COVID-19
Central Bank of Kenya Lengthens its COVID-19 Emergency Mobile Money Measures
Sourced from Forbes. The Central Bank of Kenya announced that it will extend the measures placed on mobile money transactions put forth back in March. Charges for mobile money transactions of up to KES1000 ($9,39) and the withdrawal of money between bank accounts and mobile money wallets. These emergency measures were put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown in Kenya. The initial announcement had the measures in place until 1 July 2020, but now the Central Bank is increasing the duration of the measures by 5 months until the end of the year, 31 December 2020. The Central Bank of Kenya says that in line with these measures: /* custom css */ .tdi_3_5fc.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_5fc.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } There will be no charge for mobi...
World Bank: Nigeria faces worst recession in 40 years
The collapse in crude oil prices, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, is expected to “plunge the Nigerian economy into a severe recession, the worst since the 1980s”, the World Bank said on Thursday. The World Bank, in a new report, titled ‘Nigeria in times of COVID-19: Laying foundations for a strong recovery,’ estimated that Nigeria’s economy would likely contract by 3.2 per cent this year. “This projection assumes that the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria is contained by the third quarter of 2020,” it said. The bank said if the spread of the virus became more severe, the economy could contract further. It said, “Before COVID-19, the Nigerian economy was expected to grow by 2.1 per cent in 2020, which means that the pandemic has led to a reduction in growth by more than five percentage poin...
Pearl Jam Perform “Dance of the Clairvoyants” for First Time During COVID-19 Relief Concert: Watch
As one of several acts to play the “All In WA: A Concert for COVID-19 Relief” livestream event on Wednesday night (June 24th), Pearl Jam treated viewers to the first-ever live performance of their recent single “Dance of the Clairvoyants”. The socially distant rendition of the song featured each member of Pearl Jam performing from his own home. The band’s longtime lineup of Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Jeff Ament, and Matt Cameron was bolstered by former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who provided backing vocals. In the video of the performance, Vedder holds a handheld camera, as his two daughters and wife Jill are seen dancing, bringing to life the song’s line, “I know the girls wanna dance.” Musically, the band mixes things up, with guitarist Gossard pla...
Akwa Ibom: Why we demolished church building
File Photo Akwa Ibom State government said it ordered the demolition of the Knowledge of God Ministry, Uyo, to avoid community transmission of COVID-19 in the state. The state Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, who led members of the COVID-19 Team on Tuesday demolished the Knowledge of God Ministry building located at Paulinus Urua Street, Uyo, and arrested its pastor, Prophet Victor Elijah and some members of the church. The newly appointed Chief of staff to Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, Ephraim Inyang-eyen, while briefing newsmen on the incident said he was shocked at the number of people crammed in one cubicle during a prayer meeting. Inyang-eyen who oversees the Ministry of Works in the state explained that the pastor and some of his members were arrested for violating...
Mobile Data Traffic in Africa to Grow 12 Times by 2025
Sourced from Getty Images. Mobile data traffic in Sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to grow by 12 times the current figures with total traffic increasing from 0.33 Exabytes (EB) per month to 4EB by 2025. At the same time, average traffic per individual smartphone is expected to reach 7.1GB over this period 5-year period as well. In Sub-Saharan Africa, LTE accounted for around 11% of subscriptions in 2019. Over the forecast period, mobile broadband subscriptions are predicted to have a massive increase, reaching 72% of mobile subscriptions. LTE share will reach around 30% by the end of the forecast period, and LTE subscriptions are set to triple, increasing from 90 million in 2019 to 270 million in 2025. In terms of 5G penetration, discernable volumes of subscriptions are expected by 2022, ex...
Carl Cox Among Judges to Award COVID-19 Frontline Health Worker a Trip to Barbados
Not all heroes wear capes—some wear PPE and fight on the frontlines against COVID-19. One of those heroes is Rachael Faustino, an advanced nurse practitioner who, at 28 years of age, relocated hundreds of miles from Blackpool to London in order to help those at the forefront of the outbreak in the capital. As a reward for her valiant efforts, she was chosen as one of 20 winners of an initiative spearheaded by the Barbados Tourist Board to receive a free seven-night stay on the beautiful island. Faustino’s willingness to put herself in harm’s way, knowing that many doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers were catching the virus and dying from it, did not go unnoticed. She was nominated for the initiative and chosen by a panel of judges, including legendary DJ Carl Cox, who...
CBN: We’ll steer Nigeria away from recession
The Central Bank of Nigeria on Wednesday said it would not be deterred in its effort to steer the Nigerian economy away from the looming recession due to the impact of COVID-19. It said this was in spite of the push by some vested interests to impugn the integrity of the bank. The Bank’s Director, Corporate Communications Department, Isaac Okorafor, said the bank had uncovered sinister plans by some persons in Nigeria’s economic and socio-political space to distract the CBN. He said such persons want to discredit the institution through deliberate misinformation, complete fabrications and outright lies. He, however, noted that the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, and his team at the bank would not be deterred by the actions of such persons. Okoroafor said the bank, in pursuit of its mandate ...
Herd Immunity Fest Dumps Its Own Name as Nonpoint Drop Off the Bill
Following the announcement of next month’s Herd Immunity Fest in Wisconsin, the band Nonpoint have dropped off the lineup due to the event’s name. What’s more, the festival itself has dropped its own name after widespread backlash. The festival’s announcement has caused quite a stir, given that a number of health experts and promoters aren’t expecting concerts to return in earnest until 2021 in the wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic. The three-day event takes place July 16th-18th of this year at an outdoor stage at the Q&Z Expo Center in Ringle, Wisconsin. Heavy Consequence reached out to a handful of the bands for statements as to why they decided to play the festival, given the advice and guidelines from health officials over the past couple months. In responding, Nonpoint’s manag...
Outside Lands 2020 Canceled Due to Coronavirus, 2021 Lineup Announced
Outside Lands 2020 has been officially canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak. On a brighter note, organizers are already prepping next year’s installment and have announced the 2021 lineup. Next summer’s edition of Outside Lands is scheduled to go down August 6th-8th, 2021 at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. The lineup touts Tame Impala, Lizzo, The Strokes, Tyler, the Creator, Vampire Weekend, J Balvin, Kehlani, The 1975, ZHU, and Young Thug as its biggest names. Beach House, Brittany Howard, Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen, Khruangbin, EarthGang, 070 Shake, and Rico Nasty are also slated to perform, as are Yves Tumor, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Big Thief, Dr. Dog, Julia Jacklin, The Beths, Madeline Kenney, Post Animal, Nelly, Bonobo, Burna Boy, and JPEGMAFIA. Tickets for Outside L...
Issa Rae & Bette Midler Team Up For HBO Special ‘Coastal Elites’
Source: HBO / HBO Issa Rae stays getting those checks. On Monday (Jun 22), HBO announced that Issa Rae and Bette Midler will be starring in the new series, Coastal Elites, a series that will explore the deeply divided politics and the universal pursuit of human connection during the pandemic through a series of confessionals. The series, which was produced entirely under quarantine, “tells stories of breaking down and breaking through in the summer of 2020 that are funny, searing, poignant and now,” HBO said in a statement. The series written by Paul Rudnick and directed by Jay Roach will explore the deeply divided politics and the universal pursuit of human connection during the pandemic through a series of confessionals from five characters played by Issa Rae, Bette Midler, Sar...
Issa Rae & Bette Midler Team Up For HBO Special ‘Coastal Elites’
Source: HBO / HBO Issa Rae stays getting those checks. On Monday (Jun 22), HBO announced that Issa Rae and Bette Midler will be starring in the new series, Coastal Elites, a series that will explore the deeply divided politics and the universal pursuit of human connection during the pandemic through a series of confessionals. The series, which was produced entirely under quarantine, “tells stories of breaking down and breaking through in the summer of 2020 that are funny, searing, poignant and now,” HBO said in a statement. The series written by Paul Rudnick and directed by Jay Roach will explore the deeply divided politics and the universal pursuit of human connection during the pandemic through a series of confessionals from five characters played by Issa Rae, Bette Midler, Sar...
INEC reacts to crisis rocking APC in Edo state
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reacted after conflicting court orders were issued as a result of internal crisis rocking some political parties across the country. INEC’s national commissioner for information and voter education Festus Okoye said on Tuesday June 23 that they convened a meeting due to the crisis which might impede the smooth conduct of primaries and the forthcoming governorship election in Edo state. Okoye disclosed that they resolved that the conduct of party primaries and resolution of disputes should end on June 27, while the submission of the list of candidates the parties propose to present at the election and affidavits of validly nominated candidates will close at 6pm on June 29, 2020. The INEC Commissioner said; “In view of this and as part...
