Thursday
Cristiano Ronaldo to make Portugal return against France, Croatia
Cristiano Ronaldo was on Thursday named in the Portugal squad to play a friendly against Andorra and Nations League matches against France and Croatia. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner tested positive for coronavirus on October 13 when with the Portugal squad, going on to miss the 3-0 victory over Sweden. The 35-year-old finally tested negative 19 days later, returning to the pitch with a double for Juventus against Spezia in Serie A action on Sunday. The Portugal captain also played in Juve’s 4-1 victory over Ferencvaros in the Champions League on Wednesday. Reigning European champions Portugal take on Andorra on Wednesday before Nations League A3 matches at home against France on November 14 and away to Croatia three days later. The main absentee from Fernando Santos’ 25-man squad is Pep...
Flying Eagles: WAFU B Zonal U-20 qualifiers postponed due to virus
The WAFU B Zonal qualifiers which will feature the Flying Eagles of Nigeria and six other West African countries billed for Lome, Togo, has been shifted to a later date due to coronavirus. The Togolese Football Federation (FTF) confirmed the postponement of the tournament in a communique published on their Twitter handle on Thursday. The WAFU B Zonal qualifiers which will be the qualifiers for the 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations in Mauritania, was originally scheduled for November 18 to December 2. According to FTF they will engage WAFU and CAF to find a new date for the competition. “The Togolese Football Federation is announcing to the sporting world that the WAFU Zone B tournament scheduled for Lome between November 18 and December has been postponed to a future date following a decisio...
House of Reps committee rejects aviation budget
The House of Representatives Committee on Aviation led by Rep. Nnolim Nnaji on Thursday refused to hold a budget session with the Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, and heads of the sector’s agencies. The infuriated lawmakers, said the won’t treat their budget, because they failed to present their 2021 proposals ahead of the scheduled date for defence. Ministries and heads of agencies, are customarily required to lay their proposals, days before the scheduled dates for defences. The chairman Nnaji in his opening remarks at the scheduled budget meeting with the Minister and the chief executives of the agencies, frowned at the failure of the Ministry to forward the documents as earlier request by the Committee. “Honourable Minister, I don’t know how you expect us to continue this meetin...
US election: Oye Owolewa made Nigeria proud – minister
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, on Thursday, described the feat achieved by 31-year old Oye Owolewa in the 2020 United States election as national pride. The minister tweeted, “Congrats are in place for the 31-year old Adeoye Owolewa for making Nigeria proud by being the first Nigerian to win a seat in the United States Congress.” Owolewa was on Tuesday elected as a shadow member of the US House of Representatives from the District of Columbia, making him the first Nigerian-American to achieve the milestone. According to election results on the website of the District of Columbia Board of Elections on Wednesday morning, Owolewa polled 81.59% of the votes, which represents 164,026 votes against Joyce Robinson-Paul, who scored 18,600 votes, and Sohaer Syed with 15,...
British parliament approves second national lockdown
The British Parliament has approved a four-week coronavirus lockdown plan to begin Thursday morning. Lawmakers approved the plan Wednesday, 516-38. Beginning 1 a.m. Thursday, all nonessential businesses including pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, golf courses, gyms, swimming pools, entertainment and sporting venues will close until at least December 2. The vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s lockdown plan was never really in doubt after the opposition Labor Party said it would support the move, even though it criticized Johnson for acting too slowly. Some in Johnson’s own party, however, voted against the plan, saying a national lockdown was too severe. The plan is an effort prevent COVID-19 from escalating out of control and overwhelming Britain’s National Health Service. It represents ...
Austria declares three days of national mourning
The Austrian government declared three days of mourning following a terrorist attack that left four victims and a suspect dead. “Our thoughts and our compassion are with the victims, the injured and their families in these very difficult hours for the republic of Austria,” Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said before a cabinet meeting. The mourning will last until Thursday, the government decided. People have been killed and 15 seriously injured in multiple shootings in the Austrian capital on Monday evening, according to local police. The attack had an Islamist motive, the Vienna Police wrote on Twitter on Tuesday morning. There is at least one perpetrator, who was shot by police, it said, noting that an explosive device worn by the perpetrator turned out to be a dummy. The police have searched ...
Journalist murdered in Mexico, sixth in 2020
A journalist has been shot dead in crime-ridden northern Mexico, authorities said Friday, the sixth such murder this year in one of the world’s most dangerous countries for reporters. Chihuahua state governor Javier Corral condemned the “cowardly” killing of Arturo Alba Medina in Ciudad Juarez near the US border. Corral said on Twitter that he had told prosecutors to ensure the perpetrators are punished, adding: “Justice will be done.” The 49-year-old journalist and television news show host was assassinated a few minutes after the end of his program on Thursday night, according to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders. “This was clearly an execution and his media colleagues where he worked are afraid and don’t know the reason for the crime,” Balbina Flores, RSF representative in Mexico...
Africa CDC warns of possible second wave of virus infection
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Friday urged the African continent to brace itself for possible second wave COVID-19 infections. According to Africa CDC, the number of confirmed cases in the African continent has reached 1,759,794. The continental disease control and prevention agency said in a statement that the death toll related to the pandemic stood at 42,336 as of Friday afternoon. A total of 1,438,841 people infected with COVID-19 have recovered across the continent so far, the Africa CDC said. The most COVID-19 affected African countries in terms of the number of positive cases include South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria. The Southern Africa region is the most COVID-19 affected region both in terms of the number of confirmed posit...
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...
Nigerian government announces two-day total closure of Third Mainland Bridge
The Federal Government on Thursday announced a two-day total closure of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos State for a concrete work on some sections. The Federal Controller of Works in the state, Olukayode Popoola, revealed this to newsmen in Lagos. Popoola said the closure would begin from midnight of October 30 and end at midnight of November 1. “We are planning to cast two number expansion joints, and we shall close the Third Mainland Bridge from midnight of October 30 until midnight of November 1,” he said. The Controller said that there was the need to shut both bounds of the bridge – from Adeniji Adele to Adekunle – in addition to the closed bound of the bridge, to complete the work. According to him, the closure is to ensure that there is no vibration on the bridge during casting i...
#EndSARS: Lagos Chamber reschedules international trade fair
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) says that it has rescheduled the 2020 edition of the Lagos International Trade Fair. Dr Muda Yusuf, Director-General of LCCI, said that the fair which was scheduled to hold from Nov.5 to Nov. 15, 2020 has been rescheduled for between Dec. 4 to Dec. 13, 2020 at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos; both physically and virtually simultaneously. Yusuf in a statement on Thursday also said that the postponement was occasioned by the economic disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent #EndSARS protests across the nation. “The resolve to hold the 2020 edition of the fair is in line with the need for quick restoration of normalcy to the economic and commercial activities in Lagos State and our support for the ongoing ‘Protect Lago...
Adamawa government relaxes curfew
The Adamawa government has relaxed the 24-hour curfew earlier imposed on the state. Gov. Ahmadu Fintiri, who stated this in Yola on Thursday, said that the curfew would be from 8 am. to 6 pm., beginning from Oct. 30. Newsmen recall that the 24- hour curfew was imposed on Oct. 25, following the destruction and looting of government and private warehouses in the state by some hoodlums, hiding under EndSARS protest. “We shall review the timing as situation warrants. Meanwhile, checkpoints will be mounted at all the entry and exit points in the state. “This is a measure taken to stop any attempt by the thieves to escape from the state with the looted items,” he said. The governor appealed to the people of the state to bear with the government, saying the measures were in their collective inter...
