The Africa Cup has been postponed by one year due to the coronavirus pandemic and is now to be held in Cameroon in January 2022.

The African football confederation (CAF) said on Tuesday.

After consultation with stakeholders and taking into consideration the current global situation, the tournament has been rescheduled for January 2022, the CAF statement said.

The date for the final tournament and the remaining matches of the qualifiers will be communicated in due course.

The tournament was originally scheduled to run from Jan, 9 to Feb. 6, 2021.

The Africa Cup had been moved back to the winter months at the beginning of the year due to the better weather conditions.

The 2019 tournament was still played in the summer to better harmonize with the schedule of the major European leagues.

The previous tournament in Egypt, in which 24 teams took part for the first time, was won by Algeria. (dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

COVID-19 updates by NCDC

Nigeria has recorded 490 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 24,567, the NCDC said on Sunday.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) made this known via its Twitter handle.

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The NCDC said that 130, 154 samples have been collected from 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Gabriel Yough

Taraba Government has declared three-day public holidays to enable residents of the state participate in the local government council poll slated for June 30, 2020.

The holiday would be observed between Monday June 29 and Wednesday July 1.

This was contained in a statementby Alhaji Hassan Mijinyawa, Chief Press Secretary to Gov. Darius Ishaku, on Monday in Jalingo.

The public holiday is to enable civil servants to travel to their respective wards and vote during the local government election slated for Tuesday, June 30, 2020.

The governor also urged people of the state to be orderly, law abiding and conduct themselves peacefully while discharging their civic responsibilities, he said.

Meanwhile,a coalition of Civil Society Organisations under the auspicesof Eyes on Democracy of Nigeria (EDON) has activated a situation room to monitor the election to ensure that it was free, fair and credible.

Alhaji Muktar Madaki, the StateEDON Chairman,in a statement onMonday, said that a comprehensive report on the electoral process would be made after the election.

We have been observing the preparations by Taraba State Independent Electoral Commission (TSIEC) and we are so far satisfied with the preparations.

It now behoves on the people to come out in large numbers to exercise their franchise as responsible citizens.

We are also calling on security agencies to be civil during the conduct of the election and operate within the ambit of their engagement in regards to electoral matters.

We also call of TSIEC to ensure that the election is credible, peaceful, free and fair, he said.

Source: NAN News

Over 1,200 people have been placed under a 14-day quarantine in Sri Lanka for failing to wear face masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The virus infected over 2,000 people in the country, the police said on Monday.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Ajith Rohana said that 1,217 people were arrested from the Western province for failing to wear masks in public places over the weekend.

Recently, Rohana said those who fail to wear face masks in public places will be penalised and legal action will be taken for violating health guidelines.

While the virus had been contained in Sri Lanka, the threat from it remained, he said.

Sri Lanka has detected 2,037 positive patients, out of which 1,678 patients have recovered and been discharged, while 11 deaths have been reported.

On Sunday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksas office announced that a night curfew which was imposed from midnight to 4 a.m. was lifted completely due to the containment of the COVID-19 outbreak.

President Rajapaksa said in a statement on his official Twitter account that with zero community spread of COVID-19 for over two months, it had been decided to remove the night curfew completely.

However, he urged people to follow the health guidelines by wearing face masks in public, and maintaining social distancing and hand hygiene.

Be responsible, be safe and keep others safe, the president said. (Xinhua/NAN)

Source: NAN News

fire

Active firefighting efforts are underway on an area of 165,831 hectares across Russia, where 246 wildfires are raging, with the countrys Far East being worst hit, official data showed on Monday.

Fires have engulfed 41,284 hectares on the Chukotka Peninsula, 40,262 hectares on the Kamchatka Peninsula and 36,140 in the Magadan Region, the Russian Federal Aerial Forest Protection Service said in a statement.

Wildfires have also been reported in Siberia, the Transbaikal Territory, and some other regions.

The firefighting efforts are involving 3,340 people, 512 pieces of equipment and 45 aircraft.

More than 530 wildfires on an area of over 20,000 hectares in Russia have been put out over the last seven days, it added. (Xinhua/NAN)

Source: NAN News

China on Monday said it would impose visa restrictions on U.S. citizens as tensions rise over Hong Kongs autonomy, state media reported.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Beijing would impose visa restrictions against Americans with egregious conduct.

The move was in response to Washingtons earlier announcement on visa curbs on Chinese officials believed to be responsible for undermining human rights and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong.

However, the development was unfolding as China prepares to approve a controversial law concerning national security in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

The law, which would curb political protest and dissent in Hong Kong, is pending approval by the National Peoples Congress Standing Committee, a top legislative body.

According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, the Council of Chairpersons, a group of 16 senior lawmakers, heard a report on the draft law.

The council submitted the draft for review and possible vote by the standing committee, which could approve the law by Tuesday, at the end of a three-day session.

The national security law targets secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces in Hong Kong.

However, critics said its purpose was to quash dissent in the financial hub, which had been roiled by protests for some years.

The South China Morning Post quoted anonymous sources as saying the law would carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. However, the draft had yet to be seen by Hong Kong residents and even lawmakers.

The secrecy surrounding the law had prompted criticism from pro-democracy activists.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Bar Association has called the law unconstitutional.

A previous attempt by Hong Kong leaders to impose national security legislation failed in 2003 after thousands of Hong Kong residents protested against it.

This time, Beijing circumvented Hong Kongs legislature when the National Peoples Congress in May passed a resolution empowering the standing committee to introduce national security legislation directly into Hong Kongs Basic Law.

The legislation is expected to be approved before July 1, which marks the 23rd anniversary of Britains handover of Hong Kong to China.

The law would also see the establishment of mainland Chinese security agencies in Hong Kong.

The citys Chief Executive, who must answer to Beijing, would be empowered to decide which judges could hear trials for state security cases.

The U.S. has threatened sanctions against Chinese officials and against foreign financial institutions conducting transactions with them.

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate passed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, which calls for sanctions against individuals found to undermine the citys autonomy from China. The legislation is set to move to the House of Representatives.

Hong Kong is guaranteed a certain degree of autonomy from mainland China until 2047 under the one country, two systems agreement reached by China and Britain in 1997.(dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

Shareholders of Transcorp Hotels Plc have unanimously approved the companys plan to raise the sum of N9.9 billion through a rights issue.

The shareholders gave the approval at the companys Extra-Ordinary General (EGM) in Lagos on Monday and streamed live due to coronavirus.

Specifically, the shareholders mandated the companys board of directors to issue up to 2,659,574,468 ordinary shares of 50k each from its unissued share capital by way of rights issue at N3.76 per share.

The rights issue would be on the basis of seven new ordinary shares for every 20 ordinary shares of 50k each held by existing shareholders of the company.

They also authorised the directors to appoint advisers and professional parties necessary for the transactions contemplated in the rights circular, upon such terms and conditions that the directors may deem appropriate.

The shareholders authorised the board of directors to take all actions as they might deem necessary or advisable to effect the purpose and intent of the foregoing resolutions.

According to them, this include without limitation the approval of the basis of allotment, allocation of proceeds of the shares issued, filing of any required documentation with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the Corporate Affairs Commission or any other regulatory authorities.

Mr Emmanuel Nnorom, the companys Chairman, who spoke at the meeting, said the rights issue was still subject to obtaining requisite regulatory approvals from the SEC and other regulatory authorities.

Nnorom who commended the shareholders for their support and encouragement, assured them of enhanced value creation.

Transcorp Hotels Plc is one of Africas leading hospitality companies, committed to redefining service standards across the continent while remaining truly and authentically African.

Source: NAN News

Hameed Ali, NCS Boss

The Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) Strike Force Team, Zone A has generated N1.1 billion through the raising of Debit Note in the past six months.

The Assistant Comptroller of the team, Abba Kakudi said on Monday in Lagos that the amount was realised from Jan. 1 to June 11.

He said that they were able to bring in the amount in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic which affected movement of goods.

The official gave the breakdown of the monthly debit note paid as: January N142,121,156, February N275,644,911, March N191,594,005, April 282,288,359, May N120,061,743 and June 1 to June 11 N92,994,353, all totalling N1,104,704,527.

Kakudi said that in the fight against smuggling, the teams operations led to seizures with a Duty Paid Value of N46, 596, 300.

He listed the seized items as: 1, 000 bags of 50kg rice with a DPV of N13, 252,300; 10 used vehicles (Tokunbo) with DPV of N31, 184, 000 and 30 bales of second hand clothing with a DPV of N2, 160, 000.

In the last two weeks or thereabouts, we have given a hard chase to smugglers who were desperate to unleash economic dislocation in the country and our efforts have continued to yield results with the renewed vigour of our men.

It is important to say that in order to help the economy to grow, there is no need to import what we can produce here in Nigeria or bring in prohibited items.

It is worthy to note that the Federal Government has encouraged a lot of rice farmers in the country, where local rice is produced in large quantity and even healthier than the foreign rice.

Traders should therefore avail themselves of this opportunity to market our indigenous products in such a way as to grow the economy maximally, he said.

Kakudi said that in a bid to police the smugglers from bringing in prohibited products, the team faced a lot of dangers.

He said that sometimes, the smugglers were armed with machetes, charms and other dangerous weapons.

This ugly situation is experienced more around the creeks where inhabitants mobilise some of their underaged people against us, to the extent of calling us names as well as some stoning us, all in a bid to make/secure seizures, the official said.

He appealed to those who believed that smuggling was very lucrative to desist from it as the task force was always a step above them in all their plots and strategies.

A smuggler is an economic saboteur and such trade cannot be the best means of livelihood due to inherent dangers as well as losses to those behind it.

Above all, smuggling ruins the economy of any nation, he said.

Kakudi said that a lot of incentives had been provided by the Federal Government to revamp the economy and should be allowed to have the desired effect.

He urged importers to stop aiding and abetting the ugly trade because a vibrant economy meant stability for the nation and its citizens.

Kakudi appreciated the Comptroller General, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) for his support.

Source: NAN News

Tree planting

The Jigawa Government has nursed 2.5 million tree seedlings to be planted during the 2020 tree planting campaign to combat desertification in the state.

The spokesman of the state Ministry of Environment, Mr Zubairu Sulaiman, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse on Monday.

Sulaiman said the seedlings would soon be distributed to residents for free to plant in their farms and homes.

He explained that some of the seedlings would be planted along both state and federal roads in the state.

He added that some would also be planted at governments premises like hospitals and schools among others.

According to him, the 2020 tree planting campaign would be launched in July in all the 27 Local Government Areas of the state.

Sulaiman said the project was part of the governments efforts to reduce the menace of erosion and desertification across the state.

Source: NAN News

who

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has provided the timeline of COVID-19 response activities for general information from December 2019 when China reported the virus till date.

WHO, in a statement issued from its headquarters in Geneva on Monday, stated that the agency would update the timeline on a regular basis and in light of evolving events and new information.

The timeline covered a media statement issued on the 31of December, 2019 picked from Wuhan Municipal Health Commission to June 26 when the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator was published.

According to WHO, it will continue to provide update on the timeline on a regular basis, unless noted otherwise, country-specific information and data are as reported to WHO by its Member States.

This timeline supersedes the WHO Rolling Updates and WHO Timeline statement published in April 2020. It is not intended to be exhaustive and does not contain details of every event or WHO activity.

It said that as of June 29, the following milestones and events focused on COVID-19 have taken place:

The Director-General and Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme have held 74 media briefings.

The Director-Generals opening remarks, transcripts, videos and audio recordings for these media briefings are available online.

There have been 23 Member State Briefings and information sessions.

EPI-WIN, WHOs information network for epidemics, has convened 60 technical webinars, making available 287 expert panellists to more than 13,500 participants, from more than 120 countries and territories, with representation from as many as 460 organisations.

TheInformation Network for Epidemics (EPI-WIN)seeks to give everyone access to timely, accurate, and easy-to-understand advice and information from trusted sources on public health events and outbreaks: currently the COVID-19 public health emergency.

The OpenWHO platform has had more than 3.7 million enrolments, about 80 per cent of which are in COVID-19 courses.

The UN health agency said free training was available on 13 different topics translated into 31 languages to support the coronavirus response, for a total of 100 COVID-19 courses.

It said that WHOs landscape of COVID-19 candidate vaccines listed 17 candidate vaccines in clinical evaluation and 132 in preclinical evaluation.

In addition to the selected guidance included below, all of WHOs technical guidance on COVID-19 can be found online here.

Source: NAN News