Powerful storm wreaks havoc in South America

The powerful storm Iota has claimed at least 11 lives as it swept over parts of Central and South America.

The death toll includes six victims in Nicaragua, two in Colombia, one in El Salvador and one in Panama, according to official figures.

A person was also reported to have been killed in Honduras, though the death has not been officially confirmed.

Iota struck Nicaraguas Caribbean coast on Monday as a Category 4 hurricane, with winds of 250 kilometres per hour.

It later weakened and was downgraded into a tropical storm.

The storm was on Wednesday dissipating over El Salvador, though it is still expected to bring rains to parts of Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua and El Salvador through Thursday, according to the US National Hurricane Centre.

This rainfall will lead to significant, life-threatening flash flooding and river flooding, along with mudslides in areas of higher terrain, the statement said.

High waves were also expected to affect much of the Central American coast and Mexicos Yucatan Peninsula.

Iota caused widespread damage in Nicaragua, where it destroyed homes and bridges, felled trees and electricity posts and disrupted telecommunications, especially around the city of Puerto Cabezas.More than 60,000 people were evacuated.

In northern Honduras, Iota worsened the damage that had already been caused by hurricane Eta two weeks earlier.

Nearly the entire infrastructure on the Colombian island of Providencia was destroyed and thousands of families lost their homes.

A low pressure area could now appear in the south-western Caribbean, the Hurricane Centre warned. (dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

COVID-19 Online Emergency Response

Harrison Arubu
Public schools in New York are to close for in-person learning from Thursday due to a statewide surge in COVID-19 cases.

The citys Schools Chancellor, Richard Carranza, conveyed the directive in an email to school principals on Wednesday.

Carranza said the decision was taken because the infection rate average over the last seven days had reached the 3-per-cent closure threshold.

He stated that classrooms would hold remotely during the shutdown, while all school buildings would remain closed until further notice.

He added that please note that this is a temporary closure, and school buildings will reopen as soon as it is safe to do so.

I know that for many of you, this decision to close schools that we recently opened will be disappointing, and I understand.

But by confronting the challenges together, we can continue to fight back against COVID-19. I am confident that before long, we will be able to safely reopen schools.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that New York has the largest school system in the United States, with 1,800 schools and no fewer than 1.1 million students.

The latest shutdown is coming barely two months after the schools reopened, following the first closure in April when the city became global coronavirus epicentre.

In a tweet, Mayor Bill de Blasio sued for understanding and cooperation from parents, noting that we must fight back the second wave of COVID-19.

The U.S. is currently experiencing a second wave of COVID-19, reporting no fewer than one million new cases last week.

It remains the hardest-hit country with no fewer than 11 million cases and 255,000 deaths.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

Alhaji Nura Kangiwa, Director-
General, National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR)

By Priscilla Osaje

The National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) has restated its commitment to collaborate with the Chinese Embassy, to enhance staff capacity building for effective service delivery.

A statement by Mr Ahmed Sule, Deputy Director, Media and Public Relations of NIHOTOUR, said.

The statement said that the Director-General of NIHOTOUR, Alhaji Nura Kangiwa, stated this during a courtesy visit to the office of the Economic and Commercial Counselor, Mr Wu Lyufan, at the Chinese Embassy in Abuja.

Kangiwa said that the collaboration with the Chinese Embassy on building the capacity of the Institutes staff would help to enhance their performance in delivering the Institutes mandate of providing personnel training for the Nigerian Travel Tourism and Hospitality industry.

He observed that China has a global reputation in manpower training and development, particularly its skills acquisition and hands-on-training, which NIHOTOUR would be delighted to benefit from.

The NIHOTOUR boss reiterated the commitment and resolve of the Federal Government to revitalise all sectors of the economy, in the light of the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, saying that the travel, tourism and hospitality sub-sector was hardest hit by the pandemic, due to restrictions placed on the movement of people globally.

Since its establishment over three decades ago, NIHOTOUR has trained over 10,000 certified International Air Transport Association (IATA) personnel in the nations Travel and Tourism industry. It has also attained the best IATA training centre status in Africa and among the top 10 best IATA training centres globally.

The institute will do better if its staff receive training and retraining to upscale their knowledge, in line with new global skills and innovations in personnel training for the travel tourism and hospitality industry, he said.

Responding, Mr Lyufan expressed pleasure over the visit, stressing that his office would do everything possible to secure training slots for NIHOTOUR staff in China as soon as the embargo placed on training due to the Covid-19 pandemic was lifted.

He said Chinese Government, as well as the people of China, were keenly interested in the culture and traditions of Nigeria, as such they welcomed the cultural interface between the two countries and exchange of training programmes.

According to him, Chinese people were great travelers and would like to make Nigeria their preferred tour destination, in view of its rich cultural heritage and vibrant traditions which are strong tourism attractions.

The Counselor pledged to continue to offer all necessary support to NIHOTOUR, based on the cordial relationship that already exist between the Embassy and the Institute. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Emmanuel Antswen

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN) says over 30,000 persons will benefit from the ongoing National Survival Fund Program(NSFP) in Benue.

The NSFP Manager in the state, Mr Oryima Alu, who is also the Point of Contact, National MSME Survival Fund in the state, disclosed this in Makurdi during a town hall meeting with leaders of artisans and transport scheme operators.

Alu said that over 30,000 people would benefit from the various components of the Survival Fund Program.

Giving the breakdown, he said a total of 13,000 would benefit from the payroll support for MSMEs, 5,000 from general MSME grants, 6,606 from formalization support while 9,000 from artisans/transport grants.

Alu said the allocations for the state across the various components wereinadequate following the large number of people in each category but he said there was a possibility of expanding the program

He said the town hall meeting was meant to educate the people on the benefits of the program, explaining that the entire program was free.

Alu also said the component dealt directly with grants that would go to artisans and transport cadres, most of whom were members of associations that were not aware of the benefits of the program.

He said each of the artisans and transport support beneficiaries would earn N30,000 for three months.

The essence of this meeting is to sensitize relevant stakeholders that have roles to play in creating awareness about Federal Government programs for MSMEs

The concern of government is to provide critical and timely support that can improve conditions of living for every Nigerian, mostespecially, following the lockdown necessitated by COVID-19, Alu said.

Earlier, the Principal Special Senior Assistant to the governor on MSMES, Mr Emmanuel Donghdongh assured that the Survival Fund Program would not be hijacked in the state.

Donghdongh explained that the program was aimed at supporting small scale businesses to improve their lot.

He said though the support was small, it must get across all the target groups adding that all registration and processing of the entire program were free.

Speaking to NAN, a participant, Mr Ahmed Musa, State Secretary, Nigeria Automobile Technician Association said over 1,000 of his members would apply for the scheme.

Musa said the funds would help them to procure tools and he commended the Federal Government for remembering the poor in the country. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Victor Okoye

Tunisia and Mali have joined 2019 finalists Senegal, holders Algeria as well as hosts Cameroon as the qualified teams for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

This was after both picked favourable results in match day four games.

Tunisia progressed in spite of a 1-1 draw with Tanzania in Dar es Salaam, while Mali went through after a 2-1 victory away to Namibia.

In Tanzania, the Carthage Eagles moved to 10 points on top of Group J after four matches and preserved their unbeaten run.

Tanzania moved to third with the point, getting to four points and two behind second-placed Equatorial Guinea to keep their qualification hopes alive.

A second half charge by the Taifa Stars earned them a point, with substitute Feisal Fei Toto Salums screamer cancelling out Saif Eddine Khaouis first-half opener.

Tunisia went into the break a goal up, Khaouis goal the difference between the two sides.

Khaoui had struck the back of the net with a well-taken first-time shot after being teed up by skipper Youssef Msakni.

TheCarthage Eagleshad quickly turned play around after Tanzanias DItram Nchimbi who failed to control a long ball, chesting it to Ali Maalouls path who launched the play forward.

The Tunisians were gifted for a positive start to the match and before the goal, Msakni had struck the upright after Tanzanian goalkeeper Aishi Manula came off his line.

But he failed to pick the ball, gifting the Tunisian skipper with a golden chance.

The North Africans continued running rings around their hosts and controlled massive possession.

Wahbi Khazri came close in the 21st minute but his snap shot from inside the box was wide.

In the 24th minute, Khaoui came close to doubling his and the teams tally but his brilliant shot off a cheeky Khazri backheel pass rattled the crossbar.

The Tanzanians made an early change, Salum coming on for Himid Mao, a change geared to improve the Taifa Stars creativity in midfield.

The home side came from the breather like a new team and it only took them two minutes to get to level terms.

A cross from Nchimbi on the right was chested down by John Bocco with Salum striking a first-time effort that flew into the net from range.

Tanzania kept pushing and had another chance in the 53rd minute, Nchimbis header from a corner-kick bouncing just wide.

Tanzanias fight was almost nipped in the bud when Khaoui broke into the box from a Msakni pass.

But he could not connect with his shot well, with goalkeeper Manula making a save.

The home side continued their fight and with a quarter of an hour left came close, but were denied by Ben Mustapha who tipped over Msuvas curling effort for a corner-kick.

The Tunisians finished the game on a high, and had a chance with two minutes left on the clock but Msaknis shot from a tight angle was saved by Manula much to the relief of the Tanzanians.

In Windhoek, Mali went top of Group A and booked a ticket to Cameroon after a 2-1 win over hosts Namibia.

Sekou Koita and Moussa Doumbia scored the goals for Mali while Namibias consolation was scored by Elmo Kambindu.

The victory takes the Malians top of the table with 10 points, two ahead of Guinea who dropped to second.

Namibia remain third with just three points off one victory.

The visitors were the dominant side in the opening half and deservedly went into the break 2-1 up.

Koita had given them the lead after 12 minutes with a brilliant left foot shot from the edge of the area after being teed up by Alliou Dieng.

The MalianEagleswere enjoying themselves, passing the ball around the park with utmost ease, but often failed to make the possession count for goals.

But, they were 2-0 up 37 minutes in when Doumbia doubled the lead with a well-taken goal, beating the goalkeeper at his near-post after some swift step-overs took him beyond Larry Horaeb on the left to break into the box.

But the two-goal cushion lasted just two minutes, with the Namibians halving the deficit through Kambindu who rose highest at the back-post to head in beyond the goalkeeper from a free-kick.

In the second half, Mali were still in control and should have sealed the victory in the 58th minute, but El Bilal Toure saw his penalty kick saved by the goalkeeper.

Namibia piled on the pressure in the final half hour of the game, but could not get anything to lift them off the ground. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Racheal Abujah

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, says Nigeria istaking steps to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030.

Ehanire said this on Tuesday in Abuja during the global launch to eliminate cervical cancer.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria is one of the countries that endorsed the Global Call to Action on Cervical Cancer in May, 2018.

This translated into the passage of a resolution calling for elimination of cervical cancer by 2030 and the adoption of a strategy to deliver on the objective in August, 2020.

Ehanire said the ministry recognised the role of prevention strategies in the elimination of cervical cancer, adding that this informed the collaboration with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI).

The initiative, he said, was to implement a UNITAID-funded Secondary Prevention of Cervical Cancer project with awareness, screening and see and treat precancerous lesions of 430,000 women in Kaduna, Lagos and Rivers states in the pilot phase.

This programme has kicked off with training of different categories of health care workers to provide the required workforce in the three states.

We are working to ensure wide accessibility and availability of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine by 2021.

This will target our young girls and boys to eliminate Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) which is known to be responsible for over 70 percent of Cervical Cancer cases, he said.

The minister noted that prevention strategies were geared toward reducing the number of cervical cancer cases.tT

The ministry, he added, was currently upgrading some of the dedicated tertiary health facilities to provide advanced specialised diagnostics and treatment, including radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

He disclosed that the development of a National Hospice and Palliative Care policy to address palliative care needs of patients would be launched in the first quarter of 2021.

In his remarks, the Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora, said that the ministry was expanding access to cancer care services across the country.

According to the minister, Nigeria is strongly committed to achieving WHOs global target of 90 per cent coverage of HPV vaccination of girls, 70 percent coverage of screening and 90 percent treatment of cervical cancer by 2030.

In his speech , Dr Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director/CEO, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said he was excited to be witnessing the historic formal launch of the Global Strategy for Elimination of Cervical Cancer .

Shuaib said it was a great opportunity to save women and girls from preventable cancer that had been a public health concern.

As a physician and ED/CEO NPHCDA, my team and I have spent the greater part of our career working to eradicate diseases of public health concern by improving vaccination uptake through health education and community engagement in order to control preventable diseases.

Recently, Nigeria was certified polio free.

In the Polio Eradication Initiative through the EOCs, we focused on the highest-priority interventions while improving coordination and managing the programmes overall performance with the use of accountability and cutting-edge technology.

This remains a major gain to Nigerias health system. The centralised command-and-control units adequately prepared and allowed us to manage disease outbreaks, he said.

Shuaib said the agency was able to plan and execute effective vaccination campaigns with heightened public awareness and result-focused performance management in the fight against polio.

He disclosed that cancer accounts for the high rate of deaths among Nigerians, adding that more than 72,000 people die annually as a result of the ailment.

Cancer accounts for more deaths than malaria, HIV and tuberculosis combined in developing countries.

Of all the different forms of cancers in Nigeria, cervical cancer remains the most frequently reported and the leading cause of cancer death among women. Yet, cervical cancer is preventable.

In Nigeria, women play critical role in supporting families and building our community.

Women also contribute immensely in the economic, social, cultural and educational sectors of lives.

The role of women in Nigerias development cannot be overemphasised.

The global launch of the Global Strategy to Accelerate Elimination of Cervical Cancer provides a clear path.

Everyone can be committed to achieving WHO global target of 90 percent coverage of HPV vaccination, 70 percent coverage of cervical screening and 90 percent treatment of cervical cancer by 2030.

In line with the WHO global strategy on the elimination of cervical cancer, the NPHCDA and the FMoH are working closely to introduce a routine HPV vaccination into the national immunisation routine in 2021, he said.

In his goodwill message , the WHO Representative in the country, Mr Kazadi Mulombo, said that cervical cancer is a leading cause of maternal mortality in the country.

The world has come in unison to eliminate this monster.

WHO applauds the efforts of government at all levels in its agenda of making vaccines available in the routine immunisation schedule,he said.

NAN reports that over 60 monuments were lit to symbolise the elimination of cervical cancer the world over.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

Over 50 die of strange disease in Kogi, Assembly seeks for help

By Friday Idachaba

The Kogi House of Assembly has called on State and Federal Ministries of Health to unravel the cause of the strange disease which has killed 50 persons in Olamaboro Local Government Area of the state.

The House made the call at Tuesdays plenary sitting in Lokoja following adoption of a motion on Urgent Public Importance, raised by Anthony Ujah (APC-Olamaboro), over the strange illness that has claimed over 50 lives.

According to the lawmaker, the unknown disease comes with symptoms such as headache, red eyes, loss of appetite, inability to urinate or defecate, convulsion and death.

Ujah said that the residents of Etteh Community in the local government area have been thrown into confusion by the outbreak of the alien disease.

He maintained that the cause or nature of the disease is still unknown, adding that infected persons die within one week of contracting the disease.

More worrisome, according to him, is that all efforts to get solution using local herbs and treatment at primary health centres with referrals to clinics and hospitals in neighboring Ogugu and Okpo have been unsuccessful.

The reports reaching my constituency office from the community leaders confirmed that over 50 people between the age of 25 and 40 years have died since September, he said.

Seconding the motion, Edoko Moses Ododo (APC-Dekina/Biraidu), said that the people of the community now live in fear.

He said that urgent steps need to be taken to save their lives as the disease can adversely affect the economic input of the agrarian community.

Supporting the motion, Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Mohammed, submitted that the community shares boundary with Enugu State and efforts should be made to urgently avert further loss of lives.

Mohammed prayed that the State Government should establish a Hospital in Etteh Community to prevent or tackle future occurrence of such epidemic and other health challenges.

The Speaker of the House, Prince Mathew Kolawole, later asked for a minute silence in honour of the deceased.

He directed that a letter be sent to the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja, for immediate support and assistance. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Skills Acquisition

By Abbas Bamalli

The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) says it has trained and empowered over 6,500 women and youths on various skills acquisition programmes in Kano State from January to date.

Alhaji Iliyasu Ahmed, NDE Coordinator in the state, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Kano.

Ahmed explained that no fewer than 1,320 participants were trained in January, under the Basic National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (B-NOAS), while another 2,200 were trained since then.

He said that the scheme, which was part of the federal governments efforts to reduce unemployment, had also trained over 500 women on Cosmetology through the directorates Vocational Skills Development (VSD) programmes and the participants were able to produce over 20,000 face masks.

The women have already established their own businesses and are doing very well; besides training them on how to produce, we also taught them on how to package.You know that for any product to be accepted in the market, packaging is very important. Therefore, they learned enough and their business is growing, Ahmed said.

The NDE coordinator further said that under the Rural Employment Promotion (REP) department, the agency conducted an orientation and training for 50 participants on sustainable agricultural schemes.

100 participants trained last year have been provided with loans of various sums to start agriculture businesses and farming, he further said, while citing another 50 participants trained through the NDEs Graduate Attachment Scheme implemented bythe directorates Special Public Works (SPW) department.

Through the graduate attachment, I am proud to inform you that over 150 of the participants have secured permanent and pensionable employment with various organisations.

Also, another 16 graduates are presently participating in the programme, which began in November and will last till December, he said.

Ahmed said that over N30 million was expended on the Micro Enterprises Enhancement Scheme of the NDE Small Scale Enterprises Department , noting that between January to date, 3,000 people, mostly women, with small businesses, had benefited from a N10,000 grant each, to enhance their businesses.

He added that under the extended SPW, NDE in Kano has completed the recruitment of 44,000 unemployed youths for another federal government empowerment scheme. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

AU commited to providing education for youths commissioner

By Ibukun Emiola

Prof. Sarah Agbor, the Commissioner Human Resources, Science and Technology, African Union (AU), says the union will continue to facilitate education among African youths.

She spoke in an interview at the 72nd Foundation Day and Convocation ceremony of the University of Ibadan.

She said the youth that constitute 70 per cent of the continents population needed good education for development.

Agbor said AU would keep on pushing to realise the right goals and would get the right things done for Africa.

Our youths are our demographics dividends, they constitute more than 70 per cent of our population.

So, if we dont give competencies and skills for the future of work, who else can do that and it is only through education that this can be done.

We believe in education and the power of education to transform the world and leads us to sustainable development for the Africa we want by 2063 because tomorrow belongs to those who prepared for it today, she said.

Agbor noted that the union came up with a continental strategy called the Continental Education Strategy for Africa embedded in the 50 years blueprint of Agenda 2063 divided into five phases of 10 years each.

Each of this phase has continental strategy that we must put in place to improve early child education development, higher education, curriculum development.

We need to change our curriculum to address the future of work so that we do not have graduates with certificates but they do not have jobs. They become job seekers rather than being jobs creators.

Then, we have STEM Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics these are very important to the future of work.

You speak of digitisation, science technology innovation their foundation must be on STEM.

Then we have ICT, the transformation that we are talking about Virtual education and so on we put on ICT.

We also have higher education, lifelong learning and the culture of reading, Africans must learn how to read we hardly read.

All our lives we like to watch videos on internet and so on we need to change that paradigm, she said.

The AU commissioner also said Africa Union is set to bridge digital divides and invest in green energy to promote remote learning.

Source: NAN News

Hanging rope

By Joy Akinsanya

An Abeokuta High Court on Wednesday sentenced a 39-year-old mechanic, Musiliu Owolabi, to death by hanging for killing his lover, Miss Afusat Idowu.

The Chief Judge of Ogun, Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu, convicted Owolabi on a count charge of murder.

She held that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Owolabi was guilty as charged.

Dipeolu noted that murder contravened the provisions of Section 319 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Ogun, 2006.

Earlier, prosecution counsel, Mr James Mafe, said that the convict committed the offence on Feb. 1, 2018, at Camp area of Abeokuta.

Mafe said that the convict took Afusat to a hotel for pleasure, adding that shortly after, she complained of stomach aches.

The convict took her to his vehicle.

On his way, he noticed she was dead and he secretly took the deceased to an uncompleted building, dug a shallow grave and buried her without disclosing to anybody.

The convict was arrested when a younger brother of the deceased went to a police station to complain that his sister who told him she was going for a naming ceremony at Bode Olude area, never returned, the counsel submitted.

He said that during an investigation, the police discovered that the convict was the last person who spoke with the deceased.

On his arrest, he made a confessional statement to the police and took a police team where he buried his lover, Mafe added.

NAN reports that the convict was arraigned on Nov. 12, 2019.

He had pleaded not guilty. (NAN)

Source: NAN News