Certainty
NSF: 8,000 athletes, others to undergo coronavirus protocols – minister
Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, says the 20th National Sports Festival in Edo will go ahead as planned from April 2 to April 14 under strict COVID-19 protocols. Dare also said that the reduced 8,000 athletes and officials for the Games would go through all the necessary COVID-19 protocols. The minister’s Special Adviser (Media), John Joshua-Akanji, quoted him as giving the assurance on Friday in Benin after a facility tour of the venue and meeting with Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo. Dare said the camp for the festival would open on April 2 while the official opening of the Games would be done by President Muhammadu Buhari on April 6. He said that said that the ministry was working with relevant health stakeholders to ensure that the COVID-19 safety protocols were observ...
Minister: National Sports Festival will go ahead in April
The 20th National Sports Festival billed for Edo State will go ahead as planned from April 2 to April 14, Minister of Sports Development and Youth, Sunday Dare, said. Dare also said the 8,000 athletes and officials participating in the Games would go through all the necessary COVID-19 protocols. Dare spoke in Benin after a facility tour of the venue and meeting with Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo. Dare said the camp for the festival would open on April 2 while the official opening of the Games would be done by President Muhammadu Buhari on April 6. He said that said that the ministry was working with relevant health stakeholders to ensure that the COVID-19 safety protocols were observed. “We are working closely with the PTF, NCDC and others to ensure that the necessary support we need in terms...
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...
Crypto ban: We acted in Nigerians’ best interest – CBN
The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, says the Bank’s decision to prohibit deposit money banks, non-banking institutions, and other financial institutions from facilitating trading and dealings in cryptocurrency is in the best interest of Nigerian depositors and the country’s financial system. Mr Emefiele made the declaration on Tuesday, February 23, 2021, while briefing a joint Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions; ICT and Cybercrime; and Capital Market, on its directive to institutions under its regulation. Describing the operations of cryptocurrencies as dangerous and opaque, the CBN Governor said the use of cryptocurrency contravened an existing law. He said given the fact that cryptocurrencies were issued by unregulated and...
New Zealand mass stranding leaves nearly 100 whales dead
About 100 pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins have died in a mass stranding on the remote Chatham Islands, about 800km (497 miles) off New Zealand’s east coast, officials said. Most of them were stranded during the weekend but rescue efforts have been hampered by the island’s remote location. New Zealand’s Department of Conservation on Wednesday said a total of 97 pilot whales and three dolphins died in the stranding, adding they were notified of the incident on Sunday. “Only 26 of the whales were still alive at this point, the majority of them appearing very weak, and were euthanised due to the rough sea conditions and almost certainty of there being great white sharks in the water which are brought in by a stranding like this,” said DOC Biodiversity Ranger Jemma Welch. Mass strandings a...
