their pay cut in real terms by more than a quarter over the last 15 years.
The statement added, “Today, they are demonstrating what that means to the survival of the NHS.”
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Crime
NAPTIP urges stiffer penalties for rape
Hajiya Binta Bello, Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), has called for stricter penalties for rape to serve as a deterrent.
Bello made this demand during the close-out event of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law implementation in Cross River on Monday, organised by Stand to End Rape.
Represented by Mr Jacob Oba, Head of Operations, NAPTIP, Cross River Command, Bello emphasised that rape was a heinous crime against humanity.
She advocated for collective efforts to eradicate it through timely reporting, assisting survivors, providing legal services, and awareness campaigns to reduce stigmatisation.
Bello appealed for a united front against rape, reaffirming NAPTIP’s commitment to combating VAPP Act violators, including human traffickers.
On her part, Dr Mercy Kwabe, Co-director of Stand to End Rape Initiative, acknowledged Nigeria’s progress in promoting equal rights through the VAPP Act.
However, she highlighted the need for better public understanding of the law, particularly in local languages.
Kwabe stressed the importance of amending the VAPP Act to incorporate harsher penalties for perpetrators, rather than repealing it.
Similarly, Ms Ann Awa, Chairperson of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Cross River Chapter, echoed the need for full implementation of the VAPP Act across states.
She suggested fine-tuning contentious sections rather than abolishing the law.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in partnership with agencies like the National Orientation Agencies (NOA), Stand to End Rape Initiative conducted VAPP Act sensitisation in Ikot Awatim community, encouraging residents to report suspected cases.
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