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AIBA approves new constitution in bid to regain IOC recognition
International Boxing Association (AIBA) has taken a step towards repairing a much-maligned governance structure that has been frequently criticised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after it approved an updated constitution at its virtual Congress. Under the new constitution, AIBA has installed term limits, rebranded the Executive Committee to the Board of Directors and reduced the number of members on the ruling body from 32 to 22. AIBA is hopeful the renewed document will appease the IOC, which last year suspended it as the Olympic governing body for the sport and stripped it of any involvement in the boxing tournament at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games because of concerns over its governance, finances and refereeing and judging. The Inquiry Committee, led by IOC Executive Board ...
Air passengers decry upsurge in fares, seek urgent attention to roads, railway
Nigerians, who travel by air, have decried the “sudden” upsurge in air fares and urged the Federal Government to intervene to avoid poor patronage that could dwindle the fortunes of the aviation industry. Newsmen report that the air fares shot up by about 100 per cent in the last one week, with some airline operators even raising their fares by as much as 120 per cent or more. At Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, the fare from Abuja to Lagos, which was N35,300 (Economy Class), rose to between N70,000 and N75,000. Newsmen found that Business Class travellers were charged between N100,000 and N120,000, depending on the airline. Our correspondents, who visited other airports across the country, found that the rise in airfares was the same, a situation that forced some passengers to...
Italy World Cup hero’s home robbed during his funeral
The home of Italy’s 1982 World Cup winner Paolo Rossi, was burgled during his funeral on Saturday, according to the Associated Press. Rossi’s wife, Federica Cappelletti, reportedly discovered the crime upon returning to a house in disarray and valuables missing. Rossi died Wednesday of lung cancer at the age of 64. Thousands of mourners gathered in Vicenza, Italy, on Saturday to remember the departed forward, who received the Golden Ball, Golden Boot and Ballon d’Or after scoring six goals for Italy at the World Cup in 1982. His coffin was carried by a group of his former teammates. His wife and teammates were also among those to speak at the funeral. Aside helping Italy win the World Cup, he was part of the Juventus side that won their first Champions League title in 1985. Get more storie...
Court stops COSON from general distribution practice
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has declared that the General Distribution which is practised by the Copyright Society of Nigeria, COSON, is illegal. The practise involves the annual distribution of the same amount of music royalties, usually about N30,000 each, to thousands of the organization’s members. This practice was challenged in court by the Music Publishers’ Association of Nigeria, MPAN, in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1418/2019; Green Light Music Publishing Ltd, Chocolate City Music Ltd, Premier Music Publishing Company Ltd v. Copyright Society of Nigeria Ltd/Gte. The judgement which was delivered on November 25, 2020, by Justice Oguntoyinbo also ordered COSON to stop further distribution of royalties “in a manner known as ‘General Distribution’ or how so ever called which does not re...
Lagos anti-one way squad impounds 42 vehicles
Three police officers and a naval rating are part of the offenders whose vehicles were impounded on Friday in an enforcement carried out by the Anti-One way and Other Traffic Offences Squad of the Lagos State Government. The traffic offenders met their Waterloo during the Squad’s operations along Apapa-Oshodi Expressway and Mile 2 area of the State. No fewer than 42 vehicles, including two articulated trucks and commercial tricycles, driving against the traffic were arrested by the Squad led by the Commander of policemen in Governor’s Monitoring Team (GMT), Shola Jejeloye, a Superintendent of Police (SP). The Friday enforcement was jointly carried out by the Squad and men of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA). The Squad was specially created, last Monday, by the Commissi...
Police arraign kidnap kingpin, seven others for terrorism in Calabar
A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar has remanded 8 persons for kidnapping, terrorism and possession of illegal firearms at the Afokang Correctional Service centre. Five were arraigned by the Nigeria Police Force for kidnapping, terrorism and possession of illegal fire arms on a three count charge in Charge numbers FHC / CA / 94c / 2020 and three others on a two count charge of charges number: FHC /CA/95c / 2020 for three others. The Presiding Judge, Justice S.M Shaibu ordered that the 8 defendants be remanded at Calabar Correctional facility on a three count charge and two count charge respectively levelled against them by the police . He ordered that the 8 of them be remanded till 25 of February 2021 at the centre pending their trial at the Federal High Court 1 ,Calabar . Recall that ...
President Akufo-Addo: Sustenance of Ghana’s peace is a shared responsibility
President Akufo-Addo says the sustenance of the country’s peace is a shared responsibility for all Ghanaians and has therefore entreated citizens to play their part in keeping the country united even after a fiercely contested election. The President’s comment comes after pockets of violent clashes and vandalism by some elements who feel aggrieved following the declaration of the election results by the chairperson of the Electoral Commission led to a few deaths across the country. Addressing the Muslim community at a thanksgiving service at the Central Mosque in Accra Friday, President Akufo-Addo expressed hope that the Ghanaian people will find a way to come together as one people. “I’m confident that the good sense of the Ghanaian people will make sure that the peace and stability of ou...
Four finalists compete for Time’s Person of the Year for 2020
Time Magazine names its Person of the Year for 2020 on Thursday, choosing the winner from nominees that include healthcare workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic, the racial justice movement and two U.S. presidential election winners. The news magazine will reveal at 10 p.m. Eastern its selection for the title that signifies “who affected the news or our lives the most, for better or worse,” Time said on its website. Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg last year became the youngest individual winner of the accolade. The 16-year-old Swede inspired young people to take action in 2019 against climate change, grabbing headlines when she regularly skipped school to demonstrate outside Swedish parliament in a push for her government to curb carbon emissions. The Person of the Year is usually...
FDA: Independent committee recommends authorization of coronavirus vaccine
An independent committee of experts recommended Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration authorize the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people over the age of 16. Now, the FDA will decide whether to follow that recommendation. The agency could announce a decision within days. If they do authorize the vaccine, health care workers could begin receiving the shots almost immediately. The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) met all day to review data on the vaccine, discuss plans for distribution, and outline plans for continued research. FDA scientists published a report about the vaccine on Tuesday, which analyzed data from the pharmaceutical companies and found that the vaccine was safe and 95 percent at preventing symptomatic COVID-19. Data fro...
NCDC: Many health workers still doubt existence of coronavirus
Oladipo Ogunbode, assistant director, department of prevention programmes and management, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), says it is surprising that health workers still doubt the existence of COVID-19. According to newsmen, Ogunbode stated this on Thursday in Abuja while speaking at a conference to mark the 2020 health week, themed: “Outbreak of Disease in Nigeria: Are We Ready?” Ogunbode said it is hard to understand how health workers who had come in contact with victims of COVID-19 in the line of duty, still doubted the existence of the virus. “Health workers should create awareness on COVID-19, but many of them still doubt its existence. We must work hard to remove such doubt,” he said. “It’s amazing and inexplicable for medics to doubt the fact that the pandemic was a real...
Appeal court upholds Brazil striker Robinho’s rape conviction
Veteran Brazil international striker Robinho on Thursday had a nine-year sentence for the rape of a young woman upheld by a court in Italy. Judges of the Milan Court of Appeal confirmed the sentence for both Robinho and one of his friends for group sexual violence dating back to January 2013. Robinho was playing for AC Milan at the time of the attack and was tried in absentia in November 2017. The pair were among a group of six men accused of taking part in the gang rape of a 22-year-old Albanian woman in a Milan nightclub. They were both ordered to jointly pay the woman damages of 60,000 euros ($ 73,000). The case against the four other accused has been suspended. Robinho, 36, who has denied the charges, has the right to again appeal the sentence within 90 days. Robinho was forced to pull...
French police detain five new suspects in Paris teacher murder case
France’s Central Directorate of the Judicial Police has detained five people suspected of complicity in the brutal killing of a French teacher at the hands of an extremist in October, according to Le Parisien newspaper. History teacher Samuel Paty was murdered by beheading on October 16 on the outskirts of Paris by an 18-year-old Chechen radical. The attack allegedly occurred because the teacher had shown religious caricatures depicting Islamic prophet Muhammad to his students as part of freedom of speech discussion, prompting outrage among their Muslim parents. The attacker was shot dead by police the same day he committed the murder. According to the newspaper’s sources, five young men of Chechen origin, whose ages range from 18 to 21, were detained by police on Monday in the departments...
