Travel
Victor Osimhen faces Napoli sanctions for breaching coronavirus rules in Nigeria
Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso said Sunday he felt foolish for giving Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen permission to travel home for Christmas with the forward testing positive for coronavirus on his return. Osimhen faces club sanctions after images of him partying without wearing a mask were shared on social media. But Gattuso said he also felt embarrassed for giving the 22-year-old permission to return to Africa. “The responsibility of sending him to Nigeria was also mine. It’s embarrassing for the two of us,” Gattuso said after Sunday’s 4-1 Serie A win over Cagliari. Osimhen apologised earlier on Sunday. “I am sorry for what happened. I made a mistake going to Nigeria right now,” the forward said in an Instagram post. “I made a mistake going to a surprise party without understanding the gr...
Singer/songwriter/promoter Eme Alfonso on old and new challenges for Cuban musicians
Eme Alfonso on Cuban music education, new challenges for Cuban musicians, and growing up as the daughter of Cuban rock royalty. A conversation in Havana with singer/songwriter/promoter—and daughter of Cuban rock royalty—Eme Alfonso. This is an edited and condensed transcript from my conversation with Eme. You can listen to the full episode, for free, on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Cuba’s Moment On the Stage Images from SxSW’s first Cuban music showcase of five killer acts, set up by Roads and Kingdoms and Fábrica de Arte Cubano, say all the important things about Cuba that words, punditry, or legalese never will. Afro‑Cuban artist, cook, and queer activist Nancy Cepero on questioning everything Nancy Cepero, vegan chef, queer an...
Millions of Americans risk losing jobless benefits as Donald Trump refuses to sign aid bill
Millions of Americans are about to see their jobless benefits expire on Saturday as U.S. President Donald Trump has so far refused to sign into law a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package, insisting that it did not do enough to help everyday people. Trump stunned Republicans and Democrats alike when he said this week he was unhappy with the massive bill, which provides $892 billion in badly needed coronavirus relief, including extending special unemployment benefits expiring on Dec. 26, and $1.4 trillion for normal government spending. Without Trump’s signature, about 14 million people could lose those extra benefits, according to Labor Department data. A partial government shutdown will begin on Tuesday unless Congress can agree a stop-gap government funding bill before then. Af...
Coronavirus: Nigerian government rolls out measures for UK, South African returnees
The Federal Government has rolled out new containment measures against the importation of COVID-19 particularly from the United Kingdom and South Africa, saying returnees from both countries are required to present two documents before boarding. National Coordinator of the Presidential Taskforce PTF on COVID-19, Dr Sani Aliyu, disclosed this during Thursday’s briefing of the Taskforce. He said; “In particular, international travellers must register with the Nigeria international travel portal. “We are concerned a out the emergence of the new variant of COVID-19 in the UK and an additional mutant in South Africa. Our protocol to ensure the safety of our citizens and prevent the importation of cases into the country is one of the most strict. “Specifically, for the UK and South Africa, the P...
Gombe governor declares Friday work-free day ahead of council poll
The Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya, has declared today (Friday) a work-free day to enable eligible voters to travel to their respective areas to exercise their franchise in Saturday’s local government election in the state. Yahaya disclosed this during a state-wide broadcast to highlight his administration’s preparedness to conduct free, fair and credible local government election in the state, adding that the election was not a do or die affair. He said, “As part of the measures to ensure a peaceful and successful election, government has declared Friday a work-free day in order to enable our people return to their various local government areas for the election. We are also putting restrictions on all non-essential movements on the election day in order to ensure enhanced security an...
Afro-Cuban artist, cook, and queer activist Nancy Cepero on questioning everything
Nancy Cepero, vegan chef, queer anti-racist activist and artist, on trying to change Cuba’s food culture, self-care, and queer activism after the backlash against same-sex marriage. A new generation of Cuban activists is questioning everything, including the heavy, meat-laden Cuban diet. Nancy Cepero, vegan chef, queer anti-racist activist and artist, is proud to be counted among them. This is an edited and condensed transcript from my conversation with Nancy. You can listen to the full episode, for free, on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Nathan Thornburgh: Let’s start with your your profession. You were a cook, a caterer, a chef. How do you define yourself? Nancy Cepero: I am not just a cook. First of all I’m an artist. I’m a visual artist. I’m ...
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...
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...
Juventus hit back to beat Torino
Juventus came from behind to beat Torino 2-1 on Sunday with US midfielder Weston McKennie among the scorers for the first time since he joined the Italian champions on loan. McKennie’s close-range header on 78 minutes put Juve level after Nicolas Nkoulou had given Torino a first-half advantage. After McKennie’s equaliser, Leonardo Bonucci produced an 89th-minute winner to lift Juve to second in the table, three points behind AC Milan who visit Sampdoria on Sunday. Inter Milan can overtake Juve by beating Bologna in Saturday’s late match. Before the game in Turin, Cristiano Ronaldo was presented with a special jersey commemorating his 750th career goal. But Ronaldo played a supporting role for once as 22-year-old McKennie, on loan from German club Schalke 04, scored a first Serie A goal and...
Raiding the wine cellar with Billy Wagner
Drinking unique wines in Kreuzberg at the home of Billy Wagner, sommelier and proprietor of Berlin’s Michelin-starred Nobelhart & Schmutzig. Drinking unique wines in Kreuzberg at the home of Billy Wagner, sommelier and proprietor of Berlin’s Michelin-starred Nobelhart & Schmutzig. This is an edited and condensed transcript from my conversation with Billy. You can listen to the full episode, for free, on Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you want to build a vineyard, that’s a lot of paperwork. Nathan Thornburgh: All right, well, let’s pour and toast, and then we’ll talk about this beautiful thing. Cheers. Billy Wagner: This is a wine from 2011 made by Sven Leiner from the winery Weingut Jürgen Leiner, from Ilbesheim in Palatinate Pfalz. Thornburgh: Palatinate ...
US braces for continued surge in coronavirus cases, hospitalisations
As newly reported cases of the coronavirus continued to spike across much of the United States, breaking records for hospitalisations, some local leaders are moving to enact more stringent restrictions. US officials had pleaded with Americans to avoid travel and limit social gatherings as the nation entered its winter holiday season. But many appear to have disregarded those pleas over the long Thanksgiving weekend as the Transportation Security Administration screened nearly 1.2 million airline passengers on Sunday, the highest since mid-March. That number is still about 60 percent lower than the comparable day last year when 2.88 million passengers were screened, the highest ever recorded by the agency. Health officials say they are now preparing for a wave of cases over the next two or ...
Mónica Baró on committing independent journalism in Cuba
Cuban independent journalist and Nathan Thornburgh talk about their respective arrests in Cuba, and about why she does what she does, despite all the risks. Something unusual and even a little hopeful happened in Havana this weekend. There was a rare public protest outside of the Culture Ministry building. The people speaking, and clapping, and singing, actually forced the Cuban government into dialogue about censorship in the country. Who knows where things will go from there, but I do know this: Cuba, for all of its moldering beauty, should scare us. Not just because its regime is so cynical and self-aware enough of its own rot that it actually punishes people by preventing them from leaving their country. No, it should scare us also because of people here in the U.S., people who hate th...
