TheNewsGuru

Tag: newsletter

  • 2020 Olympics: Tokyo marks one year to go ….. again

    2020 Olympics: Tokyo marks one year to go ….. again

    Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee, who is battling back from leukaemia, provided a glimmer of hope for embattled Tokyo Olympics organisers during a sombre yet poignant ceremony on Thursday.

    The ceremony was used to mark one year to go until the rearranged 2020 Olympic Games.

    The Olympics were due to begin on Friday with an extravagant opening ceremony in the National Stadium.

    But the Games have instead been delayed until July 23, 2021 because of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

    A subdued 15-minute ceremony took place in an empty and dark National Stadium, where footage was shown to highlight next year’s Games.

    Ikee, who won six titles at the 2018 Asian Games and was considered a strong medal contender for the Olympics before her illness, stood under a spotlight dressed in all white.

    It can be said she represented a figure of hope for Tokyo.

    “Imagine the world a year from now,” she said while holding the Olympic flame in a lantern.

    “How wonderful it will be to see the curtain raising on the Olympic and Paralympic Games. We are currently living in a world of ups and downs.

    “I sincerely hope that the peace and calm of daily life returns as soon as possible.”

    Various venues that will host Olympics events next year, including the newly-built Ariake Arena, were lit up in the Olympic colours to mark the occasion.

    Last year, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach presided over a glitzy ceremony to mark the occasion in the Japanese capital.

    He declared Tokyo then as the best prepared host city he had ever seen.

    This time around the atmosphere was much more subdued and Thursday’s small ceremony is a sign of things to come in the lead-up to the Games next year.

    The head of IOC’s Coordination Commission, John Coates, has said rearranging the Games meant focusing on the “must-haves” in a simplified event.

    In response, Tokyo 2020 Chief Executive Toshiro Muto said over 200 simplification measures were under consideration.

    Thursday’s landmark comes as the Japanese capital reported 366 new coronavirus cases, a new daily record, fuelling fears of a second round of infections.

  • Niger Assembly deputy speaker resigns

    Niger Assembly deputy speaker resigns

    The Niger state House of Assembly Deputy Speaker and member representing Bida I, Alhaji Bako Alfa, had resigned his leadership position as the deputy speaker of the house.

    This followed a notification letter read by the Speaker, Alhaji Abdullahi Wuse, during Thursday’s plenary.

    Alfa appreciated the leadership of the house for the opportunity given to him to serve as the deputy speaker of the house.

    The Clark of the House, Alhaji Abdullahi Kagara, thereafter called for the nomination of a new deputy speaker.

    Alhaji Suleiman Gambo, member representing Paikoro nominated Jibrin Ndagi Baba, representing Lavun costituecy, for the position and was seconded by Ibrahim Salihu, member representing Kontagora II.

    There was no other nomination and Baba emerged by unanimous vote.

    In his acceptance speech, Baba said that his nomination came as a great surprise, and appreciated the lawmakers for the opportunity given to him to serve.

    “It’s a great surprise to me, because I am ‘too small’ for the position, that is because there are many of my colleague here that are bigger than I, but still went ahead to nominate me, ” he said.

    He gave assurance to work towards the welfare and development of the house.

    In his remarks, Wuse, congratulated the new deputy speaker and prayed for God’s guidance in the discharge of duties.

  • Lautaro Martinez decides on Barca move

    Lautaro Martinez decides on Barca move

    Lautaro Martinez has vowed to continue “giving 110 per cent” for Inter and repay the confidence shown in him by Antonio Conte as speculation over a move to Barcelona gathers pace.

    The Argentina international has been strongly tipped to swap San Siro for Camp Nou at the end of the season, two years after joining the Italian giants from Racing Club.

    “I am a boy who always fights – for my goals, for those of the team, for the happiness of the fans,” he said in Inter’s matchday programme ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Fiorentina. “I always try to give 110 per cent for this club, for all the people who love it, for the Inter shirt.”

    Martinez scored 16 goals in all competitions prior to the campaign being halted in March by the coronavirus pandemic but has netted only twice in 10 games since last month’s restart.

    Conte has repeatedly defended Martinez’s form and the 22-year-old is grateful to have the full support of his head coach.

    “Conte has given me confidence,” he said. “That is a very important and fundamental thing, because he worked on the mentality of each of us. I really appreciate it, every day he makes us grow.”

    Goal

     

  • EPL: Don’t get arrogant, Lampard warns Liverpool

    EPL: Don’t get arrogant, Lampard warns Liverpool

    Frank Lampard sent a warning to Liverpool after Wednesday’s eight-goal thriller at Anfield.

    The Reds won 5-3 on a special night in which they lifted the Premier League trophy for the first time in 30 years.

    Lampard exchanged words with Liverpool’s bench after Trent Alexander-Arnoldmade it 2-0 with a terrific free-kick.

    And the Englishman says his counterparts shouldn’t get ‘arrogant’ about their title victory.

    “For me it wasn’t a foul from Kovacic,” he said. “And there were a lot of things that were ongoing.

    “And on the bench, I’ve got no problem with Jurgen Klopp; he’s managed this team and it’s fantastic. [But] some of the bench, there’s a fine line between when you’re winning — and they’ve won the league, fair play to Liverpool Football Club — but also don’t get too arrogant with it.

    “That was my thing. But done. That’s it. In match play you get emotional, and that was it.”

  • DSS reacts to report of assault on FAAN official at Abuja airport

    DSS reacts to report of assault on FAAN official at Abuja airport

    The Department of State Services (DSS) had dismissed report of assault on an official of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) by its Head of Formation at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

    The Public Relations Officer of DSS, Dr Peter Afunanya, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

    He said that FAAN had also accused its official of breaching security protocol at the Airport, adding that it had not been established that any FAAN staff was assaulted.

    Afunanya said DSS personnel were well mannered and could not have slapped or fought a worker of another agency.

    He said the news, as reported in some sections of the media, had left an impression that was not factual.

    The public relations officer, therefore, called on the public to disregard the report.

    According to him, for the record, no DSS staff fought or engaged in any acts prejudicial to discipline or inimical to public safety at the airport under reference.

    “In line with its statutory duties, the Service recognises the Airports as one of the country’s most important assets and has remained at the forefront of protecting them and other critical ones.

    “It takes their security seriously and cannot breach it. As a strategic partner, the Service holds FAAN and its staff in good esteem.

    “Both agencies have, over time, enjoyed robust working relationship in the areas of training and exchange programmes,” he said.

    According to him, there are other avenues than the social media to resolve any misunderstanding among staff of two agencies that have had long history of unity of purpose in the execution of their mandates.

    He said the service had high value for effective interagency collaboration needed to achieve positive outcomes for good of the country.

    Afunanya urged travellers to go about their normal businesses as the Service, in conjunction with relevant authorities including FAAN, were committed to their safety.

  • Buhari, most followed African leader on Twitter

    Buhari, most followed African leader on Twitter

    Burson Cohn and Wolfe (BCW), a global communications agency, in its Twiplomacy findings, ranked President Muhammadu Buhari as the most followed Sub-saharan African leader on Twitter with 3,121,169 followers.

    The company made this known in its newly released 2020 Twiplomacy Study.

    According to the study, Muhammadu Buhari, the president of Nigeria is by far the most followed Sub-Saharan African leader with 3,121,169 followers ahead of Paul Kagame the President of Rwanda with 1,910,159 followers.

    It also says that Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa has seen the biggest growth over the past year with his followers reaching 1,386,849.

    The Twiplomacy study noted that for the fourth year running, U.S. President Donald Trump was the most followed world leader on Twitter, with 81.1 million followers on his @realDonaldTrump account which has grown by 33 percent year-over-year.

    It also says that the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has moved up into second position with 57.9 million followers, ahead of Pope Francis who has 51 million followers on his nine different language accounts.

    According to the report, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, was the most followed EU leader with 5,293,346 followers ahead of his institutional account for the Elysée Palace with 2,492,468 followers.

    It says Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, was in third position with 1,405,481.

    According to the report, as of June 1, all 1,089 personal and institutional Twitter accounts of world leaders had a combined total of more than 620 million followers.

    The BCW’s Twiplomacy report also noted that Coronavirus was the most tweeted topic by world leaders.

    Commenting, Chad Latz, Chief Innovation Officer at BCW, said that Coronavirus had been the main topic on Twitter for the past three months.

    Latz said that due to the worldwide lockdown, Twitter had seen increased interest, noting that it was vital for world leaders to reach out to followers using the channel to spread critical health warnings and keep them abreast of the latest COVID-19-related information.

    “As the pandemic abates in some countries, world leaders will find themselves with an expanded audiences for future engagement, “Latz said.

  • FG intervenes in 37 bridges across Nigeria – Fashola

    FG intervenes in 37 bridges across Nigeria – Fashola

    The Federal Government says it has intervened in the maintenance and rehabilitation of 37 bridges across the country including the Third Mainland Bridge.

    Mr Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Works and Housing, disclosed this at a news conference to update citizens on the forthcoming partial closure of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos.

    According to him, many of the bridges are being worked on under the deck even while people drive along.

    He said:“Currently, we have intervened on 37 bridges across Nigeria doing repair and maintenance work.

    “Because Lagos was a former federal capital and a coastal and aquatic state where you have so many islands it has by far some of the largest bridges in the country.

    “Some of the bridges as you have heard are the Doma long bridge, Ojuelagba bridge, the independence bridge and the Falomo bridge.

    “At this moment work is going on in the marine bridge linked to Apapa, work has started on the Eko bridge and will also start on the Obalende bridge, which was damaged by fire caused by a tanker that exploded about a month and half ago.”

    He added that the government had to take a condition assessment of Cara bridge, which was damaged by fire from a tanker.

    Fashola said the bridges so far worked on included Tatabu bridge in Niger state, Tanbowawa bridge in Kano, the old river Niger bridge linking Onitsha and Asaba.

    Others are the Isaac Boro bridge in Port Harcourt, Etuok bridge linking Benin and Sapele, Katsina Ana bridge in Benue, Ajaokuta bridge in Kogi, and the Muritala Muhammed bridge in Kotokafe, Kogi.

    According to the minister, the third mainland bridge, which is one of these bridges to be closed partially on which work will commence has been worked on in 2018 and 2019.

    He added that the repair which would be for six months would begin on July 24 by midnight and end on Jan, 24, 2021.

    He appealed to citizens to endeavour to use the bridge only when it was absolutely necessary, adding that the repairs were due to the need for safety and convenience of citizens.

    “After this is done we hope to have a better driving experience on the bridge. We must thank Mr president for his commitment to the maintenance of public infrastructure which is the heart and soul of this undertaking,’’ he said.

    Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), also told the conference that the corps was set for the six months assignment, adding that 250 personnel would be deployed to manage the road.

    Oyeyemi said 50 officials and 200 marshals would be deployed for the assignment including some level of special marshals to man about 21 traffic points from Ojota Motorway to Alapere Bus-stop.

    He said the corps would work with other agencies of the government to ensure that within the first two weeks the road users would get used to the diversions and ensure that what the government wanted to do was achieved.

    Mr Emmanuel Adeoye, Director of Bridges in the ministry, urged citizens to be more patient when using the road to ease the discomfort that could occur.

    According to him, there are 132,702 daily traffic on the bridge, twice the level of Lagos-Ibadan route traffic movement.

    He said the closure would be in two phases to ensure operational efficiency with each phase sub divided into morning and afternoon traffic.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 11.8km-long third mainland bridge, conceived in the `70s as a belt way round the whole city of Lagos, was fully constructed in the 1990s.

    Also present at the conference were the Minister of State for Works and Housing, Mr Abubakar Aliyu, acting Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr Yemi Oguntominiyi, and other directors in the ministry.

  • Madrid face €60M bill to pay off Gareth Bale

    Madrid face €60M bill to pay off Gareth Bale

    Real Madrid face paying out Gareth Bale’s contract in full if they want to offload the Welshman.

    AS says Real coach Zinedine Zidane is keen to see Bale moved on this summer. The Frenchman dropped Bale from his squad for the final game of the season against Leganes.

    However, with two years to run on his contract, Bale has no intentions of being forced out.

    Earning €14.5m-a-year, it will mean Real paying out a staggering €60m net to clear Bale off their books in the coming weeks.

    “Bale is delighted with the idea of continuing two more years in Madrid,” said Jonathan Barnett, his agent, to AS. “He is happy in Spain. He and his family. It is a shame that Madrid is wasting the possibility of using him because he is a professional and continues to train well.”

  • COVID-19: Hospital suspends operations after 25 healthcare workers test positive

    COVID-19: Hospital suspends operations after 25 healthcare workers test positive

    Zvishavane District Hospital in Zimbabwe’s Midlands Province has suspended admissions and other health care services after 25 workers tested positive for COVID-19.

    Midlands Provincial Affairs Minister Larry Mavima, also the provincial COVID-19 taskforce chairperson said this in a statement on Tuesday in Harare.

    The health workers that tested positive were mostly nurses and three officials from the district registrar’s office.

    The latest infections put to the fore concerns by health workers at the front that they remain at high risk from contracting the virus.

    Three other healthcare workers at Claybank Private Hospital in Gweru, also in the Midlands Province, have also tested positive to the virus.

    This had added to the increasing number of infected healthcare workers after at least 13 nurses from Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo fell victim.

    Mavima said that 29 samples were taken at Zvishavane District Hospital last week after some health care workers had tested positive.

    “On July 13, Zvishavane District Hospital received eight PCR positive results of which two were of health care workers.

    “These results prompted the testing of other health care workers and other probable contacts within the hospital on the same day.

    “The hospital received the results today on July 20 and 25 out of 28 health care workers tested positive.

    “There are three staffers from the district registrar’s office who also tested positive,” said Mavima.

    He said the hospital was now under quarantine with investigations underway to establish the source of the infections and that health authorities were tracking contacts of the 28 positive cases, including visiting their homes in and around Zvishavane.

    “Investigations are underway to establish the source and the pattern of transmission of the infections.

    “Measures being taken include contact tracing and testing of other members within the institution,” he said.

  • Bayern Munich are Europe’s restart kings

    Bayern Munich are Europe’s restart kings

    Bayern Munich and Real Madrid were the major winners following the resumption of European football’s big leagues in the wake of the novel coronavirus shutdown.

    But some clubs may wish the season had been declared null and void.

    Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich were the only club across the continent to post a 100 percent record since the restart.

    They won all nine of their games, scoring 27 goals in the process.

    Real Madrid looked set to emulate Bayern Munich as they won their opening 10 games after the restart in June, a burst of form that delivered the Liga title.

    But they blotted their copybook on Sunday, however, when they drew 2-2 at Leganes.

    Statistics compiled by sports data specialists Gracenote show that English second-tier side Brentford were the third-best performing club since the restart.

    They won seven in a row before a costly defeat at Stoke City on Saturday put a huge dent in their hopes of automatic promotion to the English Premier League (EPL).

    Serie A sides Atalanta and AC Milan were the next best, gaining 2.56 and 2.50 points per game respectively.

    Interestingly Liverpool, who have been the standout team across Europe, have laboured after the restart, though with the Premier League title as good as won in March, that is perhaps understandable.

    In their last eight games Liverpool have averaged only 1.75 points, compared to their season average of 2.58, scored 1.63 goals per game (2.14 for the season) and conceded 1.13 (0.81).

    The worst performing team after the resumption were Norwich City who are the only club in Europe’s top leagues not to pick up a point since the restart.

    Relegated Norwich have lost all eight of their Premier League games, conceding 18 goals and scoring one.

    Bundesliga side Schalke 04 were not much better, picking up only two points for their last nine games.

    The most prolific scorers across the top six European leagues were Manchester City and AC Milan who have averaged 3.13 goals since the restart.

    FC Porto and Brentford had the meanest defences, leaking only three goals apiece.