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Naomi Osaka using lockdown to conquer inner demons
Two-times Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka is using the novel coronavirus shutdown as one of self reflection to try and overcome her crippling shyness. The tennis season was suspended in early March due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and the hiatus will continue until at least mid-July with many countries in lockdown to contain the virus. Japan’s Osaka, who trains in the United States, the country worst affected by the flu-like virus with over 1.4 million infections and more than 83,000 deaths, is taking advantage of the extended break to do some soul searching. “I think people know me as being really shy… I want to take the quarantine time to just think about everything, and for me, I have a lot of regrets before I go to sleep,” Osaka told CNN Sport. Petra Kvitova said last year Osaka would hav...
Farah feels Tokyo delay could help 10,000m title defence
Multiple Olympic champion Mo Farah says the postponement of the Tokyo Games to 2021 could work to his advantage as the Briton will now have around 20 months to train for the defence of his 10,000m title having switched his focus back to the track. The 37-year-old retired from track athletics in 2017 to focus on road marathons but announced in November last year that he was returning for one more tilt at 10,000m gold. The target then was only a matter of months away but the year’s postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic has changed everything. Farah, who must still qualify, will be 38 by the time of the Games in July and August next year but is looking on the bright side. “Having postponed it actually helps me a bit more,” he told Reuters while training in isolation in London’s Richmon...
Rory McIlroy to play first three PGA Tour events when season resumes
World number one Rory McIlroy says he is planning to play in the PGA Tour’s first three tournaments when the season resumes next month after the COVID-19 disruption. The golf calendar has been severely impacted by the novel coronavirus outbreak, which has killed over 291,000 people around the world, with three of the sport’s four majors rescheduled and the British Open cancelled. The Tour’s schedule restarts with the Charles Schwab Challenge (June 11-14 in Fort Worth, Texas) followed by the RBC Heritage (June 18-21 in Hilton Head, South Carolina) and the Travelers Championship (June 25-28 in Cromwell, Connecticut). “Right now, I’m planning to play the first three events,” McIlroy, who is also set to play in a $3 million charity skins match on May 17, told reporters. “I miss the competition...
WHO warns virus may be here to stay as toll nears 300,000
The coronavirus may never go away and populations will have to learn to live with it just as they have HIV, the World Health Organization has warned, as the global death toll from the disease nears 300,000. There were also gloomy forecasts from the US Federal Reserve, which said prolonged shutdowns to stem the spread of the virus could cause lasting economic damage in America. Washington ratcheted up tensions over the pandemic by accusing China of trying to steal research into a vaccine, while US President Donald Trump upped the rhetoric with a colourful phrase that could anger Beijing. “We just made a great Trade Deal, the ink was barely dry, and the World was hit by the Plague from China. 100 Trade Deals wouldn’t make up the difference — and all those innocent lives lost!” Trump tweeted....
PDP chides federal government for ‘denying’ Rivers, other states help
File Photo Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday chided Federal Government (FG) for denying Rivers and other states of the federal significant support in the fight against Coronavirus. National Chairman, PDP, Prince Uche Sencondus, expressed disappointment over the development at a stakeholder gathering in Port Harcourt to inaugurate the new Rivers PDP Executive Committee (EXCO) chaired by Ambassador Desmond Akawor. Secondus said, “Governors are working without help from the Federal Government. But for God, the situation would have been worse. Governors are running from pillar to post. “We must be grateful to Governor Wike for the initiative he took. What the Governor has done has helped to drastically reduce the number of cases. Rivers is lucky to have Governor Wike at this time of ...
Rivers court sentences two to death for ritual murder of 8-year old
A High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Wednesday sentenced Ifeanyichukwu Maxwell Dike and Ugochukwu Nwamiro to death for the ritual murder of eight-year-old Victory Chikamso. Justice Adolphus Enebeli in his judgement ruled that Dike, 200-Level Student of Physics at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) be hung on his neck till death while Ugochukwu Nwamiro should be hung on his leg until dead with no option of fine for both convicts. Police Sergeant Johnbosco Okoronze, who was found guilty of aiding and assisting the escape of Dike from police custody before being rearrested in course of his trial, was sentenced to one-year imprisonment. Justice Enebeli said he so sentenced Johnbosco Okoronze because he has served two years in prison already and has been dismissed from the poli...
68 travellers hidden in trucks arrested in Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Ministerial Task-team on the enforcement of COVID-19 Restrictions, on Wednesday, arrested about 68 persons travelling through the territory from various parts of Nigeria. Confirming the incident in Abuja, the Chairman of the task force, Ikharo Attah, lamented the increasing rate in which people violate the ban on interstate travel as announced by President Muhammadu Buhari. According to him: “Drivers of the two Dangote trucks who were coming from Kano and Zaria after delivering goods, they now took passengers who were charged N1,500 each. “Owners of the trucks must do all to ensure their trucks which are meant for haulage of goods are not converted to be illegally transporting persons from one state to another, thus violating the lockdown directives of t...
Governor Wike extends relaxation of Port Harcourt, Obio/Akpor lockdown till Sunday
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has extended relaxation of the Covid-19 lockdown he imposed on Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt Local Government Areas till Sunday. Wike in a Wednesday evening broadcast said, the total lockdown on the Port Harcourt metropolis, expected to take effect again from Thursday following two days. (Tuesday and Wednesday) breather for residents to restock for food and medicals will now resume 17 May. He said, “In consideration of concerns of our people, and need for residents to replenish their supplies especially, the State Security Council decided to impose night-time curfew and review the effective date of the complete lockdown on Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt City LGAs from the Thursday 14 May to Sunday 17 May 2020 by 8.00 p.m.” “Consequently, there will be nigh...
Erykah Badu and Jill Scott Streams Triple After ‘Verzuz’ Battle
The singer-songwriters’ combined streams rise from 2 million to 6 million after Saturday’s event. Erykah Badu and Jill Scott saw their combined streams more than tripled after the two contested in the first female battle of the popular Instagram Live #Verzuz series on Saturday night (May 9). The two singer-songwriters collectively pulled 6.7 million U.S. streams on Saturday and Sunday for their total song catalogs, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, compared with a 2.1 million haul for the Thursday and Friday preceding the showdown. Badu and Scott’s livestream drew more than 700,000 attendees at its peak and set a new series viewership record, overtaking the nearly 525,000 who tuned in to see Babyface battle Teddy Riley on April 20. [embedded content] Badu’s best streaming track wa...
Michael Jackson Broadway Musical Pushed Back Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
A stage musical about Michael Jackson has pushed its Broadway debut until next year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Preview performances of “MJ” are now set to begin in March 2021 at the Neil Simon Theatre. The musical — previously called “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough” — was to start performances in New York City on July 6. The musical is inspired by Jackson’s life and music. Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage is writing the book, using Jackson’s vast catalog of songs. Tony Award winner Christopher Wheeldon will direct and choreograph and Ephraim Sykes will star as Jackson. Jackson sold millions of records and was a 13-time Grammy winner. In 1983 he became an international icon with the release of “Thriller,” the best-selling album with such hits as “Beat It” and “Billie Jean.”...
President Buhari urges stakeholders commitment as NLNG signs Train 7 project construction
Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), Bonny, Rivers state, says it has signed Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Contracts for much-anticipated Train 7 Project with the SCD JV Consortium, comprising affiliates of Saipem, Chiyoda and Daewoo. The development signifies the commencement of the Detail Design and Construction phase of the project expected to increase the capacity of NLNG’s current six-train plant by 35% from the extant 22 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) to 30 MTPA. Tony Attah, Managing Director, NLNG, said, “The award of the EPC Contracts clearly demonstrates our Shareholders’ determination and resolve to sustain the economic dividends NLNG’s monetization of our vast natural gas reserves offers Nigeria” Group Managing Director (NNPC) and a Director on the NLNG Board, Mele Kya...
WHO: Coronavirus may never go away
The new coronavirus may never go away and populations around the world will have to learn to live with it, the World Health Organization warned Wednesday. As some countries around the world begin gradually easing lockdown restrictions imposed in a bid to stop the novel coronavirus from spreading, the WHO said it may never be wiped out entirely. The virus first emerged in Wuhan in China late last year and has since infected more than 4.2 million people and killed nearly 300,000 worldwide. “We have a new virus entering the human population for the first time and therefore it is very hard to predict when we will prevail over it,” said Michael Ryan, the WHO’s emergencies director. “This virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities and this virus may never go away,” he told a ...
