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Taiwan rejects China’s main condition for WHO participation
Taiwan’s health minister, on Friday, rejected China’s main condition for the island to be able to take part in the World Health Organisation (WHO) – that it accepts it is part of China – ahead of a key meeting of the body during a pandemic, Reuters reported. Non-WHO member Taiwan has lobbied to take part as an observer in next week’s World Health Assembly (WHA), drawing strong objections from Beijing, which considers Taiwan to be one of its provinces. Taiwan says the coronavirus pandemic has made it more urgent than ever that it be allowed proper access to the WHO. China says Taiwan can only participate under the “one China” principle, in which it accepts it is a part of China. China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party refused to do this, a...
Donald Trump threatens to cut China ties over coronavirus spread
US President Donald Trump threatened to cut ties with China over its role in the spread of the coronavirus, as the global death toll from the disease topped 300,000. Despite fears of a second wave of infections, national and local governments around the world are easing lockdown orders as they try to get stalled economies moving again. But there were warnings Friday that some of the world’s poorest people remain the most vulnerable, with predictions that a quarter of a billion Africans could be infected without urgent action. The nexus of poverty and risk was highlighted by the discovery of cases in the world’s biggest refugee camp, where upwards of a million Rohingya live in squalor. “We are looking at the very real prospect that thousands of people may die from COVID-19” in these camps, ...
Imam admonishes Muslims against idolatry
The Chief Imam of Fulani Mosque in Ilorin, Kwara, Dr Muhammad Bashir-Saliu, has warned Muslims against idolatry acts against Allah. Bashir-Saliu during a Ramadan Tafsir in Ilorin, said all acts of worship should be for Allah (God) alone. The cleric said Allah hated any act of ascribing partners with him, adding that he forgave all sins but not acts of idolatry. He noted that if Muslims strictly adhered to the warnings, then Allah would take care of all their affairs in the world and the hereafter. According to him, Allah enjoins utmost kindness to mothers and that mothers are sacred and must be accorded the highest respect among people. Bashir-Saliu said after according utmost respect to Allah and Prophet Muhammad, the next was to accord respect to mothers because of their nurturing nature...
National Assembly leadership meets finance minster over 2020 budget amendment
The Leadership of the National Assembly on Thursday met with the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning to be briefed by the latter on the plan by the Federal Government to amend the N10.59 trillion 2020 budget passed by the National Assembly in December last year. The meeting which had in attendance principal officers from both chambers, was presided over by the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila. The Senate President, in his welcome address told the Executive arm of Government to ensure that the interest of Nigerians remains protected in the proposed cut to the 2020 national budget. Lawan also expressed the willingness of the Federal lawmakers to expeditiously consider the proposed amendment to the 2020 budg...
German Bundesliga restarts with ‘ghost’ derby
Borussia Dortmund host Schalke 04 in Germany’s fiercest derby on Saturday but no more than 300 people will be in and around the 80,000 capacity arena due to COVID-19 restrictions as the Bundesliga gets back to business after a two-month break. The Bundesliga is the first major sports league to resume since world sport was brought to a standstill by the pandemic, and players will have to abide by a strict set of health guidelines aimed at minimizing the risk of infection. Fans will not be able to attend the matches as part of the safety regulations, leaving it up to the players to provide the spark for what are being called “ghost” games. “It will most certainly be the most unusual derby in history,” Dortmund’s head of pro players Sebastian Kehl said this week. “This game lives off fans, th...
75 Boko Haram insurgents killed in border security operations
Nigerian and allied forces from neighbouring states killed 75 Boko Haram insurgents in security operations earlier this week in the region where the borders of Niger, Nigeria and Chad converge, Niger Defence Ministry said. The Islamist Boko Haram insurgency erupted in northeastern Nigeria in 2009 and continues to grind on, with attacks frequently spilling over into Chad, Niger and Cameroon a little further to the south. The operations on Monday followed a series of Boko Haram attacks on military positions near the southeastern Nigerien border town of Diffa, the ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday. It said 25 insurgents were killed in fighting around 75 km (46.6 miles) south of Diffa and a further 50 in air and artillery strikes by joint Nigerien, Nigerian and Chadian forces in the...
Nigeria’s confirmed coronavirus cases top 5,000
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nigeria has now exceeded 5,000 on Thursday night. Announcing the new development, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said the country on Thursday, recorded 193 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in Nigeria to 5,162. The NCDC also said that three new patients have been confirmed dead to the virus in the country, bringing the total number of deaths to 167. 193 new cases of #COVID19; 58-Lagos46-Kano35-Jigawa12-Yobe9-FCT7-Ogun5-Plateau5-Gombe4-Imo3-Edo3-Kwara3-Borno1-Bauchi1-Nasarawa1-Ondo 5162 cases of #COVID19 in NigeriaDischarged: 1180Deaths: 167 pic.twitter.com/HCuipTKg6Y — NCDC (@NCDCgov) May 14, 2020 “On the 14th of May 2020, 193 new confirmed cases and 3 deaths were recorded in Nigeria “No new state has rep...
Police confirm abduction of APC vice-chairman, daughter
The Police Command in Kaduna on Thursday confirmed the abduction of the Vice-Chairman, All Progressive Congress (APC), Kaduna State chapter, Shu’aibu Idris-Lauge, and his daughter. The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Jalige, confirmed the incident in Kaduna. According to him, Shu’aibu and his daughter were abducted from their Kwanar Zango residence along Kaduna-Zaria expressway on Thursday morning. “Efforts are being made to rescue the kidnapped victims, apprehend and bring the culprits to book,” he said. Jalige, therefore, appealed to the public to support the Police by providing useful information that would lead to the rescue of the victims. Get more stories like this on Twitter
Intelsat files for bankruptcy, seeks to restructure
Global satellite operator Intelsat filed for bankruptcy protection on Thursday, citing disruption from to its business from the virus pandemic, in a move aimed at restructuring its operations. The filing in the United States (US) bankruptcy court in Virginia listed more than $16 billion in debt. The company said in a statement it was “managing the economic slowdown impacting several of its end markets caused by the COVID-19 global health crisis.” Intelsat said bankruptcy protection would help it restructure its balance sheet as it reorganizes operations, and that business would continue during this process. The company is scheduled to receive $4.87 billion for exiting the C-band required by the US Federal Communications Commission for 5G, or fifth generation wireless networks in the United...
Kano quarantines over 2000 almajiris
Kano state government has quarantined over 2000 Almajiris to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the state, the second hotspot of the virus after Lagos State. The Kano state Commissioner of Health Ibrahim Tsanyawa confirmed this to newsmen that a team of rapid response experts have been trained to manage the Almajiris at their quarantine centres. Tsanyawa revealed that the trainees were selected from medical doctors, nurses, community health workers and laboratory scientists to test and screen the Almajiris at their in their camps in Kiru, Gabasawa and Karaye Local Government Areas of the state. He explained that the Almajiris, including those that had been repatriated from other states to Kano, would be tested for COVID-19. He added that those who have tested positive for the virus would be ta...
SGF: Nigeria did not request for Madagascar herbal medicine
The Nigerian government has said it did not request for COVID-Organics, a herbal medicine used by Madagascar to treat COVID-19 patients. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, made this known at the daily Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing on Thursday. Mr Mustapha said the medicine was offered as a general gesture of ‘brotherly love’ from the Malagasy government to all African countries. “Nigeria did not ask Madagascar for any solution, the Madagascar government decided to airlift quantities meant for African countries. ”It was taken in the spirit of African brotherly love to Guinea Bissau and we have asked our ambassador there to establish the location, the quantity and he has done that,” he said. Mr Mustapha, at a past briefing, had noted that t...
Zamfara governor commends EFCC for exposing Chinese ‘fraudsters’
Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle has commended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for exposing Chinese nationals who tried to block investigations against their alleged shoddy contract in the state. Two of the Chinese nationals, representing the company allegedly approached the EFCC zonal officer with a bribe of N100 million and were immediately arrested. Reacting to the development, Matawalle said the attempted bribery further confirmed his earlier accusation that the company only collected the contract sum without executing the project. He was quoted as saying: “I want to specifically commend the leadership of Ibrahim Magu and his able Zonal Head in Sokoto, Alhaji Lawal Abdullahi, for moving this case to a significant stage by this arrest and further proving to the...
