COVID-19
Clean Bandit Announce 12-Hour Virtual House Party to Fight Hunger
In addition to Clean Bandit, the virtual party will feature performances from SOFI TUKKER, Hotel Garuda, and Joel Corry, among others. Clean Bandit has teamed up with the charitable organization Global Citizen for a virtual house party to raise awareness about COVID-19-induced food chain disruptions. Joining the Grammy Award-winning trio is an international cast of talent representing a multitude of different genres. While also entertaining the masses, the artists and organizers hope to send a message to world leaders about the supply chain issues that can lead to a world hunger crisis. The headlining duo is scheduled for two performances—a B2B with Joel Corry and a collaborative set with unannounced special guests. Alongside the headline sets, SOFI TUKKER, Hotel Garuda...
300 more Nigerian nationals return from US
Three hundred more Nigerians who had been stranded in the United States have arrived in Abuja. The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), announced this on Saturday via Twitter saying the returnees arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at about 15:00pm via the Ethiopian Airlines. According to NIDCOM, the evacuation is the fifth from the US since the Federal Government started flying Nigerians who were stranded as a result of the COVID-19 back home. It said all the evacuees tested Negative to COVID-19 before boarding the flight but will also observe the mandatory 4-day self-isolation as mandated by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19. So far, a total of 1,430 Nigerians have been flown back home while the Federal Government says it has spent over N169million in...
Governor Obaseki: I’m committed to economic diversification, food security
Edo Governor Godwin Obaseki, has reaffirmed his government remains committed to economic diversification. He assured the state would continue to initiate and implement policies targeted at boosting the agricultural sector and ensuring food security The Governor, who spoke to journalists in Benin City, said his administration has, in the last three years and eight months, embarked on programmes and reforms created an enabling environment for agricultural businesses to thrive such that more youths and investors could earn a living and create employment. Obaseki said: “We so much believe that with increased investment in agriculture, we will be able to grow sufficient food to sustain food security in Edo State. “Agriculture is a productive venture, not just to feed ourselves, but its products...
Archbishop Martins decries Southern Kaduna killings
The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Reverend Alfred Adewale Martins, has expressed deep concern over the killings in Southern Kaduna, challenging the government to show more will to deal with the situation. According to the cleric, ‘we have seen too many occasions in which villages were attacked in the middle of the night and people including babies, children and women killed with their properties destroyed while they were in bed at night.’ Archbishop Martins, in a press release signed by the Director of Social Communications, Rev Fr Anthony Godonu, noted that: ‘The pattern has been repeated in Benue, Taraba, and Adamawa states. We have situations in which people are too afraid to go to their farms because of the so-called bandits. ‘Government cannot be exonerated from the accusation of...
Security forces head off anti-government protests in Zimbabwe
Streets were deserted and businesses shut in Zimbabwe’s two main cities on Friday after security forces were deployed to prevent anti-government marches called by activists over corruption and economic hardship. Protesters stayed away. Job Sikhala, an opposition lawmaker and one of the protest organisers, said the heavy security presence showed a state afraid of its citizens. He added: “Protracted demonstrations will be the way forward.” He is among more than a dozen activists who are in hiding and who police say they are seeking for promoting Friday’s protests. In Bulawayo and central Harare, the capital, businesses were shut as police and soldiers patrolled the streets. Shops also stayed shut in some Harare townships, including Mbare – a hotbed of past protests. President Emmerson Mnanga...
OECD: South Africa economy could contract 8.2% if second coronavirus wave hits
South Africa’s economy could contract 8.2% this year, and grow just 0.6% in 2021, if a second wave of COVID-19 cases hits the country and its main trading partners, the OECD said on Friday. If a second wave of infections is avoided, the economy will contract 7.5% in 2020 before rebounding 2.5% next year, the OECD said in a report on Africa’s most industrialised economy. South Africa was in recession before the pandemic struck, with recurring power cuts by struggling state utility Eskom and weak business confidence dampening economic activity. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government has promised to fast-track reforms to raise economic growth potential, but some investors are becoming restless about the pace of change. “South Africa cannot afford to delay reforms. It is essential to undertake...
“Camp Quarantine”: Tyler Perry’s Cheat Code For Filming During A Pandemic
Source: NBC / Getty The film and television industry froze when COVID-19 swept the nation. While the curve is currently trending downward in some states, it still isn’t safe to resume production as they once did before the shutdown. Cue in Tyler Perry’s recent filming experiment at his studio. The mogul took a carefully-planned gamble during a two-week production of his BET show “Sistas,” subsequently wrapping coronavirus-free. The rewarding efforts cost the guy a couple of million, but we all know his money is long. Have you seen Tyler Perry Studios? In an exclusive interview with Variety, Perry goes into detail about his blueprint. Whether on or offset, masks have to be worn at all times. “I made sure that the cast and crew and everybody wore their masks when they weren...
COVID-19: Nigerian government receives second Batch medical supplies of UN basket fund
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, has joined other stakeholders to receive 2nd Batch Medical Supplies purchased with UN Basket Fund for COVID-19 Response on behalf of the Federal Government. Mr Olujimi Oyetomi, Director, Information, Media and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Health, said this in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja. Oyetomi said Ehanire joined the National Coordinator, Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu at the Cargo Section of Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja to receive medical supplies from EU contributions worth N26 Billion. Ehanire said this 2nd Batch of medical supplies would allay the fears of the health workers, especially the frontline health workers, who thought that Nigeria might be running short of supplies and were thre...
Eid-ul-Adha: Kwara Speaker tasks Nigerians on perseverance
Speaker, Kwara House of Assembly, Mr Yakubu Danladi, has felicitated Muslim Ummah and entire Nigerians with a call on them to imbibe the spirit of perseverance, which is one of the symbols of Eid-el-Kabir celebration. Danladi made the call in Ilorin on Friday in his Eid-el-Kabir message signed by his media aide, Sheriff Ibrahim. “I congratulate our Muslim brothers and sister all over the country, as we live to witness and celebrate another Eid-ul-Adha. “This year has been a challenging one, but we must persevere and empathize with ourselves, during and beyond the festive period, as Allah (SWT) dictates. “Eid-ul-Adha commemorates the trial and triumph of Prophet Ibrahim (ASW), the holy prophet sailed through, because of his perseverance and strong will to sacrifice his personal comfort,” Da...
212 stranded Nigerians return home from Egypt
File Photo At least 212 Nigerians stranded in Cairo, Egypt due to the coronavirus pandemic have returned home, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission has said. Announcing via Twitter on Friday, NIDCOM said the evacuees arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. It explained that the 212 evacuees tested negative for coronavirus before departing Khartoum, adding that they would undergo another Covid-19 test in the country. It added that the returnees would undergo 14-day isolation in line with the guidelines of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control as well as the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19. EVACUATION UPDATE 31/07/2020. .@EGYPTAIR conveying 212 Stranded Nigerians arrive Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at exactly 1350HRS today 31st of July, 2020 from Cairo...
Private school owners fear ‘mass failure’ in WASSCE
File Photo Association of Private School Owners of Nigeria (APSON), on Thursday, expressed fears that there will be ‘mass failure’ of students in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) scheduled to commence on August 17, 2020. APSON attributed its prediction to poor preparation of students due to the COVID-19 lockdown. This was contained in a statement jointly issued by Bishop (Dr.) Godly Opukeme and Bishop Elakhe Imoukhede, Chairman and National Director of Administration of the association in response to the federal government’s directive that schools should resume academic activities on August 4th, 2020- only for exit classes. According to the statement, to avert mass failure, there should be four to six weeks of academic revision to enable students to adequatel...
Arts Council England Confirms Dance Music Events are Eligible for £1.57 Billion Relief Package
In a major win for a dance music culture throttled by the impact of COVID-19, Arts Council England has confirmed that the country’s nightlife sector will be eligible to receive financial support from the government’s unprecedented £1.57 billion rescue package. According to a report by the Evening Standard, the initial announcement of the package made an ambiguous mention of “live music venues,” which drew the ire of the region’s clubbing sector. The announcement led to the formulation of the Fatboy Slim-backed “#LetUsDance” initiative, which pressured the UK Government to acknowledge the electronic dance music scene as an explicit beneficiary of the relief package. After many of dance music’s corps d’elite sent formal letters to Me...
