COVID-19
Illegal UK Rave in Abandoned Bank Vault Busted by Police
Upon hearing loud music emanating from a vacant bank in London, police entered the building to find an illegal rave taking place inside the bank’s vault. The bust occurred at 8AM local time last weekend, and 44 people were found to be in attendance. Over 40 attendees are facing fines of £800, the current penalty for those engaging in group events amid ongoing COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Officers have not yet determined who the organizer of the event was, but that individual could face penalties of up to £10,000 for their involvement. “It is disappointing some selfish people still insist on breaking Covid regulations,” Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Bowen said. “We are all excited about the prospect of returning to normal in June – and some chan...
Brazil federal prosecutor appeals decision to annul Lula da Silva’s convictions
The office of Brazil’s prosecutor general on Friday appealed a Supreme Court judge’s ruling earlier this week that annulled the criminal convictions of former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. If successful, the appeal could close the door on the popular politician running in next year’s presidential election, which had become a reality after Monday’s surprise decision by Justice Edson Fachin. Two opinion polls published on Friday, the first since Lula’s convictions were annulled, showed that President Jair Bolsonaro is still favored to win the 2022 election but his advantage has shrunk, and one said 61% do not approve of his handling of the pandemic that has taken 270,000 lives. The survey for Exame business news magazine by pollster Ideia found that Bolsonaro would win a run-o...
Armin van Buuren Postpones “This Is Me” Tour Dates to Summer 2022
Legendary trance producer Armin van Buuren has postponed the dates of his “This Is Me” tour due to the impact of COVID-19. According to the FAQ section of the tour’s website, the dates have been rescheduled to June 2022. The four-day affair will now take place June 2nd to 5th, 2022, at the fabled Dutch concert venue Ziggo Dome. It’s worth noting that the Ziggo Dome recently hosted a clubbing experiment with a sample of 1,300 attendees. The trial concert, which organizers called “historic,” was planned in order for health officials to analyze Dutch regulations and safety procedures as Amsterdam slowly reopens in light of COVID-19. Sam Feldt, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, and Lady Bee performed, among other DJs. You can read m...
New Survey Reveals COVID-19 Has Influenced DJs to Stop Pursuing Music Careers
One year into safety regulations and social distancing measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the news that many DJs and other live performers have had to change career paths may still come as a shock to some, but it’s an ugly truth in a locked-down world. According to a new survey by Pirate.com, 70% of responding DJs in the United Kingdom have been forced to retrain in other fields. While 29% of those DJs have moved into music production, a whopping 26% of respondents shared that the pandemic has made them less likely to pursue a career in the music industry altogether. “I was running club nights in Glasgow,” said one anonymous respondent. “After cancellation clauses in contracts and flight companies going bankrupt, we’ve lost everything we’d investe...
Brazil hospitals pushed to limit as coronavirus death toll soars
Hospitals in Brazil’s main cities are reaching capacity, health officials have warned, as the country recorded the world’s highest COVID-19 death toll over the past week, triggering tighter restrictions on Thursday in its most populous state. Intensive care wards for treating COVID-19 patients have reached critical occupancy levels over 90% in 15 of 27 state capitals, according to biomedical center Fiocruz. In Porto Alegre, the largest city in southern Brazil, there are no free intensive care units (ICUs), and occupancy has also hit 100% in two other state capitals, Fiocruz reported. The Health Ministry on Wednesday reported a record 2,286 deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, as new infections rose by 79,876. With more than 270,000 deaths, Brazil’s pandemic death toll over the past y...
Austin Venues Announce Unified Safety Protocols As Texas Ends Mask Mandate and Reopens
On March 10th, the state of Texas ended its mask mandate and allowed most businesses to reopen at 100% capacity. But many experts think it’s too early to do so, and in response, over 30 Austin venues and businesses have banded together to announce the new initiative Safe in Sound, committing to following CDC guidelines and protecting patrons from COVID-19. The participating institutions vow to restructure operations to accommodate six feet of physical distancing, require employees and customers to wear appropriate PPE, provide hand sanitizer, train employees to maintain safety standards, and commit to daily sanitation of business facilities. Stubb’s, ACL Live, Antone’s, Mohawk, Paramount Theatre, Empire Control Room, and Zach Theatre are among the pledged venues. “This program as a whole u...
Ekiti governor urges Nigerians to disregard unfounded theories about coronavirus vaccines
Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has urged Nigerians to disregard any unfounded theories about the efficacy and effects of the COVID-19 vaccines on them saying it is unnecessary introducing sentiments to the health and well-being of the people for whatever reasons. The governor who received the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine alongside his deputy, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, and some frontline health workers on Wednesday emphasised that all hands must be on deck to ensure all indigenes know that the vaccine is safe. He spoke while flagging off the vaccination exercise in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital. Fayemi who stated that his administration had put in place measures to ensure that residents have equitable access to the vaccine said, “The availability of COVID-19 vaccines and its glob...
Only 49% of South Africans will take the COVID-19 Vaccine, Research Shows
Although COVID-19 infection rates seem to be declining and vaccines are slowly being rolled out in the country, most South Africans are wary of a third wave, further lockdowns and job losses. A survey by gig technology company, M4Jam asked South Africans about their main concerns as the country marked exactly one year since the first COVID-19 case in the country was diagnosed. Despite South Africa’s rejection of its first shipment of vaccines and widespread misinformation about the effectiveness of vaccinations, 49% of respondents (up from 32% in the January survey) said they would take the vaccine when it became available to them. 44% of respondents (down from 58% in the January survey) said they would adopt the approach of “wait and see” if the vaccine works for people they knew before m...
Minister: Suspension of international flights at Kano airport affecting our revenue
The Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, has said the continued closure of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport is affecting the revenue of government. International flights into the airport were suspended in the wake of COVID-19 lockdown. When he received a high-powered delegation from Kano State, led by Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, in his office in Abuja on Tuesday, Sirika lamented the effect of the suspension. He said it does not make economic sense for government to spend so much money, as it has done on the airport, and abandon it in the end. He highlighted the attendant degeneration of infrastructure, redundancy amongst operational staff, revenue loss, hardship on travellers, amongst others. The Minister promised that necessary steps were being taken for the resumption ...
Dutch Government-Backed Clubbing Event Expected to Enhance Nation’s Reopening Plans
A study at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam was recently conducted with a sample of 1,300 attendees as the Dutch government continues to analyze its regulations and plans for reopening. Event attendees were split into five pockets—four with 250 attendees and one with 50—and each group was asked to comply with varying sets of rules. One group was asked to wear a mask at all times, while another was given a fluorescent drink and encouraged to sing to the music so as to give the resaerchers an impression on how droplets spread. Demand for the experimental culbbing event was astronomical with over 100,000 applicants vying for tickets. The show, which was soundtracked by a star-studded lineup of DJs such as Sam Feldt, Lady Bee, and Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, sold out in 20 minutes...
Minister: PIB will address production sharing contracts issues on gas
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, says the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) currently before the National Assembly will resolve the issues under the Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) on gas. Sylva made this known at a National Assembly Public Hearing organised by the Joint Committee on Gas Resources, Petroleum Resources, Upstream and Downstream, on Monday, in Abuja. The hearing was on the topic: “Inclusion of Gas Terms in Production Sharing Contracts by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).” He said that issues on gas terms was not captured under the PSC especially with the commercial aspect. “Issues on gas terms was not captured in the PSC because at the time, the offshore was just a frontier territory, today, it is no longer frontier, it is a...
Tanzanian envoy denies President Magufuli in bad health
Tanzania’s President John Magufuli is in good health and working normally, one of his diplomats has told a broadcaster in Namibia, countering reports he had been flown to hospital in Kenya and then India in a critical condition with COVID-19. Magufuli, 61, who is Africa’s most prominent coronavirus sceptic, has not been seen in public since Feb. 27. Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu has cited medical and security sources for information that the president was flown to the private Nairobi Hospital in neighbouring Kenya and then on to India in a coma. But the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation quoted Tanzania’s ambassador in Windhoek, Modestus Kipilimba, as saying Magufuli was in good health and remained in Tanzania. “High Commissioner Kipilimba dismissed the reports, saying Magufuli is...