Blog - Page 2701 of 3346 - Voice of Nigeria Broadcasting Service

Chelsea Secures Vital Away Goal In Madrid

Sports

-

April 28, 2021

Chelsea scored a vital away goal after a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid in their Champions League semi-final first-leg tie at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium in Madrid.

It was the first meeting between them in 23 years, since the 1998 UEFA Super Cup in Monaco. Chelsea’s quick passing in midfield caused Real Madrid a lot of problems early on and Timo Werner should have given the visitors the lead. However, the German was denied from six yards out by Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois save.

Moments later, Chelsea took the lead in fine fashion when Antonio Ruddier found Christian Pulisic with a lovely pass and the American rounded Courtois to give Thomas Tuchel’s side the perfect start.

Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic (10) scores against Real Madrid during UEFA Champions League match

Real Madrid didn’t look comfortable in its 3-5-2 system and couldn’t contain Chelsea’s speed, energy and intensity.

Chelsea continued to press and its ruthlessness in front of goal stopped them from extending its lead. However, in the 29th minute the in-form Karim Benzema made the visitors pay for their wastefulness.

A corner was launched into the Chelsea box and the ball fell to Benzema, who controlled the ball surrounded by Chelsea defenders and fired an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net.

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema scores against Chelsea during UEFA Champions League match

Karim Benzema took his UEFA Champions League goals total to 71, matching Real Madrid legend Raúl González’s tally to become the joint fourth highest scorer in Europe’s top club football competition. The score line remained 1-1 at half-time.

In the second half, Werner had another half chance, but took too long to fire at goal which allowed Raphael Varane back to make a crucial block.

Former Chelsea star Eden Hazard was introduced with 25 minutes left but he had no impact on the game as Chelsea were in control of the game. The match finished 1-1 and the advantage will be with Chelsea as the pair will meet again next Wednesday (May 5) at Stamford Bridge to decide who reaches the final in Istanbul on May 29.

⏰ RESULT ⏰

⚪️ Benzema thumps in close-range equaliser

Turkey reimposes restrictions after sharp rise in infections

Health

Mosunmola Ore

-

April 28, 2021

0

Turkey is re-introducing weekend lockdowns in most provinces and will impose restrictions over the Muslim holy month of Ramadan following a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases.

In a televised address following a Cabinet meeting late Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 58 out of Turkey’s 81 provinces, including Istanbul and Ankara, were now designated as “red” or “very high-risk” areas and would be subjected to lockdowns on both Saturdays and Sundays.

Infections in Turkey have soared less than a month after authorities divided the 81 provinces into four color-coded categories and relaxed restrictions in some provinces under a “controlled normalization” effort.

The number of infections hit a record on Tuesday, with the Health Ministry confirming 37,303 new cases in the past 24 hours. The country of nearly 84 million also reported 155 deaths on Tuesday, up from around 65 at the start of the month.

Nighttime curfews that are in place across the country would continue, he said.
Only 17 provinces were in the “red” category on March 2, when schools partially resumed face-to-face education, cafes and restaurants were allowed to operate at half-capacity and weekend curfews were eased in several cities.

“The increase in the number of cases and patients as well as the increase in the number of deaths, is forcing us to review the existing measures,” Erdogan said in an address to the nation. “The number of our provinces which are in the red category, which constitutes the very high-risk category, has reached 58 — representing 80% of the population.”

“We will have to make some sacrifices during the month of Ramadan,” he said, adding that restaurants and cafes would be allowed to serve takeout food only during the holy month, which starts on April 13 in Turkey.
Mass gatherings for Ramadan meals held before sunrise and after sunset would be barred, he also announced.

The minister also said Turkey has received 2.8 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine and is set to receive 1.7 million more within the next 10 days.

Turkey rolled out its inoculation program in January with the vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac company. More than 15 million shots have been administered so far. Around 6.7 million people have received two doses.

The total number of infections in the country since the start of the outbreak last year stands at more than 3.2 million. The COVID-19 death toll has reached more than 31,000.

MTO/Aljazeera

Fully vaccinated people can now unmask at small gatherings- CDC

Health

Mosunmola Ore

-

April 28, 2021

0

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday issued new outdoor mask guidance for fully vaccinated people in American.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a virtual White House briefing on Tuesday.

“If you are fully vaccinated and want to attend a small outdoor gathering with people who are vaccinated and unvaccinated, or dine at an outdoor restaurant with friends from multiple households, the science shows if you are vaccinated, you can do so safely unmasked,” he said.

But life will not return completely to normal for fully vaccinated people.

The federal health agency says even if you’ve been vaccinated, you should avoid large indoor gatherings. The CDC did not define how many people would be in a large gathering, but the agency’s website describes “large gatherings” as bringing together “many people from multiple households in a private or public space.”

For the fully vaccinated who do choose to attend a crowded outdoor event, such as a live performance, parade, or sporting event, wearing a mask is recommended.

“Generally, for vaccinated people, outdoor activities without a mask are safe. However, we continue to recommend masking in crowded outdoor settings and venues, such as packed stadiums and concerts where there is decreased ability to maintain physical distance and where many unvaccinated people may also be present,” Walensky said. “We will continue to recommend this until widespread vaccination is achieved.”

The CDC advises both vaccinated and unvaccinated people to still wear masks in indoor public spaces, such as a mall, movie theater or museum.

People are considered fully vaccinated by the CDC two weeks after the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or two weeks after the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

President Biden used the new mask guidance from the CDC as an opportunity to urge all Americans to get vaccinated.

“The bottom line is clear, if you’re vaccinated, you can do more things, more safely, both outdoors as well as indoors,” Biden said during remarks at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. “So for those who haven’t gotten their vaccination yet, especially if you’re younger, or thinking you don’t need it, this is another great reason to go get vaccinated Now.”

“We’re back to that place now as long as you get vaccinated. So go get the shot. It’s never been easier,” he said. “And once you’re fully vaccinated, you can go without a mask when you’re outside, and away from big crowds.”

MTO/BBC

Bayern Munich Appoints Julian Nagelsmann As New Coach

Sports

Chidi Uduma Nwoke

-

April 28, 2021

0

Bayern Munich have announced that Julian Nagelsmann is to become its new manager, with the Bundesliga champions reportedly paying up to £22 million ($30m) compensation to RB Leipzig to secure the services of the highly-rated coach on a five-year contract.

After learning of Hansi Flick’s desire to walk away from his role at the Allianz Arena when the 2020-21 campaign comes to an end, Bayern wasted little time in getting a successor lined up.

The defending German champions didn’t look far for a top candidate to replace Flick, with Nagelsmann being lured away from domestic rivals Leipzig on a long-term agreement that will begin on July 1. The deal will make the 33-year-old the most expensive coach in history.

Press release: https://t.co/5PBqU2Uqg0

—

NIGERIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND DIGITAL ECONOMY SECTOR: A PARADIGM SHIFT

News Commentary

Mercy Chukwudiebere

-

April 28, 2021

0

An African adage says, “What a nation hopes for is always better than what it has.” Inspired by this maxim, especially in exploring the global communications and digital economy sector, President Muhammadu Buhari on the 21^stof August 2019, appointed a man of letters and deep knowledge in the global cyber spectrum, Dr Ibrahim Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami as the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy. Ever since, the sector has witnessed astounding progress.

Envisaging the rapidly changing global ICT sector which is worth over 11 trillion dollars, Dr. Pantami expanded its mandate to capture the goals of digitalization of the Nigerian economy in line with the government’s Economic Growth and Recovery Plan (EGRP). He reviewed the portfolio of the sector and integrated the digital economy space.

Seeing the rapid transformation in the sector, the President transferred the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. This was in consonance with the 8-pillar agenda of the administration which includes: Developmental Regulation; Digital Literacy and Skills; Solid Infrastructure; Service Infrastructure; Digital Services Development and Promotion; Soft Infrastructure; Digital Society and Emerging Technologies; and Indigenous Content Development and Adoption.

To further achieve this, the Communications Ministry in November 2019 launched the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (2020-2030) aimed at repositioning the Nigerian economy in order to take advantage of the many opportunities that digital technologies provide and to diversify the economy away from dependence on oil and gas.

As part of measures to achieve this objective, the Nigeria Communications Commission, NCC rolled out a new National Broadband Plan for 2020-2025. The new Broadband Plan is designed to deliver data to remote parts of Nigeria to boost digital inclusion. This is to further tackle poverty and illiteracy.

Already, positive impacts have been recorded as broadband penetration has soared reaching 43.3 percent in the last one year from 33.3 percent. The commission waded into the hitherto high cost of data in Nigeria leading to a downward review of the cost of data by at least 50 percent. An intervention that was greeted with widespread commendations cutting across all social strata. The Ministry under Pantami intends to train at least 500,000 youths in various skills.

The most prized ambition of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, is the exploitation of ICT in effectively tackling security challenges in the country. This became necessary, especially considering the number of violent crimes and terrorist acts carried out with the aid of telecom connectivity and devices.

With the array of security challenges in country the ministry, demanded that mobile and smart phone operators’ Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card be registered while unregistered ones are to be disconnected. Furthermore, the Ministry also directed all Nigerians to register for National Identification Number (NIN) with NIMC and connect it to their SIM for effective identification and tracking.

Already, this has achieved far-reaching results as over 50 million Nigerians have been registered with their SIM-NIN connected. On Friday April 23rd 2021, seven projects were commissioned across the six geo-political zones of the country. These include Emergency Communications Centers in Enugu and Abeokuta, three Digital Economy Centers in Abuja, Lagos and Owerri and an ICT hub at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, ATBU, Bauchi.

This brings to a total of over sixty fully functional facilities that drive innovation, entrepreneurship, capacity building, digital job creation and a burgeoning knowledge-based economy. Every state in Nigeria has been a beneficiary of one or more digital economy initiatives, programmes and project.

Going by the latest report of the National Bureau of Statistics and all other indices the current Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr. Pantami has led a revolution in a once nearly comatose sector. Similarly, the sector has been described as the most performing sector in line with global trends.

Under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, security matters, corruption issues and the need to drive the economy into prosperity have taken the front seat.

The mission of the government to lift one hundred million Nigerians out of poverty is definitely on course and the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy remains one of the driving forces for achieving that goal.

Mrs. Uwa Suleiman is the spokesperson of Nigeria’s Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.

Minister receives report of Committee on Defence Reforms

Nigeria

Mercy Chukwudiebere

-

April 27, 2021

0

The committee set up to facilitate the reform of the Ministry of Defence and the Nigeria Armed Forces has submitted its report to the Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magash (rtd).

Receiving the 250-page document from the 21-man Committee headed by retired Air Vice Marshall Usman Mohammed at the National Defence College, Abuja, the Minister said the committee was constituted to facilitate the conduct of fundamental reviews of how Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces could be restructured and managed in the overall interest of the country.

It is the first time the Ministry of Defence is undertaking a comprehensive reforms of the Ministry and the Armed Forces haven’t identified some factors impeding on efficiency of the Ministry and the Nigerian Armed Forces.

Following their inauguration on the 15th of February 2021, the committee went into two months of rigorous deliberations to come up with what would form the basis of reforms for the Ministry of Defence and the Nigerian Army based on their terms of reference.

The Committee Chairman, Air Vice Marshall Mohammed Umaru (rtd), said the conduct of military operations with lapses in some areas have become manifest and the observed systemic inadequacies due to much vulnerability have indicated the need for reforms.

“An urgent action is required for the audits of military, personnel and equipment in all formation of the Armed Forces, application of technology in the conduct of War and the handling of cyber security issues as they affect National Security.

”The enormity of this issues resulted in over 70 recommendations preferred by the committee in his report, knowing that there are usually challenges in actualising reforms, we have grown up strategies for recommendations, with a view to facilitating their implementation,” the Committee Chairman said.

General Magashi said; ”the Ministry is receiving the recommendations which when implemented should enhance the fighting power of the armed forces and boost the morale of troops to put an end to insecurity in the land.”

“The Ministry will carefully look at this recommendation with a view to implementing them for the betterment of all Nigerians. I assure you that we will display the needed more courage to implement the recommendation as contained in the report.

”And I am equally delighted for the proposal that the Nigerian government should conduct, a comprehensive security sector reform to address the deficiency inherent in the Nigerian police and other paramilitary agencies,” the Defence Minister said.

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor in his remarks admitted that reforms were necessary based on the nature of the review and hopes the recommendations would bring some impact for the Armed Forces.

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola lauded the initiative by the Ministry of Defence and hopes to adopt similar strategy.

Mercy Chukwudiebere

Army cautions against sharing of pictures of KILL-IN-ACTION Soldiers on social media

Nigeria

Mercy Chukwudiebere

-

April 27, 2021

0

The Nigerian Army has condemned in the strongest term the indiscriminate sharing on social media of graphic pictures of personnel who paid the supreme price in the cause of defending and protecting the country from its adversaries.

In a statement released by the Public Relations Director, the Army said that the act is not only unpatriotic but very insensitive and utterly reprehensible.

“Officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army deployed to various theatres of internal security operations are on legitimate duties and are in the harm’s way to defend and protect the country from those who are intent on destroying it.

In the course of carrying out this constitutional mandate, troops put their lives on the line to ensure that innocent citizens and institutions of the state are protected from violent criminals, In some cases, these gallant officers and soldiers are meted with the worst form of savagery by the heartless adversaries whose intent is to instill fear on of the citizenry,” the statement said.

It said; ”these unpatriotic acts are often done without any modicum of consideration for the memories of the departed personnel or their family members. In some cases, their loved ones do find out about their unfortunate death in such callous manner before they are even contacted by the military authorities. One can only imagine the trauma and pain such families go through waking up to see the gory pictures of their loved ones splashed on the social media.”

The Nigerian Army therefore said the despicable and unpatriotic act is totally unacceptable and would henceforth take legal actions to protect troops who die in action from being ridiculed on social media or any platform.

Mercy Chukwudiebere

Renewable Energy: Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, KEDCO sign MoU with Konexa

Business and Tech

Amaka Nliam

-

April 27, 2021

0

The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the Kano State Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Konexa, a foreign investor, for the generation, storage and distribution of electricity.

The MoU will see Konexa investing U.S$100 million to, among other things, provide cutting-edge technology in deploying renewable energy. In improving generation capacity, Konexa would be deploying solar power, hydropower, and biopower technologies.

@nsia_nigeria and KEDCO and Konexa just signed US$100 million deal on renewable energy https://t.co/GbEAxSk83h #renewable energy #Nigeria

— NSIA (@nsia_nigeria) April 27, 2021

Pradeep Pursnani, Chief Executive Officer of Konexa, disclosed this at the British High Commission in Abuja, where the MoU was signed.

“The agreement is backed by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and would produce and distribute 10 megawatts of electricity to 30,000 consumers in Kano.

“In this partnership, Konexa will bring investment, provide better service for the customers and help bring the distribution companies to financial health.

“This is important given the situation of the power sector in Nigeria where a lot of the distribution companies are struggling financially even to pay for the power that is provided to them.

“So Konexa, we believe, will significantly help in addressing the power sector in Nigeria,” he said.

According to him, it is important to complete the project by 2022 and be successful in order to quickly replicate the same in other States of the federation.

“I hope that after we deliver in these States we can look at other States across Nigeria.

“Our business model is very replicable and scalable and provides a win-win for all.

“In Kaduna, we will deliver before the end of the year; the investment is around 90 million dollars.

“It is quite small but it is important to start small to prove things before we can scale up.

“In Kano, we are estimating the project cost to be well over 100 million dollars,” he explained.

He said that the company was partnering with Nigerian distribution companies to rehabilitate the distribution network in Nigeria, meter every consumer, and add more generation capacity in order to connect rural areas as well.

The UK Minister for Africa, James Duddridge, who was also at the ceremony commended the move, stressing that the time had come for Africa to deploy alternative but pollution-free sources of energy.

“It is really good to see Africa coming up with innovative ways of producing, distributing, and storing energy for industrial, commercial, and residential use, using innovative financial structures,” he said.

Giving insights into the funding and partnership, Aisha Abba-Kyari, Associate Vice-President at the NSIA said the Kano project was at first a presidential initiative that coincided with the Konexa project.

She said the project was designed to benefit both communities and industrial clusters, adding that NSIA was acting as the funds and project manager.

“We are actually funds and project managers for the 10 megawatts solar power plants in Kano State. It is a presidential initiative, which coincided with KONEXA and KEDCO’s franchise model that they are developing in the same area.

“We are treating this as a pilot project and upon completion, the plan is to redeploy similar projects across the country,” she said.

Speaking with source, the Managing Director of the Kano Electricity Distribution Company, Dr. Jamil Gwamna, described the MoU signing as a great opportunity for KEDCO.

He said the MoU would contribute immensely in addressing one of the biggest challenges of distribution companies just as it would attract capital investment to improve the quality of electricity supply to customers.

“What this partnership is bringing is the investment to increase the reliability and also the quality of supply to our customers.

“We have both the on-grid and off-grid solutions.

“The solar is an off-grid solution, and there are other solutions that Konexa is bringing,” he said.

The signing of the MoU is coming barely three years after Konexa signed an MoU with the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDCO) in 2018 for 10,000 energy connections worth 90 million dollars.

Konexa received a UKAid grant during its early stages and has also been supported by other partners including the U.S., Shell Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation.

Amaka E. Nliam/NAN

The Nigerian Exchange Group: Market index drops by 0.03%

Business and Tech

Amaka Nliam

-

April 27, 2021

0

Gains recorded on Monday in the Nigerian Exchange Group, NGX, (formerly known as the Nigerian Stock Exchange) were erased on Tuesday as the market closed in the red, causing the index to drop by 0.03%.

The market capitalization also depreciated by 0.03% to close at N20.57 trillion as against N20.58 trillion on Monday.

The day’s trading saw a total of 252.57 million shares worth N1.77 billion traded in 3,474 deals.

The market sentiment, however, remained positive on Tuesday despite some losses as there were 23 gainers relative to 16 losers at the close of the trading session.

Top on the gainers’ list for the day was Prestige with N0.04k gain to close at N0.46k, followed by Wema Bank with N0.05k gain to close at N0.62k then Royalex gained N0.03k to close at N0.42k.

Conversely, Chi Plc led the losers’ chart with N0.93k loss to close at N0.3k, while UPL lost N0.11k to close at N1.17k and Chams lost N0.01k to close at 0.21k.

Zenith Bank was the most traded stock of the day at 14,778,247 million shares worth N327,988 million, followed by Guaranty Trust Bank, which traded 15, 890,538 million shares worth N496,427 million.

Amaka E. Nliam

Kenya launches digital land information platform

Africa

Olajumoke Adeleke

-

April 27, 2021

0

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday launched Ardhisasa, a digital land information management system aimed to bring efficiency and transparency to the land sector in the country.
The new system, which marks the end of manual land transactions in Nairobi, was developed by a team of Kenyan techies over a three-year period and is designed to enhance the security of land records, speed up land transactions and curb fraud.
“The full rollout of the program will facilitate the resolution of historical land disputes and guarantee the security and sanctity of your land title deed,” Kenyatta said during the launch of the new system in Nairobi.
Kenyatta said that the digital platform will protect them from exploitation by cartels, middlemen and fraudsters, noting that with the advent of Ardhisasa, missing files, perennial fraud, corruption, and illegal land transactions will be a matter of the past.
He said that the new digital platform will benefit all landowners and potential landowners by providing accurate information required to support the commercialization of land in a convenient and timely manner.
Ardhisasa project also saw the production of Kenya’s first digital topographical map and those of the nation’s 47 counties, as well as a cadastral map for Nairobi City County.
The cadastral map enables the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning to start the process of migration to a unitary regime for land registration in order to curb fraud and cut transaction time.

Edited by Olajumoke Adeleke

HEALTH

ENTERTAINMENT & TOURISM

WORLD

NEWS COMMENTARY

NEWS FEATURE