Spaces
Coronavirus: England to lift mask, distancing rules July 19
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday revealed plans to lift most of England’s legal coronavirus restrictions, including face masks and social distancing from July 19, urging personal responsibility rather than government edict. Johnson had initially aimed for a full reopening on June 21, but was forced to push back the date because of a surge in the highly contagious Delta variant. That variant now accounts for nearly all new Covid-19 cases in Britain, and infection rates have soared, sparking concern. But mass vaccinations have stopped a resultant surge in hospital admissions or deaths. “This pandemic is far from over, it certainly won’t be over by the 19th,” warned Johnson. “We must reconcile ourselves, sadly, to more deaths from Covid. “There’s only one reason why we can contemplate g...
US universities admit about 13,000 Nigerians yearly
US Embassy in South Africa The United States Consulate’s Public Affairs Officer, Mr. Stephen Ibelli, has disclosed that about 13, 000 Nigerian students are admitted in US annually. Ibelli made the disclosure yesterday during the launch of the ‘Windows on America’ Hub at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU), Awka. He described Nigerians as one of the most dominant immigrant groups in the US. He said that the ‘Windows on America’ hub was aimed at providing Nigerian youths with educational opportunities available in U.S.A “Windows on America” are free spaces that offer services to students to learn about how to study in the United States and how to apply for scholarships to study abroad. “The hub will help to promote mutual understanding between the US and great youths of Nigeria to access inf...
Katsina governor declares no negotiations with bandits
Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari has announced his decision to stop further dialogue with bandits in the state due to their lack of central leadership and structure. Masari made the declaration while visiting the Chief of Air Staff, CAS, Isiaka Oladayo Amao at NAF Headquarters, Abuja, stated that the State Government had made several attempts in the past to engage the bandits but that not much success was recorded because each group of bandits operates independently. ’’The security situation was compounded by the vastness of the Katsina open border with the Niger Republic as well as the huge ungovernable spaces in the State which gives the bandits freedom of movement.” The governor further expressed that the bandits also betrayed the state government in the previous agreements rea...
Spotify launches Clubhouse competitor Greenroom
Spotify’s live audio app, Greenroom, formally launches today on iOS and Android, marking the company’s first real attempt at creating a social media platform. The social audio app, which is similar to Clubhouse, allows users to host live conversations about sports, music, and culture. Today’s launch doesn’t come with a marquee creator announcement or specific event planned, but instead, the company is taking the opportunity to encourage people to sign up and figure out how they’ll want to use the app. Some of its core functionality, a person close to the situation says, will eventually make its way to the actual Spotify app, so the team will monitor what happens in Greenroom closely. The app is built on Locker Room, which Betty Labs created and Spotify acquired in March. That app focused s...
Akwa Ibom wins CIRDDOC 2020 best budget transparency award
In a move that gives credence and endorsement of the commitment of the Udom Emmanuel led administration in ensuring openness, transparency and accountability in budgeting and governance, the Akwa Ibom State Government has been ranked one of the best performing states in the 2020 sub-National Budget Transparency Survey. The survey which was conducted by the Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC) to ascertain the level of budget performance by states of the federation revealed that Akwa Ibom and four other states topped the budget performance index for the year, 2020. The Nigerian States Budget Transparency Survey Report also revealed that Akwa Ibom and some other Nigerian States have significantly improved budget transparency and participation, and has improved the ro...
Twitter opens its audio chat room Spaces to Android users
Twitter has opened its audio chat room, Spaces, to Android users, the company tweeted Tuesday. Twitter introduced a limited version of the Clubhouse competitor on iOS in January. While any users of Twitter’s iOS app can join and listen to Spaces, only a few can host them at the moment. Twitter said it was giving Spaces to “a very small feedback group” to start, with women and people from other marginalized groups given priority. Now, users of Twitter’s Android app can join and listen to Spaces as well. Android folks, our beta is growing! starting today you will be able to join and talk in any Space. SOON you’ll be able to create your own but we’re still working out some things. keep your 👀 out for live Spaces above your home tl — Spaces (@TwitterSpaces) March 2, 2021 The announceme...
Ex-DSS director: Some bandits are former Boko Haram militants
A former assistant director in the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, says some bandits are former members of the Boko Haram insurgent group. Speaking when he featured on an Arise TV programme on Saturday, Amachree said he learnt this from the confession of some bandits. He added that unlike the Niger Delta militants protesting pollution of their areas, bandits do not deserve amnesty as they are “faceless criminals”. “From investigations, we have even discovered that some of them were Boko Haram fighters,” he said. “Some of them have confessed to having fought with Boko Haram. And now, you have these people infiltrating, collecting money for ransoms, raping women and sending them back to Boko Haram. “Anybody who is comparing them to militants in the Niger Delta, I want to...
Leeds United coach: ‘No formula’ to stop Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze
Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa said Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze is a player they must stop in Monday’s Premier League fixture, but there is “no formula” for them to neutralise him. Eze was a thorn in the flesh for the Whites when the teams battled at Selhurst Park back in November as he opened his Premier League goal account and provided an assist in their emphatic 4-1 win. The 22-year-old’s stunning free-kick won Crystal Palace’s Goal of the Month for November but narrowly missed out on the Premier League award to Super Eagles defender Ola Aina. Aside from the Nigerian playmaker, Bielsa is also wary of Wilfried Zaha’s threat, though the Ivorian forward won’t be available for the game due to a hamstring injury. “I’m trying to find an answer that would be worth it,” Bielsa was quo...
Abia governor condemns sudden rise in violent crime
File Photo Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has strongly condemned the sudden rise in violent crime around a bad spot before Akara Junction in Isuikwuato LGA of the State. The Governor in a statement released via his Twitter account on Saturday also lamented the recent spike in attacks on POS vendors in Aba. Ikpeazu, who condemned seriously the turn of events in the state, charged the law enforcement agencies to dominate all affected spaces around Isuikwuato axis and decisively combat the rising surge of crime there. He, however, expressed confidence that the law enforcement agencies will apprehend the culprits and ensure the concerned localities are rid of crime. “I acknowledge with sadness the sudden rise in violent crime around a bad spot before Akara Junction in Isuikwuato LGA of ...
President Ramaphosa bans alcohol sales in South Africa
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday announced a ban on alcohol sales and said mask-wearing would be mandatory in public as his country became the continent’s first to record one million coronavirus cases. Ramaphosa said during a televised speech that alcohol would be temporarily banned from midnight to help emergency services already under pressure. He also announced it would be “compulsory for every person to wear mask in public spaces,” saying it was a “drastic measure, now necessary”. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photo...
California hospitals overrun even as vaccine is rolled out
Even as high profile figures like U.S. Vice President Mike Pence rolled up their sleeves for COVID-19 vaccinations, patients already ill with the disease crowded emergency rooms and overran intensive care units in California, now a worldwide epicenter. Another 41,000 people tested positive in the most populous U.S. state on Thursday, and 300 died, state public health officials said. In a state with 40 million residents, only about 1,200 intensive care beds remained available by Friday – just 2.1% of the total, the California Department of Public Health said. “We anticipated a surge, but I’m not sure if anyone imagined it would be as bad as it has been,” said Adam Blackstone, a spokesman for the Hospital Association of Southern California. Hospitals are strained under the press of patients,...
Feminist group tackles Pete Edochie over ‘misogynistic rants’
The Nigerian Feminist Forum (NFF) has described as unreasonable the comments allegedly made by celebrated thespian, Chief Pete Edochie during an interview he granted to BBC IGBO. In a statement by its Communications Officer, Angela Nkwo, NFF said Edochie in the interview “furthered his misogynistic rants concerning his views on Nigerian women in general.” NFF, therefore, called on Edochie to immediately retract the comments, which it said grossly misrepresented his pedigree as an elder in the Nollywood community. The women group also asked him to issue an apology for the gross misrepresentation and cause for concern he had provided for women to experience, tolerate and accept violence meted out to them by their husbands and partners. The statement read in part: “The Nigerian Feminist Forum...