IMPACT
Serie A: Jubilant Inter finish title-winning season with Udinese rout
Serie A champions Inter Milan ended their triumphant season with a 5-1 thrashing of Udinese on Sunday as thousands of fans gathered outside San Siro to celebrate. Antonio Conte’s side sealed their first league crown in 11 years with four games to spare on May 2, but had to wait until the final day of the season to lift the trophy. Ashley Young and Christian Eriksen were on target before the break and goals from Lautaro Martinez, Ivan Perisic and Romelu Lukaku completed the rout before Roberto Pereyra’s consolation penalty for the 14th-placed visitors. Inter finish the season with 91 points, passing the 90-point mark for the second time after earning 97 in 2006-07, and were able to celebrate the achievement in front of one thousand invited supporters at their home ground. A further 4,500 we...
UNESCO exhibit in Venice focuses on rebuilding Mosul sites
The United Nations’ cultural agency has opened an exhibit detailing plans to restore multicultural landmarks in the Iraqi city of Mosul, underlining the role of architecture in helping heal wounds. The exhibit, “Revive the Spirit of Mosul,” will be featured on the sidelines of the 17th International Architecture Exhibition, which opened Saturday after a one-year pandemic delay under the title: “How will we live together?” The Venice Biennale’s central question resonates in particular in Iraq, which is experiencing turbulent change, and the old city of Mosul, where 80% of the city’s monuments were destroyed by extremists during the city’s 36-month occupation by the Islamic State group. Iraq is one of three countries participating for the first time at the Biennale, with an exhibit by Rashad...
WTO chief: Patent waiver not enough to close vaccine gap
World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said that intellectual property waiver alone will not be enough to narrow the huge COVID-19 vaccine supply gap between rich and poor countries. She told the European Parliament that it was clear that discussions around vaccine patents alone would not suffice, saying that global leaders should do more to ensure that there is equitable production and distribution of the jabs. Okonjo-Iweala said developing countries had complained that the licensing process was cumbersome and should be improved upon. She added that while it makes sense to protect research and innovation, it is also important to expand access to the vaccines. According to her, manufacturers should work to expand production, pointing to idle capacity ...
House asks FCT councils to suspend illegal taxes on businesses
The House of Representatives has declared illegal, levies being imposed on businesses by area councils in the Federal Capital Territory, ordering the task forces to suspend their activities. A member of the House from Kogi State, Mr Tajudeen Yusuf, had moved a motion calling for the suspension at the plenary on Tuesday. It was titled ‘Investigation of Alleged illegal Levies by the Federal Capital Territory Area Councils on Business Outlets and Premises in the Area Councils.’ Yusuf said, “Business outlets and private enterprises have been under threats, intimidation, and coercion by task forces operating in the Federal Capital Territory area councils under different guises, forcing business owners to pay illegal levies which are not remitted into the government coffers but private pockets o...
France, African leaders push to redirect $100 billion in IMF SDR reserves by October
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday a summit in Paris on Africa financing had agreed to work towards persuading rich nations by October to reallocate $100 billion in IMF special drawing rights monetary reserves to African states. Impoverished African economies must not be left behind in the post-pandemic economic recovery and a substantial financial package is needed to provide much-needed economic stimulus, African and European leaders concluded at a summit in Paris. In the immediate term, that meant accelerating the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and creating the fiscal breathing room for African nations, which will face a spending shortfall of some $285 billion over the next two years, the summit communique showed. The communique set out a two-pronged response based on addressing...
Kwara governor: I will continue to embark on people-oriented investment
Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara says his administration will continue to embark on people-oriented investments that will be of benefit and reward to the people of the state. AbdulRazaq made the remarks when the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, visited the Government House on the Annual Bareke, on Friday in Ilorin. Newsmen report that Bareke is a royal practice, where the traditional institution reciprocates an earlier sallah homage by the head of the government institution. The governor said his administration would continue to commit more of the state’s resources to developmental projects that would have direct impact on the lives of the poor and vulnerable persons in the society. He said in the past two years of his administration, there had been deliberate activities to...
World Bank: Nigeria responsible for over 40 percent diaspora remittances in Sub Saharan Africa
The World Bank says Nigeria is responsible for over 40 percent of diaspora remittances in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). In a statement on Wednesday, the Washington-based financial institution said remittances to SSA declined by an estimated 12.5 percent in 2020 to $42 billion. The decline was almost entirely due to a 27.7 percent decline in remittance flows to Nigeria, “Remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa declined by an estimated 12.5 percent in 2020 to $42 billion,” the statement read. “The decline was almost entirely due to a 27.7 percent decline in remittance flows to Nigeria, which alone accounted for over 40 percent of remittance flows to the region. “Excluding Nigeria, remittance flows to Sub-Saharan African increased by 2.3 percent. “Remittance growth was reported in Zambia (37 percent), ...
Dua Lipa wins album of the year at Brit Awards
Dua Lipa won the coveted British Album of the Year prize at the Brit Awards on Tuesday, in a ceremony that saw female artists dominate the mixed categories. Around 4,000 guests streamed into London’s O2 Arena for the biggest night in British pop music, as the ceremony welcomed guests for the first time in two years as part of the government’s pilot scheme easing coronavirus restrictions. The Brit Awards have been criticised in the past for nominations seen as skewing heavily male, but this year almost all of the main prizes went to female artists. Little Mix won best British group — becoming the first female act ever to do so. Singer and poet Arlo Parks took the Breakthrough Artist award, and best international group went to the American band HAIM. In another history-making moment, Taylor ...
Bayelsa councillor rejects fundraising after building bridge with funds meant for official car
A Bayelsa State councillor, Onem Miracle Tyna, has rejected offers of a GoFundMe or any other fundraising campaign planned on her behalf by members of the public. Of recent, it came to public notice that the 31-year-old female councillor in the Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State had used money meant for the purchase of her official car to underwrite the construction of a concrete motorable bridge which links over four communities in her ward. She had done this despite the discouragement from people who warned her of the monetary expense of such an undertaking. Photos of the bridge, before and after construction, had gone viral and members of the public hailed Tyna for her selfless service. The public commendation also reportedly drew the attention of Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye...
Niger Delta: President Buhari has surpassed all past presidents – NYCN
National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) on Sunday said that President Muhammadu Buhari has surpassed all past Presidents of the country in the development of the Niger Delta region. The Council said the array of projects that now littered the coastal area was however made possible by the current Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio. The youths, therefore, warned the region’s politicians against blackmailing Buhari and Akpabio. The youths also threw their weight behind the interim sole administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Effiong Akwa for his prudent, transparent, and frugal management of resources which they said witnessed the execution of the projects within a short period of time. In a communiqué issued after a 3-week tour and assessment o...
Eden Hazard apologises to Real Madrid fans for laughing after Champions League exit
Real Madrid forward Eden Hazard has apologised for laughing with Chelsea players after his side were knocked out of the Champions League semi-finals. The former Chelsea man, 30, was seen joking and smiling with his former team-mates at the final whistle. Hazard said on Instagram it was “not my intention to offend Real Madrid fans”. Hazard was substituted before full-time after failing to have an impact on the game, which the Spanish giants lost 2-0 as Chelsea progressed 3-1 on aggregate. Hazard, who left Stamford Bridge in 2019, has received much criticism from Real Madrid fans and the Spanish media, with some calling for him to be transferred. Hazard helped Chelsea, who will face Manchester City in an all-English Champions League final, to two Premier League and two Europa League trophies...
Kaduna strike: Northern governors call for calm
The Northern Governors Forum has called for calm and dialogue between Kaduna State Government and organised labour, to resolve the ongoing warning strike by workers in the state. The Chairman of the forum and Governor of Plateau, Mr Simon Lalong, made the call in a statement by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Dr. Makut Macham, on Tuesday in Jos. He said the forum was concerned of the impact of the strike on the state and its residents following the lockdown of economic activities in the state. The chairman noted that dialogue and negotiations were effective tools of addressing dispute in labour relations. He called for restraint and de-escalation of the situation to enable amicable resolutions. He pointed out that peaceful resolution was only possible when both parties operate wi...