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Tag: Ban

  • FIFA bans ex-top official for 10 years

    FIFA bans ex-top official for 10 years

    Soccer’s world governing body FIFA has banned Markus Kattner, a former leading official in the Zurich organisation, for 10 years.

    The sports governing body fined him one million Swiss francs ($1.06 million) after a probe into bonus payments.

    FIFA said in a statement on Tuesday that the investigation into Kattner covered various charges concerning bonus payments in relations to FIFA competitions that were paid to top management officials (including Mr Kattner).

    “The adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee has found Markus Kattner, former FIFA Deputy Secretary General and Acting Secretary General, guilty of conflicts of interest and having abused his position, in violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics.

    ”Various amendments to and extensions of employment contracts, reimbursement of private legal costs, and Kattner’s duties as an official”.

    FIFA said in June, 2016, that an internal investigation revealed that Kattner, FIFA’s former Secretary General Jerome Valcke and the organisation’s ex-President Sepp Blatter had received 79 million Swiss francs ($81 million) in compensation over five years, calling them “massive payouts”.

    Blatter, who led FIFA from 1998 until 2015, was banned from football for six years in February 2016, while Valcke is banned until 2028.

    The 45-year-old Kattner, who holds German and Swiss citizenship, joined FIFA as Director of Finance in 2003 and four years later became Deputy Secretary General.

    He became Acting Secretary General in September 2015, after the departure of Valcke, but was then fired in May 2016.

    According to the Ethics Committee’s final judgement, Kattner argued that the ethics process against him had not been fair and that he did not grant any bonus payments either to himself or to anyone else in the top management.

    The official can appeal the FIFA ban to the Court of Arbitration of Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.

  • Antonio Conte banned in Serie A

    Inter will have to do without head coach Antonio Conte in the dugout for Sunday’s Serie A clash with Parma due to suspension.

    The ex-Chelsea boss saw his fifth yellow card of the season on Wednesday, as he watched his side play out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Sassuolo at San Siro.

    The Nerazzurri led 2-0 in that encounter thanks to goals from Ciccio Caputo and Romelu Lukaku, but were pegged back to 2-2.

  • Why we can’t reopen schools, lift ban on religious activities in Oyo – Makinde

    Why we can’t reopen schools, lift ban on religious activities in Oyo – Makinde

    Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has given reasons why the state cannot reopen schools, worship centers for now.

    The governor said the ban will not be lifted without adequate advice from experts.

    He said such decision will be premised on positive risk situation analysis being carried out by experts.

    The Governor gave the hint while delivering his “State of the State Address” during a special plenary to commemorate the first year anniversary of the Ninth House of Assembly.

    The session, which was also attended by top government functionary, was presided over by Speaker Adebo Ogundoyin.

    Makinde said: “For this same reason, we have held off from reversing our directive on religious gatherings. We saw what happened when a private organisation did not follow the advisories we provided to the letter.

    “Over 50 percent of COVID-19 cases in Oyo State can be traced to this organisation. So, I take this opportunity to again plead with our religious leaders to be patient with us. We are keeping our eyes on the numbers and will adjust this directive at the right time.”

  • Photos: Ganduje launches first RUGA settlement in Kano, begs FG to ban foreign herders

    Photos: Ganduje launches first RUGA settlement in Kano, begs FG to ban foreign herders

    Governor Umar Ganduje, on Saturday, launched the first Ruga settlement in Kano.

    The ruga settlement is situated at the Yanshoshi forest in Kiru Local Government Area of the state.

    The settlement will be a total of 200 units of houses, schools, hospital, police station, earth dam for cattle rearing among others.

    However, during the commissioning of the RUGA settlement, Ganduje said “This is the first batch of the housing units of 25 out of 200 units earmarked for construction.”

    He called on the federal government to put a halt to the movement of herdsmen from other African countries to the country.

    According to him, the call was necessary in order to “successfully and effectively prevent the coming of herdsmen from other African countries, because they come to this country with guns and other weapons which flame the clash between herders and farmers. As they come with such weapons, they take crimes and criminalities to the country. That movement is what brings to us all sorts of clashes between herders and other communities, apart from the farmers.”

    The governor added that the Yanshoshi ruga settlement would serve as the nucleus of the RUGA settlement project in the state.

    He explained that “We engage in this project for three fundamental reasons, first and foremost is to avoid clashes between farmers and herders, secondly to avoid movement of herders which is the source of conflict and to avoid cattle rustling.”

    He added that “It is absolutely necessary to improve and modernize the breeding system for Fulani cattle. As it clear that a gallon of milk is more expensive than one gallon of petrol, it is, therefore, necessary for us to utilize this great opportunity.

    He noted that “the second RUGA project will be in Falgore forest where we have recently inaugurated military training ground.”

    Governor Ganduje invited Fulanis across the country to come to Kano RUGA settlement, assuring that, “other units of the housing will continue as we are receiving more Fulanis from other places.”

  • UEFA bans Turkish club Trabzonspor

    UEFA bans Turkish club Trabzonspor

    UEFA has banned Turkey’s Trabzonspor from its club competitions for one year for failing to meet the financial targets.

    The European football’s governing body said this on Wednesday.

    “The CFCB [UEFA Club Financial Control Body] Adjudicatory Chamber has now determined that Trabzonspor AS failed to meet the target fixed for the 2019 financial year,” UEFA said.

    UEFA monitors clubs financially to make sure they are not spending more money than they earn, a measure created to help teams avoid financial problems in the long-term.

    The Financial Fair Play (FFP) criteria involve break-even targets, sporting measures and financial contributions.

    UEFA stated that Trabzonspor will be barred from one UEFA competition in 2020/21 or 2021/22 football seasons once the Turkish team qualifies for the UEFA Champions League or Europa League.

    It added that in July 2019, the CFCB determined that the club “failed to be break-even compliant as required by a settlement agreement, which it entered into on 20 May 2016”.

    The UEFA’s financial authority said that it previously informed Trabzonspor that it would face a one season ban in the upcoming term if they couldn’t meet the financial target for last year.

  • U.S. bans Chinese flights

    U.S. bans Chinese flights

    The United States announced Wednesday that Chinese airlines will be suspended from operating passenger flights to and from the US.

    The move is reportedly a tit-for-tat retaliation for China’s inaction to approve American airlines from conducting passenger service to China amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The US Department of Transportation said Chinese authorities have “failed to permit” US air carriers to operate routes previously flown.

    “The Department will continue to engage our Chinese counterparts so both U.S. and Chinese carriers can fully exercise their bilateral rights,” the agency said in a statement. “In the meantime, we will allow Chinese carriers to operate the same number of scheduled passenger flights as the Chinese government allows ours.”

    The US claims China is violating a bilateral agreement for international travel by preventing United Airlines and Delta Air Lines from resuming trans-oceanic flights.

    The airlines asked to resume service June 1.

    United, Delta, and American airlines suspended service to China due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    The US also imposed travel bans to stem the spread of the coronavirus

    The restrictions will take effect June 16 but could be earlier if US President Donald Trump decides to expedite the process.

    The spat between the two rival nations is the first of what may be more to come as airlines seek to resume flights but countries remain cautious about the coronavirus.

  • Eid-el-Fitr: Ban on religious, social gatherings not lifted, IGP warns

    Eid-el-Fitr: Ban on religious, social gatherings not lifted, IGP warns

    The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu, has said that socio-religious gatherings remain prohibited.

    While congratulating Nigerians on the celebration, Adamu said the successful conclusion of the Ramadan, a period of self-denial geared towards attaining wholesomeness, reinforces his belief that with the citizens’ collective perseverance and voluntary compliance with the prevention regulations emplaced by Governments at all levels, the nation will surely overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.

    In a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, Abuja, DCP Frank Mba, on Friday, Adamu assured the nation of adequate security during and after the Eid el-Fitr celebrations.

    He said proactive and robust anti-crime measures, including the deployments of tactical and intelligence assets of the Force are already in place to prevent any untoward incidents in the country.

    “The Force however reminds the citizens that the COVID-19 prevention regulation orders including the inter-state movement restriction orders, national curfew and the prohibition of mass socio-religious gatherings by the Federal Government in Lagos, Ogun, Kano States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and restriction orders by Governments in some States of the Federation, are still in force.

    “It therefore enjoins the citizens to observe the Eid celebrations bearing in mind the unusual times occasioned by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic as the Force will leave no stone unturned towards the due enforcement of the orders,” the statement read.

  • Churches, mosques to run full sitting capacities as Ayade lifts ban on religious activities

    Churches, mosques to run full sitting capacities as Ayade lifts ban on religious activities

    Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River has lifted the suspension on public worship centres in the state.

    In a statement signed by Mr Christian Ita, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Governor, the order lifting the suspension will take effect from Sunday, May 24, 2020.

    Ayade said conscious of the spiritual economy and in response to appeals by religious leaders in the state, lifting the suspension on public worship became necessary.

    “The order suspending public worship in the state is hereby lifted with effect from Sunday, May 24, 2020.

    “Consequently, starting from Sunday, May 24, 2020, church services are permitted but should be limited to the sitting capacity of the church, the same applies to mosques.

    “Use of face masks is compulsory for all worshipers, churches and mosques should provide buckets for hand washing, or sanitisers.

    “Churches and mosques are hereby advised to strictly adhere to the instructions as the enforcement team will still go around to check compliance,” he said.

    He added that the understanding and cooperation of religious leaders contributed immensely in keeping the state COVID-19 free thus far.

  • FG lifts ban ‘imposed’ by Buhari’s late CoS, Kyari on Health Ministry procurement

    FG lifts ban ‘imposed’ by Buhari’s late CoS, Kyari on Health Ministry procurement

    There seems to be respite coming the way of the Ministry of Health as a federal policy requesting the Ministry to go through the Ministry of Agriculture for its procurement and other funding needs has been lifted.

    The Health Ministry can now handle all its contracts and procurements without the ‘unnatural’ routing through the Agriculture ministry, a senior government official told The Nation.

    According to reports, prior to the new adjustment, Health ministry with about 119 agencies, apart from its inability to make its own procurements, including stationeries, could not monitor its projects as all funds must be approved by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

    The policy affected the ministry’s ability to monitor the agencies under it.

    Worsening the matter, the Health ministry had to get approvals from the Agriculture ministry to access N10.5 billion approved for the funding of its capital expenditure in last year’s bugdet.

    According to the source, the Health ministry was asked to get approval from the ministry of Agriculture, following a power play between the erstwhile Health Minister Prof Isaac Adewole and the late Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari.

    The source said: “One of the causes of friction (among others) between the duo was the Minister’s decision to suspend the then Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof. Usman Yusuf. However, the late Kyari later vetoed it.

    “Whenever the Ministry of Health wants to make procurement, the Permanent Secretary (PS) would raise a memo which would be sent to the Permanent Secretary of the Agric ministry.

    “In some instances, the PS (permanent secretary) of the Ministry of Agriculture would give direct approval while sometimes, he would write a memo to the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Mamman Ahmadu, who would approve based on the Procurement Act.”

    “The lifting of the ban will be of great benefits to the Ministry as it will bypass the administrative bottlenecks that could frustrate the immediate dispatch of responses or activities regarding procurement in government’s health establishments.”

  • China reports 55 new coronavirus cases, prepares for entry ban

    China reports 55 new coronavirus cases, prepares for entry ban

    China has reported 55 new coronavirus infections and five deaths over the past day, as the country prepares to shut its borders to most foreigners in an effort to curb imported cases of the virus.

    According to the National Health Commission, all but one of the new cases reported on Friday were found among travellers returning from abroad.

    China on Thursday said it would suspend the entry of foreign nationals holding valid visas and resident permits in a move to curb the number of imported cases of the coronavirus.

    The ban becomes effective on Saturday.

    Also on Thursday, the government said it would severely limit both outbound and inbound international flights.

    According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), each Chinese and foreign airline will be able to operate only one international flight per week between China and any given country.

    Each flight should not exceed 75 per cent of passenger capacity.

    The measure becomes effective on Sunday, the administration said.

    So far, China has reported a total of 81,340 coronavirus infections including 3,292 deaths and 74,588 recoveries.