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Thiago Silva reveals ‘nice surprise’ from Frank Lampard after Chelsea move
Thiago Silva says a “nice surprise” from Frank Lampard immediately assured him he made the right choice when joining Chelsea over the summer. The Brazil defender moved to the Premier League shortly before his 36th birthday, bringing to an end his eight-year spell at Paris Saint-Germain. Silva says he had no doubts about his decision to head to Stamford Bridge, but appreciated a gesture he received from his new manager as he prepared for the move. What did Lampard send Thiago Silva? “As soon as I said yes, he sent me a picture of us both shaking hands as national team captains in 2013,” Silva told FourFourTwo. “It was a nice surprise. He understood exactly what I needed at this stage of my career, probably because he had made a similar move when he was also 36, from Chelsea to Manchester Ci...
Tokyo 2021: Japan, medical experts disagree over safe Olympics
Japanese infectious disease specialist Atsuo Hamada wants to see the Olympics happen in Tokyo this summer, but admits if they were being held anywhere else, he’d probably support a cancellation. “Even without the coronavirus pandemic, the Olympics as a mass gathering fosters all sorts of infectious diseases,” Hamada, a professor at Tokyo Medical University, told AFP. With less than six months until the pandemic-postponed Games, organisers say they’re confident the event will be safe. But some medical experts aren’t so sure, and think cancellation is safer. “I do understand the athletes’ sentiments,” said Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at Britain’s University of Southampton. “But I think from… the global public health point of view, there’s nothing about the Olympic...
ICC ruling brings hope for Palestinians, dismay for Israelis
Many Palestinians see a ruling by the International Criminal Court that it has jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories as a belated chance of justice for victims of Israeli attacks. But for many Israelis, Friday’s ruling is worrying because they say they are the “good guys” defending themselves against Palestinian violence. The ruling, delivered by a pre-trial chamber of three ICC judges, could lead to criminal investigations of Israel and Palestinian militant groups including Hamas. No probe was expected in the near future, however. ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said she would now examine the decision and pointed to the 2014 Gaza war between Israel and militant groups in Hamas-controlled Gaza, the 2018 Gaza border protests and Israeli settlements in occupied territory. In Khan Youni...
Rivers governor seeks end to external influence on NDDC
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has regretted the continuous interference of external forces who are not from the oil-rich region on the activities of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, noting that the act frustrates programmes of the commission. Wike, however, condemned the posture of some ethnic groups in the region that behave as if the commission belongs to them, clarifying that NDDC was set up to cater for needs of the states of the region. The governor disclosed this in a statement signed by his Special Assistant, Media, Kelvin Ebiri, after the visit of the Interim Management Committee of NDDC to Government House, Port Harcourt, yesterday. The governor said people are abusing the entire region because the commission has wasted trillions of Dollars without lifting the mass...
Nigeria expects 41 million coronavirus vaccine doses from African Union
Nigeria expects to receive 41 million Covid-19 vaccine doses from the African Union, the head of the country’s primary healthcare agency said on Monday, while the health minister said vaccines from Russia and India were being considered. Authorities in Africa’s most populous country, which has 200 million people, plan to inoculate 40% of the population this year and another 30% in 2022. The African Union initially secured 270 million Covid-19 vaccine doses from manufacturers for member states. Last week it was announced that the bloc would receive another 400 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Faisal Shuaib, who heads the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, said Nigeria’s previous request for 10 million doses through the AU had been increased four-fold. “We have applied...
EFCC arrests 10 ‘internet fraudsters’ in Abuja
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested 10 suspects over computer-related fraud known as ‘Yahoo-Yahoo’ They were arrested at their Academy in Bwari axis of Abuja where they were said to be learning the trade of cyber trickery. The suspects aged between 20 and 30 years, are Sixtus Jude, Moses Samuel, Isalan Johnny, Dapet Nimshak, Samuel Ogboche, Victor Samuel, Victor Asuquo, Ibrahim Yunusa, Yahaya Usman and Chijoke Ikwuoha. The Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, who disclosed this in a statement to newsmen, said the suspects were arrested with different incriminating items such as mobile phones and computers. Uwujaren said how that the promoter of the ‘academy’ was at large. “Investigations showed that they sponsor recruits and train young indivi...
NYT: Republican congressman played a role in Donald Trump’s campaign to fight election loss
A Republican U.S. congressman played a role in ex-President Donald Trump’s efforts to oust the top Justice Department official and replace him with a loyalist willing to support efforts to overturn his election defeat, the New York Times reported on Sunday. Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania arranged for Trump to meet Jeffrey Bossert Clark, a Justice Department official who Trump considered naming to replace Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen earlier this month, the newspaper reported. Clark, the Times reported, was sympathetic to Trump’s “Stop the Steal” campaign, and he met with Perry to discuss a plan to have the Justice Department send Georgia a letter disclosing the department would be investigating the election results. Reuters has not independently verified the details of...
Delta government approves Kwale industrial park
Delta State Government held its first Executive Council (EXCO) meeting of the year at Government House, Asaba, weekend, announcing the approval of key infrastructural projects, including the full establishment of the Kwale Industrial Park in Ndokwa West. The Commissioner for Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, disclosed these while briefing newsman on resolutions at the meeting presided by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa. Aniagwu said approval was given for the establishment of the multi-billion-naira Kwale Industrial Park with 25 per cent equity for the state government, while private operators would hold the remaining 75 per cent equity. He stated that the approval was a boost to the industrial park, the process of which establishment was slowed down by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic last year. ...
PHED begins distribution of 77,000 meters to customers
File Photo The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc, PHEDC, has begun the distribution of 77,000 Prepaid Metres to its Customers within its area of operation. The Head, Administration, Ngozi Koroye, in a statement in Port Harcourt, noted that the metres were installed under the National Mass Metering Programme, NMMP. Koroye explained that the initial scheme, Meter Asset Provider, MAP, which runs concurrently with the NMMP was launched in 2019 and operated by independent entities licensed by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, to provide metering services which may include meter procurement, supply, installation, maintenance, and replacement. Koroye noted that MAP was introduced to specifically eliminate arbitrary estimated billing through accelerated meter rollout, s...
Dangote completes Nigeria’s longest concrete road
Makamba Online The Dangote Group has completed Nigeria’s longest rigid pavement located in Kogi State. It is the first of its kind, top engineers say. The 43KM Obajana-Kabba road constructed by Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), has been described by motorists as the country’s most strategic highway that is aiding travellers between the North and the South. Olatunbosun Kalejaiye, the Project Director, said he was excited that the Corporate Social Responsibility Project is being delivered for use by Nigerians, adding that while the rigid pavement has been completed, the company was dressing the shoulders. Site Engineer Samuel Obosi assured that the dual carriage way will be durable and less susceptible to potholes and repairs like asphalt road, adding that it would crash the rate of road acc...
Rights group urges lifting Ugandan social media ban
Amnesty International is calling for Ugandan officials to lift bans on social media imposed ahead of Thursday’s election. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni announced on Tuesday that the government had shut down social media. On Jan. 9, Facebook deleted dozens of pro-Ugandan government accounts, saying they were “fake.” Museveni characterized Facebook’s action as arrogant. “It is alarming that the Ugandan authorities have suspended social media networks including Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp and restricted people’s right to freedom of expression and access to information,” said Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, in a press release. Amnesty International said the move was intended to silence journalists, election o...
Iran’s smog, blackouts made worse by power-sapping crypto mining
Outages have been compounded by cryptocurrency mining, which uses banks of high-powered computers. Cities across Iran have been cloaked in thick layers of toxic smog and darkened by blackouts, as the alleged use of low-quality fuel and power-sucking cryptocurrency mining deepen the country’s hardships. Tehran’s Hamshahri newspaper, the country’s most-read daily, ran the headline, “20 Days Living in Smoke,” on Wednesday over a photo of the capital covered in smog. Power plants have been forced to switch to burning low-grade fuel oils to generate electricity because high levels of domestic consumption have led to natural-gas shortages, the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency reported. Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh denied earlier this week that any of Iran’s power stations are us...
