Monday
Top Turkish officials close to President Erdogan test positive for coronavirus
Two top Turkish officials who work closely with Turkey’s president have said they tested positive for COVID-19. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said on Saturday he had light COVID-19 symptoms and was nearing the end of treatment. He did not say how long he has been sick. His comments came hours after Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said he, his wife and daughter all tested positive after feeling unwell on Monday. They are being treated in a hospital. “Thankfully we are a bit better,” he said. Soylu was criticised in April for announcing Turkey’s first weekend-long coronavirus lockdown just two hours before it went into effect, leading to scenes of chaos at markets. The president rejected his resignation. Both men routinely meet Erdogan, who was travelling on Sat...
Rapper Ladipoe tests positive for coronavirus
Rapper Ladipo Eso, popularly called Ladipoe, says he has tested positive for the dreaded coronavirus disease. Laipoe made this known on his Instagram story on Thursday, saying that he just received the results of his COVID-19 test. He also disclosed that his symptoms are mild and that he is okay. He wrote: “I recently received the result of my COVID-19 test and it was positive. “I have been in Isolation for about ten days now because due to the state of the country, this Monday was the earliest I could get tested. “My symptoms have been mild and I’m getting better. “Please continue to take necessary safety precautions and protect yourself and young ones when you’re out there. “Not everyone has mild symptoms; this is definitely something to be taken seriously.” Get more stories like this on...
How fans pushed Al Nassr to sack Super Eagles skipper
More facts are emerging as to how Ahmed Musa suddenly became clubless. On Monday, Al Nassr confirmed that the Super Eagles captain was leaving. The 28-year-old is now a free agent after parting ways with the Saudi Pro League outfit on ‘mutual terms’. However, speaking with newsmen, Mohamed Hamdy Ahmed who writes for Merca Today in the Gulf State, gave more details on Ahmed’s departure. “There was great anger that caused this decision. The fans are sad about the player’s performance with the team. “The fans were not satisfied with the level of the player so the management took this decision,” Ahmed said. The Nigerian winger in 58 appearances scored 11 goals and got 14 assists, while helping the team win the 2018/2019 Saudi top-flight diadem and the 2019 Saudi Super Cup. But it was not enoug...
European Union backs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for WTO role
The European Union has endorsed former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next director-general of the World Trade Organisation, Bloomberg reported. The business news outlet cited anonymous officials familiar with the matter that all the 27 EU member countries agreed on Monday in Brussels to support Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala. Bloomberg also reported that the United States has decided to back Yoo Myung-hee, South Korea’s trade minister, for the role. The position has been fiercely contested amongst candidates of different countries since Roberto Azevedo resigned in August. Last month, Okonjo-Iweala and Myung-hee were selected as the last two candidates in the contest. The EU’s endorsement is seen as a significant boost for Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy, with the final winner expected...
#EndSARS: Ekiti panel receiving petitions ahead of November 2 sitting
The Ekiti State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on the Allegations of Human Rights Violations Against the Police, defunct SARS officers and other Persons has commenced its activities with a call on citizens of the State to start submitting petitions ahead of its November 2 inaugural sitting. The State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Olawale Fapohunda, disclosed this in Ado-Ekiti on Monday while giving an update on activities of the Judicial Panel. He said the panel had liberalised the process of filing petitions that will make it convenient for anyone from any part of the state to file their petitions without going through any form of stress. The Attorney-General explained that the partnership with various institutions and individuals was to ensure that everyone whose rights ha...
#EndSARS: Police parade two minors, four others for arson
Two minors and four other suspects were paraded on Monday by police in Ekiti State in connection with arson attacks on three police stations in the State. Suspected hoodlums had last week attacked two Divisional Police Stations and the Area Command office in Ikere Ekiti, Ikere Ekiti Local Government Area in the wake of the #EndSARS protests. The suspects include Odeyemi Sina (12), Ayomide Akomolafe (13), Alao Emmanuel, Ojuko Tobi, Sunday Salihu and Kosedake Olamilekan. Parading the suspects in Ado-Ekiti, on Monday, the police spokesman Mr Sunday Abutu said the minors were arrested at the scene of the incident. ‘When the #EndSARS protest started, everything was done peacefully until the 20th of October when some hoodlums stormed our Area Command in Ikere Divisional Police Station and burnt ...
CACOVID: Looted palliatives awaiting distribution
Most of the looted palliatives in warehouses across the nation were awaiting distribution to over 2 million vulnerable households, the private sector-led Coalition Against COVID (CACOVID) has explained. In a statement on Monday night, CACOVID said: “The sheer scale of this nationwide food programme and the timing of the orders and deliveries, which coincided with the lockdowns and reduced movement across the country, compelled CACOVID to roll out distribution in a staggered manner”. CACOVID maintained: “The very large size of the order, and the production cycle required to meet the demand, caused delays in delivering the food items to the States in an expeditious manner; hence the resultant delay in delivery of the food palliatives by the State Governors”. For instance, “rice had to be mil...
General Buratai: Army will not allow subversive elements to destabilise Nigeria
The Chief Of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has warned that the army would not allow subversive and unscrupulous elements to destabilise the peace and stability of Nigeria. The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sagir Musa, said that Buratai made the remarks during a meeting with Principal Staff Officers, Commanding Officers and field commanders on Monday in Abuja. Musa briefed newsmen on the outcome of the meeting at a news conference. Buratai told the PSOs, GOCs and field commanders that there would be no room for disloyalty amongst all officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army. He directed that they must reiterate to all their subordinates that the army was determined to ensure democratic stability in Nigeria as the only panacea for development and progress. Accor...
VP Osinbajo presides over NEC meeting
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on Monday, presided over the National Economic Council Meeting, NEC, in Abuja. The virtual meeting had in attendance, some state governors and the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu. Recall that Osinbajo had last week said that the federal and state governments’ decision on police reform will be a game-changer in ensuring an end to impunity. The plans include investigating police brutality as well as providing compensation to victims of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other police units. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the pro...
Security operatives begin house-to-house search to recover looted items in Cross River
Following Governor Ben Ayade’s order for Search of the looted items & Police Inspector General’s order for all police units to put an end to looting/destruction of lives & property and restore peace & order, the security operatives in Calabar, Cross River State on Monday began a house-to-house search for the looted items. You would recall that between Friday and Saturday last week, hoodlums and looters broke into over 35 government and private properties, looted several items and set some buildings ablaze. An eyewitness revealed that the search began at Anantigha, Calabar South local government area of the state and the security operatives were seen in two truckloads, Searching for looted items. He said “Some unknown looters returned looted items (Chair, Laptop & Television...
Schools in Ibadan reopen after protests
Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has directed schools in Ibadan to resume normal academic activities from Monday. The state’s Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Olasunkanmi Olaleye, made this known in a statement issued on Sunday in Ibadan. Olaleye said that the directive followed a review of the situation in the Ibadan metropolis as earlier promised by Gov. Makinde in a state broadcast on Oct. 20. The commissioner quoted the governor as appreciating youths who have been cooperating with security operatives to maintain peace. Recall that Makinde, on Oct. 20, ordered the closure of all public and private schools within the Ibadan metropolis for three days. The governor had promised to review the situation on Oct. 23. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Mak...
Italy closes theatres, gyms as virus cases mount
Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tightened nationwide coronavirus restrictions Sunday after the country recorded a record number of new cases, despite opposition from regional heads and street protests over curfews. Cinemas, theatres, gyms and swimming pools must all close under the new rules, which come into force on Monday and run until November 24, while restaurants and bars will stop serving at 6pm, the prime minister’s office said. Italy, the first European country to be hit hard by the pandemic and impose a nationwide lockdown, on Saturday clocked nearly 20,000 new cases in a 24-hour period. “Semi-lockdown for a month,” said the Repubblica daily, noting Conte had done little to appease regional heads who had appealed for much softer measures to save ailing businesses devastated ...
