Brazilian football great Pele mourned his fellow legend Diego Maradona after the Argentine died Wednesday, saying he hoped they would “play together in the sky” one day. “Sad news today. I have lost a dear friend, and the world has lost a legend,” Pele wrote on Instagram, alongside a picture of Maradona hoisting the World Cup trophy in 1986. “There is much more to say, but for now may God give his family strength. One day, I hope, we will play soccer together in the sky.” Pele and Maradona, who often vie for the title of best footballer in history, had just celebrated milestone birthdays last month: 80 and 60, respectively. Pele had wished Maradona well on his birthday on October 30, writing, “May your journey be long and may you always smile, and make me smile, too!” Maradona had likewise...
Sen. Rochas Okorocha, Chairman, Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism, has expressed greater hope that Nigeria will definitely lead the world with the vast culture and tourism potential. Okorocha said this at opening ceremony of the 33rd National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) held at Rwang Pam Township Stadium, Jos, Plateau on Monday. The theme of the event was “COVID-19 and Cultural Dynamism”. The lawmaker advised Nigerians generally to keep hope alive as the COVID-19 pandemic and the ENDSARS protests which had caused lots of havoc to the nation would be forgotten issues with time. He said Nigeria was only going through a phase that would lead to greatness as some other countries had experienced in the past. He noted that the two incidences had aggravated the nation’s problems o...
The Coalition of North East Elders for Peace and Development, Monday asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sack his service chiefs, accusing the military of deploying massive strength during the #EndSARS protests in parts of the country, thereby leaving the zone at the mercy of Boko Haram, an Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists. According to the elders, scores of civilians were killed as a result of the strategic and operational blunders, which they argued, was avoidable, had greater tact been adopted. In a statement signed by the chairman, Engr. Zana Goni, the North East elders said pro-active intelligence would have revealed this lapse to the military high command, had the service chiefs not been lethargic in their responsibilities. Consequently, the elders, for the um...
Canada’s unemployment rate fell to 8.9 per cent in October as the economy added 84,000 jobs, but further gains were dampened by new Covid-19 lockdowns, the national statistical agency said Friday. Employment in Canada has increased at a monthly rate of 2.7 per cent since May, but economists had expected fewer jobs to be created last month as new restrictions were reintroduced across the country to slow the spread of a second wave of the coronavirus. Statistics Canada noted that increases in employment across several industries were partially offset by a big drop in accommodation and food services jobs. Full-time employment rose 69,000, making up most of the gains, while self-employment rose by 33,000 for the first time since the start of the pandemic in March. Overall, about 2.4 million Ca...
Getty Images French economy minister Bruno Le Maire announced Friday he has tested positive for COVID-19 but said he had no symptoms and was working from home as cases soared again in France. Le Maire, who is responsible for reviving a French economy battered by the months-long pandemic, is not the first member of President Emmanuel Macron’s government to have been diagnosed with the disease. “I tested positive for Covid-19 this evening. I immediately placed myself in isolation at home in line with the health regulations issued by the government,” Le Maire said in a tweet. “I show no symptoms. I will remain in isolation for seven days. I continue to exercise my duties,” the 51-year-old minister said. On March 9, the former culture minister and current minister for external trade, Franck Ri...
Iran and the European Union have both rejected United States President Donald Trump’s plan to trigger the “snapback” mechanism in the Iranian nuclear deal to impose sanctions on Iran. “The Americans got out of the atomic deal in May 2018 and they know very well that the implementation of the snapback is something illegal and, therefore, absolutely unacceptable,’’ Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said on Sunday, according to state media. The snapback was granted to the participants in the 2015 Vienna nuclear agreement between major world powers and Iran in the event that Tehran violates it. However, under Trump, the United States withdrew unilaterally from the agreement in 2018. “Since Washington withdrew from the agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of...