Iranian state TV today confirmed that 194 people have died from the killer coronavirus and 6,566 are now infected in the Islamic Republic.
As the Persian New Year approaches, the Health Ministry warned Iranians to avoid large gatherings and stay at home, as fears of the spreading bug intensified.
Regime spokesperson Kianush Jahanpur said 49 people died from the disease today, while 743 people have been added to the total number infected.
Meanwhile, Iran Air has suspended all flights to Europe until further notice, the official IRNA news agency reported, citing the Civil Aviation Organisation.
No mention was made of coronavirus as a cause by the company, which instead cited 'restrictions' imposed by European authorities for 'unknown reasons'.
The Los Angeles Lakers are set to battle it out with fellow home team the Clippers during Sunday night's game.
And Chrissy Teigen and husband John Legend were clearly feeling the aura of excitement at the Staples Center, when they were spotted sharing a kiss courtside.
Prior to the game, Chrissy and John purchased a pair of candy bars from a young entrepreneur selling the confections outside the stadium.
Legend took his time with the young child, who appeared star struck by the pair.
With chocolate bars in hand, the Love Me Now singer and his wife happily entered the jam packed stadium.
Chrissy got cozy, nuzzling her head into John's neck, while they waited for the game to begin.
Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott are officially back together, it's claimed. The on/off couple rekindled their romance several weeks ago but don't want to put a label on it, TMZ reports .
And while they don't want to be completely official, they apparently sleep under the same roof on the regular and aren't seeing anyone else.
They split in October last year and their time apart is said to have done wonders for their relationship as they had some space from each other.
It might not come as a surprise to their fans as the pair have dropped several hints that they're back on track.
They celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas together and constantly enjoy shared quality time with their two-year-old daughter Stormi.
Both of them attended her recent birthday party and the trio took a trip to Disney World together back in January.
It was the first time they'd been spotted together since before their breakup.
Last week she shared a string of cute photos of the two of them on her Instagram stories, dropping a huge hint they're back together.
She posted pictures of the two of them at a basketball game back in 2017, the first time they'd ever been picture together.
"It's a mood," she gleefully captioned the pictures - sending fans into meltdown.
Actress, Jaiye Kuti, has vehemently kicked against the notion in some quarters that actresses are immoral people.
She told Sunday Scoop, “That is not true. I am part of the industry and I have friends there as well. It is totally unacceptable to say that actresses don’t have morals. We have people that are of good moral standing.
However, a lot of people that came from nowhere all in the name of wanting to be actresses, are now there. So, doves have been mixed with chickens. Some of these people (that engage in immoral acts) were not even part of us originally.
I crossed over from English movies to acting in Yoruba films, yet I still had to go and meet the elders to formally tell them that I wanted to be part of them. I did that so anybody wouldn’t ask me where I was coming from.
It’s just unfortunate that some people with questionable characters have joined the industry and we don’t know where they came from. But, when such people start to misbehave, the public categorises everybody as one but we are not.
“Even at that, our elders are still doing everything possible to reach those people and talk to them. Efforts are ongoing to sanitise the industry.”
Nigerian singer and Grammy Award-nominee, Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, known as Burna Boy, on Sunday shared good news to his dedicated fans over the Gold plaque received in France.
The Gold plaque was given to him for garnering 15 million streams in France via his 2019 hit single titled ‘On The Low’.
According to Burna Boy, the song went Gold in France without any promotion by his team.
He said: “On the low” went Gold in France without any radio push or promo. Love every single one of you that streamed it over 15m times.”
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said fuel would become cheaper and more environment-friendly in Nigeria once the Ajakuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline, billed to commence in the second quarter of 2020, is completed.
The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Malam Mele Kyari, stated this on Sunday at the 41st edition of the Kaduna International Trade Fair, holding in Kaduna.
He said with the AKK project, environment-friendly fuel would be used to power most of the moribund textile companies in Kaduna and Kano states, thereby reviving the companies and creating job opportunities for the teeming youths.
“Upon completion, we envisage that the AKK project would get gas, a cheaper and more environment-friendly fuel to power most of the moribund textile companies here in Kaduna and Kano, thereby reviving them and creating job opportunities for our teeming youth,” he said. Kyari, who was represented by the Managing Director, Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC), Eng. Ezekiel Osarolube, commended the Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KADCCIMA) for organizing this year’s Trade Fair and introduced the corporation’s latest products; the Nitro and Rhino ranges of engine oils.
“The Nitro range of engine oil is for petrol-fired engines while the Rhino range is for diesel-fired engines. They are specially blended to enhance the performance of your engines and give them long life,” he said.
The GMD said the NNPC was currently transforming from a traditional oil and gas entity into an integrated energy outfit with interest in power generation and transmission.
“The decision to diversify into the power sector is hinged on the need to bridge the huge energy gap in the Nigerian market. The corporation is also engaged in development of renewable energy to, overtime, create low-carbon economy and link the Oil and Gas Sector to the Agricultural Sector,” he said.
Khloe Kardashian is no stranger to giving everyone a look into her life, from family issues, relationship dramas to her fitness journey and her beloved daughter, True.
The reality star has been documenting her life for over a decade on the E! hit show Keeping up with the Kardashians.
On Friday , Khloe w ent behind the camera as she filmed her daughter True Thompson playing with her cousins North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm West at a family play day.
Khloe and True seemed to be having a great bonding session.
Khloe is seen smiling and looking happy in the photos she uploaded on her Instagram.
The 35-year-old reality TV star shared adorable photos of her and True cuddling and kissing , as well as videos of her nieces and nephews playing and sharing toys while North, six, danced and smiled for the camera.
Ed Sheehan is planning to have five children with his wife Cherry Seaborn - and has already mapped out space on his body for tattoos of their palm prints.
The 29-year-old Shape Of You singer tied-the-knot with childhood sweetheart Cherry in 2018 and has now got his sights set on creating a huge family.
Chart topping star Ed is already well known for his wild collection of tattoos which include a dramatic lion face across his chest and comic book style wording on his arms.
But now he has come up with a design of five circles which he has already had inked onto his back - with the plan being that prints of his children’s palms will fill the holes once they are born.
“Ed comes from a large Catholic family and he wants to have a house full of kids,” a close friend blabbed to the Mail On Sunday.
“He has had five intertwined circles put on his back that look a bit like the Olympic rings. He wants to put a tattoo of a palm print into each circle,” the source claimed.
Ed has faced ridicule for some of his bizarre tattoo choices in the past - however most appear to have significant meaning behind them.
d and Cherry began dating in 2015 - before announcing their engagement in 2018.
The happy couple swapped vows in front of friends, family in January 2019 - while Ed’s manager previously suggested the star has a strong desire to start a family.
“He won’t sit still for long. He’s not the holiday sort. But things may change – he could have a young family relatively soon,” manager Stuart Camp told Music Week in 2018.
A mum with two young children has died after undergoing laser fat removal surgery in a bid to surprise her husband.
Luz Dary Silva died due to complications in the laser lipolysis in the city of Barrancabermeja, in Colombia.
The victim’s sister, Nidia Patricia Silva, says 29-year-old Luz decided to undergo the surgery because she wanted to surprise her husband on a holiday to Spain.
She reportedly paid 4 million Colombian peso - about £900 - for an offer at the Cardio Fitness clinic which included removing the fat from her abdomen, hips and back as well as making her six-pack more defined and lifting her bottom.
Laser lipolysis sees localised fat deposits reduced surgically and does not use suction.
The day after undergoing the surgery she began suffering from diarrhoea and was taken to the San Nicolas clinic with low blood pressure .
Her sister added that “her skin was black,” which was reportedly caused by a bacteria infection.
She was then transferred to the intensive care unit of the Magdalena Medio hospital but died three days after the surgery.
An autopsy will determine the cause of death and the results have not yet been released.
Doctors confirmed to local media that the bacteria she had in her body had spread and they speculated this had caused her death.
The Cardio Fitness clinic is certified by the Health Department to carry out the procedures Silva underwent and released a press statement saying they are investigating the case.
The victim's children are seven years old and four months old.
The case is currently with prosecutors but it is unclear if an investigation has been launched.
Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner are looking more and more alike all the time, and their latest snap shows that they're basically twins at this point.
The sisters posed in their bikinis by the pool in a photo Kim, 39, shared with her 162million Instagram followers.
They showed off their matching figures, with both of them sporting eye-wateringly tiny waists and their trademark curvy bottoms.
Kylie, 22, faced away from the camera and looked up at the sky while wearing a brown bikini with bardot sleeves.
She closed her eyes and soaked up the sun as she sat with her back to her older sister.
Kim's body was facing away for the camera but she turned her neck around to look directly down the lens.
The mum-of-four donned a black bikini and wore her long black locks loose down her back.
The duo were sitting in the garden of one of their plush mansions which featured a huge grey sofa around a firepit.
"Yin and Yang," Kim captioned the post, no doubt a comment on how similar they are.
And her followers couldn't help but comment on how alike the reality TV stars look.
One commented: "Y'all look like the same age lol you're amazing Kim."
Ciara has been forced to cancel a concert due to coronavirus fears. The singer, who is pregnant with her third child, has released a statement explaining that she can't go through with the Texas gig on doctor's orders.
She had been due to perform at the opening of the new Fort Hood USO on March 19 but it has been pushed back to later this year, though no new date has been confirmed yet.
Ciara, 34, said: "With the continued spread of the coronavirus throughout the U.S., as a pregnant woman, my doctors have advised me to limit travel and large group gatherings.
"I am disappointed I won't be able to return this month to the place where I was born, Ft. Hood Texas, and put on the amazing show we had planned.
"I urge everyone to be diligent in taking steps to stay healthy and safe."
Nigeria’s vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo is 63 today.
To ring in his special day, his wife of many years revealed they started a prayer at midnight at home, Writing on instagram, Mrs Osinbajo revealed...
“Praise at midnight to our God Almighty, Faithful, Merciful, Gracious. Receive our praise O Lord in Jesus name for another year by Your special grace.”
“God bless you on your birthday and forever my special treasure. 🎂. As your days, so shall your strength be in Jesus name, amen”.
Then she followed up with a black and white photo, showing the couple romantically schmoozing on a chair, with the accompanying caption: God bless you on your birthday and forever my special treasure. 🎂. As your days, so shall your strength be in Jesus name, amen.
Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been consulted by the South Africa’s government to help rescue the nation out of recession.
South Africa is currently experiencing economic downturn as it entered its second recession in two years, and Okonjo-Iweala is the woman the nation has consulted to help rescue it from the shackles of recession.
Statistically, South Africa said the economy shrank 1.4 per cent in the fourth quarter, following a revised 0.8 per cent contraction in the third quarter. Agriculture declined 7.6 per cent, transport 7.2 per cent, construction 5.9 per cent, electricity 4 per cent and retail 3.8 per cent, the data showed.
The former minister tweeted on Saturday, saying that she met with President Cyril Ramaphosa, and members of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council in Pretoria to discuss the way forward.
“With President Ramaphosa, members of cabinet, and members of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council in Pretoria discussing sources of growth for the South African economy and win-win economic interactions with the continent,” she tweeted.
A US cruise ship hit by coronavirus was given permission late Saturday to dock, while New York announced a state of emergency as confirmed cases across the country surged past 400.
The fast-spreading virus has already spread to 30 US states, killing at least 19 people, while the American capital announced its first case on Saturday and citizens were coming to terms with public events being canceled across the country.
The Grand Princess cruise ship has recorded 21 COVID-19 infections on board — 19 crew and two American passengers — out of 45 people tested.
Authorities ordered the vessel to remain at sea off the coast of San Francisco, where it was due to dock Saturday following a 14-day trip to Hawaii, after it emerged that a passenger on a previous voyage had contracted the virus and later died.
The vessel will instead go to nearby Oakland on Monday and begin disembarking passengers in need of “acute medical treatment,” vessel owner Princess Cruises said in a statement.
The ship’s crew will be quarantined and treated aboard the ship, the company added.
Around half of the vessel’s 1,100 crew hail from the Philippines and several are among those diagnosed with the virus, according to Princes Cruises.
Vice President Mike Pence, who is managing the US government’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, said earlier that all 3,533 passengers and crew would be tested for coronavirus and quarantined if necessary.
Further south in Los Angeles, passengers aboard another cruise ship were told they must remain on the vessel overnight.
The order came after a woman was taken off the Carnival Panorama cruise ship to be tested for the virus, the Long Beach Post reported.
At least six people were killed in the collapse of a hotel used as a coronavirus quarantine facility in eastern China, the Ministry of Emergency Management said on Sunday.
Rescuers retrieved 43 people from the rubble, of whom 37 are still alive, the ministry said on its firefighting department’s social media account.
The coastal city of Quanzhou has recorded 47 cases of the COVID-19 infection and the hotel had been repurposed to house people who had been in recent contact with confirmed patients, the People’s Daily state newspaper reported.
Video posted by the firefighting department showed rescuers putting a surgical mask on children as they were pulled from the rubble of the six-storey Xinjia hotel, including a twelve-year-old boy and another much younger child.
Rescuers were also shown spraying disinfectant on each other as part of “strict decontamination” between shifts.
Footage published by local media, purportedly from security cameras across the street, showed the hotel collapsing in seconds.
Other videos circulating on the Twitter-like Weibo platform showed rescue workers combing through the rubble of the hotel in the dark as they reassured a woman trapped under heavy debris and carried injured people to ambulances.
The building’s facade appeared to have crumbled to the ground, exposing the structure’s steel frame.
Nine people escaped from the hotel on their own at the time of the collapse, the Ministry of Emergency Management said.
The building’s first floor has been undergoing renovation since before the Lunar New Year, and construction workers called the hotel’s owner minutes before the collapse to report a deformed pillar, the ministry said.
The building’s owner has been summoned by police, and local authorities are still determining whether it was the renovation or an original structural issue that caused the collapse, according to the ministry.
At the time of the collapse, 58 people who had recently been in regions hard-hit by COVID-19 were being quarantined in the hotel, and all had tested negative for the virus, local newspaper Quanzhou Evening News reported Sunday.
More than 800 commanders and 750 medical staff have been deployed in rescue efforts, along with 20 ambulances, the ministry said.
China’s National Health Commission also said it was sending eighteen medical experts from the nearby cities of Fuzhou and Xiamen to Quanzhou.
Building collapses and deadly construction accidents are typically blamed on the country’s rapid growth leading to corner-cutting by builders and the widespread flouting of safety rules.
At least 20 people died in 2016 when a series of crudely-constructed multi-storey buildings packed with migrant workers collapsed in the eastern city of Wenzhou.
Another 10 were killed last year in Shanghai after the collapse of a commercial building during renovations.
Former Manchester United striker, Dimitar Berbatov, is delighted seeing Odion Ighalo making an instant impact, adding further that the Nigerian exploits has forced him to eat his words.
The 30-year-old was a divisive figure within the football community, as some suggested his arrival was an act of desperation on the path of United while, others believed his signing might have a Cantona effect at the end of the day.
Berbatov, was part of those skeptics, unconvinced about the Shanghai Shenhua striker, but, after his recent goal-scoring exploits, the Bulgarian looks quite happy to indict himself.
“I’m really happy to see that Odion Ighalo is settling in well and he deserves it with the way he is playing, how he links the plays and the goals he is scoring,” he told Betfair.
“All the team are happy when he scores which shows he is fully integrated, and I like the way he looks for the ball and bullies the defenders.
“I’ll be honest, I didn’t know too much about him before he joined, obviously I knew about his record in the Premier League, but I questioned if he was the right man and if he would get into the team, but so far he is doing well and proving me wrong.
“When you need to play more direct in a game you need a presence in the box, a guy who knows how to get onto the end of a ball, bully the defenders and win the ball.
“Ighalo can do that, but he can also play, is technically good as well, he can keep the ball and give it to his teammates and get into the box, that’s why I like him.
“He doesn’t just stay in the box and try to head the ball. He is linking really well with others and that shows in the team’s performance when he is involved.”
Four Nigerian church elders held a Sunday service in their burnt church building on February 23, 2020, two days after Boko Haram militants abducted some of the church’s female members and set fire to the building.
The terrorists’ rampage had destroyed churches, homes, schools and businesses, in the Christian village of Garkida in Gambi Local Government Area of Adamawa State on February 21.
Heavily-armed militants stormed into the Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN—the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) during a women’s fellowship meeting and kidnapped some of the Christian women and left the building a burnt out shell.
A local Christian leader said that, in spite of their anguish and shock, the pastors decided to continue to meet together to show that “‘church’ isn’t the building razed down, but the Christians living – the Christian body is the church”.
On the day of the attack, the jihadists approached the village in Adamawa State “in about nine trucks, and more than 50 motorcycles carrying at least two persons on each,” a local eyewitness told Barnabas. The attack lasted around six hours, during which two other churches were also set alight, a local market looted, a health centre burnt down and two ambulances destroyed.
Former Nigerian Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, took part in a prayer rally for peace, on Sunday, February 23. “Lord, as your people, we bring confession of the needless bloodshed, killings, and attacks by the dreadful Boko Haram insurgents, banditry and the spate of kidnappings and all kinds of evil in various parts of the country. Lord, we plead for your forgiveness, mercy, and cleansing of the land,” he prayed.
The number of attacks by Islamist militant groups has sharply increased, since April 2019. Christians in Nigeria are on high alert, calling for urgent prayer against the onslaught of Boko Haram attacks against them.
Meanwhile, American faith leaders met with representatives of Nigerian communities devastated by Boko Haram and Fulani tribesmen as well as key figures within the Buhari administration as part of a fact-finding mission to investigate reports of escalating insecurity in the West African country.
Johnnie Moore, an evangelical communications executive and president of the Congress of Christian Leaders, and Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights group, traveled to Abuja on February 17 and met with dozens of victims of terrorism from five different Nigerian provinces for three days.
“After our journey there, we want the world to know that you haven’t heard half of it,” the faith leaders said in a joint statement. “The terrorists’ aim is to ethnically cleanse northern Nigeria of its Christians and to kill every Muslim who stands in their way.”
In addition to victims, the two met with the chiefs of staff for both President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as part of their quest to determine the severity of the situation. They also met with four Muslim leaders.
Their trip came as thousands have been killed by Boko Haram (an Islamic militant group in Nigeria’s northeast with a splinter faction that has claimed allegiance to the Islamic State) and radical Fulani herdsmen who have in recent years increasingly raided predominantly Christian farming villages in the country’s Middle Belt.
Gbajabiamila congratulates Osinbajo on his 63 birthday described him as a very courageous and dependable person.
In a congratulatory message, the speaker who has known the vice president for decades said Osinbajo personifies humility, sagacity, courage, forthrightness, sincerity and patriotism.
According to him, “Our Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, who is marking his 63rd birthday today, is someone very dependable in all ramifications.
“Apart from being a reliable human being, the VP is one of the most honest people I have come across in my life. I make bold to say that the VP has qualities worthy of emulation by other Nigerians.
“On his 63rd birthday, I wish Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo continuous good health and God’s protection.”
