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Swedish premier self-isolates as nation reports virus surge
Sweden’s prime minister announced Thursday he has gone into protective self-isolation after a person close to him encountered someone who tested positive for the coronavirus. The country is experiencing an autumn surge of infections. From his Facebook account, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said that on his doctor’s advice, he and his wife, Ulla, were self-isolating, even though they have no symptoms. He said it was “the only responsible thing to do in this situation.” Lofven’s announcement came as Sweden’s Public Health Agency reported a record 4,034 new daily infections and five new deaths, putting Sweden’s total deaths at 6,002. In his post, Lofven said the new infections were clearly going in the wrong direction. Early in the pandemic, as other Nordic nations locked down to fight the vir...
Cristiano Ronaldo to make Portugal return against France, Croatia
Cristiano Ronaldo was on Thursday named in the Portugal squad to play a friendly against Andorra and Nations League matches against France and Croatia. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner tested positive for coronavirus on October 13 when with the Portugal squad, going on to miss the 3-0 victory over Sweden. The 35-year-old finally tested negative 19 days later, returning to the pitch with a double for Juventus against Spezia in Serie A action on Sunday. The Portugal captain also played in Juve’s 4-1 victory over Ferencvaros in the Champions League on Wednesday. Reigning European champions Portugal take on Andorra on Wednesday before Nations League A3 matches at home against France on November 14 and away to Croatia three days later. The main absentee from Fernando Santos’ 25-man squad is Pep...
Capitol Music Group Chairman/CEO Steve Barnett Announces Retirement, Taps New Leadership Team
Capitol Music Group chairman/CEO Steve Barnett has announced his retirement, effective Dec. 31, 2020, the company announced today (Nov. 5). Barnett, a 50-year veteran of the music business, had spent the past eight years at the helm of the Universal Music Group-owned company, which he joined in 2012 after a stint as chairman of Columbia. As part of the announcement, Barnett announced that current Capitol Records president Jeff Vaughn and current Capitol Music Group COO Michele Jubelirer will take over atop the company. Vaughn will serve as chairman/CEO of CMG, while Jubelirer will become president/COO of CMG. “This has been an incredible journey, and I’ve been tremendously fortunate to work with such amazing people along the way,” Barnett said in a statement. “I am indebted to ...
Flying Eagles: WAFU B Zonal U-20 qualifiers postponed due to virus
The WAFU B Zonal qualifiers which will feature the Flying Eagles of Nigeria and six other West African countries billed for Lome, Togo, has been shifted to a later date due to coronavirus. The Togolese Football Federation (FTF) confirmed the postponement of the tournament in a communique published on their Twitter handle on Thursday. The WAFU B Zonal qualifiers which will be the qualifiers for the 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations in Mauritania, was originally scheduled for November 18 to December 2. According to FTF they will engage WAFU and CAF to find a new date for the competition. “The Togolese Football Federation is announcing to the sporting world that the WAFU Zone B tournament scheduled for Lome between November 18 and December has been postponed to a future date following a decisio...
House of Reps committee rejects aviation budget
The House of Representatives Committee on Aviation led by Rep. Nnolim Nnaji on Thursday refused to hold a budget session with the Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, and heads of the sector’s agencies. The infuriated lawmakers, said the won’t treat their budget, because they failed to present their 2021 proposals ahead of the scheduled date for defence. Ministries and heads of agencies, are customarily required to lay their proposals, days before the scheduled dates for defences. The chairman Nnaji in his opening remarks at the scheduled budget meeting with the Minister and the chief executives of the agencies, frowned at the failure of the Ministry to forward the documents as earlier request by the Committee. “Honourable Minister, I don’t know how you expect us to continue this meetin...
Tech is the new ‘oil’ – NITDA chief
The Director General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Abdullahi, has said that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is the new ‘oil’, because of its increasing contributions to the nation’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP). The DG who said this while delivering a remark at a virtual conference also said his agency is actively accelerating digital inclusion in Nigeria by taking advantage of the speed of existing infrastructure across the country. “Technology is the way forward in communications and other activities like meetings, prescriptions by doctors, conferences and other related activities which has aid the implementations of policies and strategies for the growth and development of our country. “It is the next oil, simply because of...
Barcelona boss angry with team and individual performances
Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman is not happy with multiple aspects of the performance of his team and individuals. The Dutchman once again was critical of elements of his side’s play despite edging out a 2-1 victory over Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Wednesday evening. Koeman told reporters after the encounter, in quotes carried by Marca: “I’m concerned about our performance in attack. “The problem against Dinamo Kiev was our performance without the ball. The problem exists, sometimes you cannot press and when you do, you leave spaces. “We have to talk about this and analyse it as a team, because the whole team has to improve. The game without possession has to improve.” Whilst Koeman did not speak directly about any of his players after the match, it is increasingly evident that he ...
Canada’s SOCAN Reports Growth In 2019, Distributions Shrink Due to Tech Rollout
Finally, the company says that mechanical royalties totaled C$12 million ($9 million) last year. As part of its results, the company acknowledged that its move to diversify beyond performance rights collections begun in 2016 has not worked out to its satisfactions. So it says it’s taking steps to rectify that situation. As part of that move, SOCAN said it registered a C$41.7 million ($31 million) impairment charge to its Dataclef subsidiary. But that charge have not impacted distribution, the organization said. Dataclef includes its acquisitions of Audiam, which tracks songwriter royalties at YouTube and other digital services for songwriters; Musicnet; and the Canadian mechanical licensing organization SODRAC. “At the time of our investment in these operations, we were exploring new...
US election: Donald Trump’s action disgraceful – Pennsylvania governor
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has condemned a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump’s campaign to stop the counting of ballots in the State. Trump’s campaign had filed a lawsuit to stop vote counting in Pennsylvania. Also Trump’s campaign demanded recount of votes in Wisconsin. Democrat governor Wolf, reacting during a press conference, described the action as against the basic principles of democracy and disgraceful. He vowed that the people of Pennsylvania will fight to ensure all votes are counted and there is a free and fair election. Wolf said: “This afternoon, the Trump campaign filed a lawsuit to stop the counting of ballots in Pennsylvania. “That is simply wrong. It goes against the most basic principles of our democracy. It takes away the right of every American citizen to cast...
At least 20 massacred during Mozambique initiation ceremony
Suspected militants beheaded over a dozen men and teenagers participating in a male initiation ceremony in northern Mozambique, local sources said on Wednesday, in the latest violent incident in the country’s insurgency-hit northeast. The dismembered bodies of at least five adults and 15 boys were found on Monday, scattered across a forest clearing in Muidumbe district. Islamist militants operating in the area had attacked several nearby villages over the weekend, looting and burning down homes before retreating into surrounding thicket. “Police learnt of the massacre committed by the insurgents through reports of people who found corpses in the woods,” said an officer in the neighbouring Mueda district who asked not to be named. “It was possible to count 20 bodies spread over an area of a...
US election: Oye Owolewa made Nigeria proud – minister
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, on Thursday, described the feat achieved by 31-year old Oye Owolewa in the 2020 United States election as national pride. The minister tweeted, “Congrats are in place for the 31-year old Adeoye Owolewa for making Nigeria proud by being the first Nigerian to win a seat in the United States Congress.” Owolewa was on Tuesday elected as a shadow member of the US House of Representatives from the District of Columbia, making him the first Nigerian-American to achieve the milestone. According to election results on the website of the District of Columbia Board of Elections on Wednesday morning, Owolewa polled 81.59% of the votes, which represents 164,026 votes against Joyce Robinson-Paul, who scored 18,600 votes, and Sohaer Syed with 15,...
Crystal Palace defender receives ‘substantial’ damages from WADA
Crystal Palace defender Mamadou Sakho has accepted damages from the World Anti-Doping Agency. The damages are the result of allegations he took performance enhancing drugs. He received a brief suspension in 2016 when he tested positive for a substance that helps burn fat called higenamine whilst playing for Liverpool. Sakho was eventually cleared by UEFA and has now been rewarded for damages caused. He said in a statement: “I am pleased with Wada’s acceptance that I did not breach the Uefa anti-doping regulations, did not cheat, had no intention of gaining any advantage and acted in good faith. “I am also pleased that Wada has apologised to me and agreed to pay a substantial sum in damages. “I consider myself vindicated and now look forward to continuing my career.” He added: “This is the ...
