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Newborn baby tests positive for coronavirus in Russia
A baby was born with the coronavirus in Russia’s Caucasus region, health officials were quoted by TASS news agency as saying on Sunday, to a mother who is also infected. The birth in the North Ossetia city of Beslan follows one in mid-April in Peru, which health officials there said was the second known case of a COVID-19 positive newborn worldwide. In North Ossetia, “a pregnant woman was infected by the coronavirus, and her baby was born infected”, a regional health ministry spokesman was quoted by the state agency TASS as saying. “They are now at home, their state is satisfactory,” the spokesman added. The head of the hospital’s maternity unit, Hassan Tagaiev, was quoted by local television as saying that 17 of 35 women who were about to give birth there had tested positive for COVID-19....
Federal government donates 5,318 metric tons of foodstuff to Kano
The Federal Government said it has delivered a total of 139 truck-loads of foodstuff which is equivalent to 5,318 metric tons to Kano State, for distribution to the less-privileged, and people living with disabilities as palliatives against the effect of COVID-19. The relief items were 10 trucks of rice; 2,438 metric tonnes of Maize; 1,380 metric tonnes of millet and 900 metric tonnes of sorghum in a total of 139 trucks each ferrying 60 metric tons to feed 300,000 households. Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, who stated this in a statement, yesterday, disclosed that the10 trucks of rice came from the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), while maize, millet and sorghum were drawn from the country’s strategic food reserves as authori...
Governor Fayemi: Ibrahim Gambari’s appointment excites governors
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has expressed excitement over the appointment of Prof Ibrahim Gambari as the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari. The Forum also expressed its readiness to work with Gambari for the progress and development of the country. In a congratulatory message signed by its Chairman and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, in Abuja on Sunday, the NGF expressed confidence in Gambari’s competence for the job. “As you know, this appointment comes with great responsibilities and unconventional demands, requiring candour, discipline, professionalism, loyalty, focus, diligence and the highest level of service. “Your credentials, pedigree, experience and career trajectory both locally and globally speak to your capacity. As State Governors, we are excited a...
Madagascar records first death from coronavirus
Madagascar has registered its first coronavirus death, two months after its index case, the national COVID-19 taskforce said on Sunday, according to news site Reuters. The taskforce spokeswoman, Hanta Vololontiana, was quoted by Reuters to have said in a televised statement that the man had died on Saturday night. “A man died from COVID-19 in Madagascar … he is 57 years old and a member of the medical staff,” she said. The first casualty of the island on the east coast of Africa was said to be a 57-year-old medical worker who suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure. Newsmen had about a fortnight ago did a rundown of countries with a clean death slate. This included Vietnam, Rwanda, Faroe Islands, Madagascar, Cambodia, Nepal, Uganda, Central African Republic, and Mozambique, accordin...
No ‘miracle cure’ for coronavirus until clinical trials prove Madagascar’s herbal medicine
Scientists are putting an herbal remedy from Madagascar, purported to cure COVID-19, to the test. Researchers at Germany’s Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, in Potsdam, are collaborating with a U.S. company, ArtemiLife, to test an extract from the plant Artemisia annua to determine its effectiveness in speeding recovery from the virus. “We are working with two independent laboratories to ensure the highest possible quality and exclude any bias in the results,” Peter Seeberger, lead researcher, told VOA in an email response. Seeberger is hopeful the first results will be back soon. “We have collected a significant body of data but are again repeating the work to make sure any results are reproducible multiple times,” he said. “Within the next couple of weeks, we will be in a ...
NIDO flays Nigerian government’s directive on payment of N297,600 by stranded nationals in Thailand
Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO), Thailand, has described the directive by the federal government that stranded Nigerians in Thailand must pay the sum of N297,600 for their quarantine, isolation, accommodation centres or hotels before their departure as insensitive and harsh. Its President, Dr. Lloyd Nwafor, in a letter dated May 17 and addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, titled: ‘Appeal to Reconsider Decision on Payment for Quarantine, Isolation, Accommodation Centres or Hotels’, said it came to the stranded Nigerians in Thailand as a shock. He said that some of the evacuees are families who lost their jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic, some are at the Immigration Deportation Camp (IDC), while others are visitors stranded in Thailand. Nwafor...
Wayne Rooney: Park was just as important to Manchester United as Cristiano Ronaldo
Getty Images Wayne Rooney has said that former Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung was just as crucial to the club’s success as Cristiano Ronaldo, with the South Korean’s willingness to sacrifice himself for the team as a whole critical to lifting titles. Park and Ronaldo spent four years together at Old Trafford, winning three consecutive Premier League trophies, a League Cup and the Champions League in that time before the latter left the club for Real Madrid in 2009. And while Ronaldo’s goals, skills, speed and trickery will always be at the top of the highlight reel when looking back at that side, Rooney feels that Park’s contributions were just as important as that of the Portuguese icon. “It’s crazy but if you mentioned Cristiano Ronaldo to a 12-year-old, they would immediately...
Commission distributes aid to displaced persons in Kogi
The National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) over the weekend distributed relief materials to about 2,000 people in Kogi State who were rendered homeless as a result of recurrent floods that have ravaged their areas. The local government areas that benefited from the aid are Bassa, Dekina and Ibaji, all flood-prone communities located along the banks of the River Niger. The Federal Commissioner of the agency, Basheer Garba Mohammed, who presented the relief materials in Ayangba, said that the donation was meant to alleviate the sufferings of the displaced persons in line with the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari who expanded the mandate of the agency to include providing reliefs to displaced persons especially at this time of national emer...
Onome Ebi: Why players hardly earn 100 caps for Nigeria
Super Falcons experience defender Onome Ebi has explained why it is difficult for players to make 100 caps for Nigeria. Only Joseph Yobo, Vincent Enyeama, and former Super Falcons assistant coach Maureen Madu are the only players who have played more than 100 games for the country. Ebi believes lack of proper structure and academy in the country is one of the major challenges. The Chinese base defender opined that Nigeria needs to learn from other countries and establish enough academies that will produce young talents for the country. “I will say in Nigeria we catch talents old, while other countries catch them young, in other countries that I’ve played, there are plenty academy and most players moved to national from 15, 16 years of age.” “It’s difficult in Nigeria, no academy, you have ...
Alex Iwobi reveals happiest moments of his career in national team shirt
Super Eagles forward Alex Iwobi has revealed helping Nigeria reach the 2018 FIFA World Cup is the happiest moment of his career. Iwobi scored the winning goal against Zambia to help Nigeria qualify 2the FIFA World Cup for the sixth time, two years after switching allegiance to the West African Nation. While speaking to sports bibe on Instagram live session, the former Arsenal forward said the feat remains the best of his career, despite winning bronze at the African cup of Nations in Egypt and English FA Cup with Arsenal. “I’ve had a lot of happy moments in my career but for me, I will say when I scored against Zambia to send my national team to the World Cup because my parents were there,” he said. “That’s a special moment, I almost shed a tear on the pitch.” He said. Iwobi went on to rep...
Nasarawa Assembly members test negative for coronavirus
Nasarawa State Government All the members of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly have tested negative for coronavirus (COVID-19), the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Alhaji Mohammed Omadefu, has said. Omadefu disclosed this during an interview with newsmen on Saturday in Keffi. Expressing gratitude to God over their COVID-19 status, the spokesman restated the assembly’s commitment in containing the spread of the pandemic in the state. “At last, all members of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly have been certified COVID-19 negative. “This followed the fact that the only member out of the 23, whom controversies surrounded his COVID-19 status, Hon. Mohammed Bello Isa, member representing Uke/Karshi, has been cleared this afternoon as his two tests results of COVID-19 were all neg...
PDP asks President Buhari to explain whereabouts of Chinese doctors
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has given the federal government a 48-hour ultimatum to declare the whereabouts of the Chinese medical team it brought in to assist in the fight against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in our country. The PDP’s position is predicated on the declaration by the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, that he could not account for the whereabouts of the Chinese team, who were brought into the country from the global epicentre of the pandemic. The 15-member team of Chinese medical personnel arrived in the country on April 8 “to share their experiences in fighting the COVID-19.” Some Nigerians had kicked against the federal government’s decision to invite the medical experts, saying the country had enough doctors to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. The Nigerian M...
