South African police on Tuesday fired rubber bullets and teargas in clashes with Cape Town township residents protesting over access to food aid during a coronavirus lockdown.
Hundreds of angry men and women fought running battles with the police, hurling rocks and setting up barricades on the streets with burning tyres in Mitchells Plain over undelivered food parcels.
“We have small children. We want to eat. They must also eat,” said a mother Nazile Bobbs.
“They said we are going to get parcels, where (are) the parcels? How long are we (going to be) in the lockdown?”
South Africa is currently in the middle of a five-week lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus which has so far infected more than 2,400 people.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised to provide basics such as water and food supplies to the poorest South Africans.
Many people, especially those working in the informal economy, are unable to ply their trade and have lost income due to the lockdown which came into effect on March 27.
Community leader Liezl Manual said people came out of their homes “frustrated wanting to know” where the food parcels were.
Another resident Denise Martin, said they would “rather die of coronavirus than to die in our homes of hunger”.
China has reportedly approved human tests for two coronavirus vaccines as it battles to contain imported cases and prevent a second wave of COVID-19 in the country.
Al Jazeera's Sarah Clarke, reporting from Hong Kong, said China's National Health Commission also confirmed the trials will go ahead.
The experimental vaccines are being developed by a Beijing-based unit of Sinovac Biotech and by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, an affiliate of state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.
The authorities earlier gave the green light to another clinical trial for a coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by the military-backed Academy of Military Medical Sciences and biotech firm CanSino Bio, shortly after US drug developer Moderna said it had begun human tests for their vaccine with the US National Institutes of Health.
"We can confirm now that three particular vaccines are being tested in China, and the National Health Commission has said it will have to clear a number of conditions before they can enable mass production of the vaccines globally," said Clarke.
The Senate President, Ahmed Lawan and the Speaker of the House of Reps, Femi Gbajabiamila on Tuesday met with President Muhammadu Buhari behind closed doors to discuss the implementation of the National Social Investment Programme, among other issues.
The NASS Leaders demanded for a better process of sending money to Nigerians.
This comes days after a clash between the National Assembly and the Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment Programme, Maryam Uwais, over the need for a reform of the process of implementing the programme.
Uwais had on April 8, responded to criticisms of the programme by the legislature with allegations that lawmakers were criticising the implementation of the SIP partly because some of them tried but failed in their bid to insert the names of would-be beneficiaries.
The National Assembly, however, replied that Uwais should be “receptive to constructive ideas and suggestions expressed to enhance service delivery."
Lawan, who spoke to journalists after the meeting at the State House in Abuja, reiterated the call for reforms in the social investment initiatives.
He said, “This afternoon, we had an engagement with Mr President to discuss with him what we , the leadership of the National Assembly, have resolved and our opinion on various issues regarding the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria and going forward.
“We also believe that it is time to reform the way and manner we implement the Social Investment Programme. This is a very important programme that is to help Nigerians who are poor and vulnerable.
“We believe that, having implemented this programme from 2016 to date , we should be reviewing to evaluate the efficacy and efficiency with which we have been implementing this programme."
The Senate President emphasised the need to have a transparent programme that would go down to the people that deserved the support and an equitable and fair projects as far as the geographical spread across the country was concerned.
Eleven new cases of #COVID19 have been reported in Lagos State. As at 11:00 pm 14th April there are 373 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria. 99 have been discharged with 11 deaths.
The time we are calls for serious caution. Ondo state has recorded another case of the deadly coronavirus disease as a corps member, whose identity has not been revealed has contracted the disease.
It was gathered that the corps member was a medical doctor, having primary assignment, at the 32 Artillery Brigade, Owena Cantonment, and reportedly had contact with the index case.
Confirming the development in a statement, on Tuesday morning, the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Donald Ojogo, said the third victim was a corps member and medical doctor.
He said, ”The third positive case in Ondo State is a medical doctor; he is a Youth Corp member attached to the Army Clinic at the Barracks and had attended to the first index case while he was under observation.
“Mr Governor will today at noon, address the people of the state on further details in respect of this case and provide deeper insights.”
Bello El-rufai, son of Nasir El-rufai, governor of Kaduna State has threatened to file a lawsuit against a journalist, Samuel Ogundipe who tagged him a 'r*pist' over his quarrel with someone on Twitter.
The young El-rufai had at the weekend told someone he was exchanging words with that, 'I will pass you mother to my friend'. But the journalist who wasn't part of the quarrel quickly said those words mean that Bello el-Rufai threatened to gang r*pe the mother of his rival.
On Monday, the young El-rufai threatened to sue Samuel Ogundipe, a journalist with Premium Times, one of the mediums that published the story. He described Mr Ogundipe as a columnist of the opposition party.
“Oh @SamuelOgundipe, our hired PDP columnist, you in particular were the last piece of the puzzle. I assure you that my lawyers will get to you to prove the usage/threat of rape. The onus is on you. I eagerly anticipate the #FreeSamuel hashtag. Thanks for completing the jigsaw.,” he said in a tweet.
Christianity is not practiced with bold face but with wisdom and Real Spiritual Power from the Lord. If you don't have spiritual power as a Pastor, you're still a motivational speaker or at best a teacher of the good news. Those who fail to realize this often pay for it.
A US Pastor, Gerald Glenn, who defied warnings about the danger of religious gatherings during the Coronavirus pandemic and vowed to keep preaching “unless I’m in jail or the hospital” has died of the dreaded virus weeks after contracting the disease.
The Bishop Glenn of Richmond, New Deliverance Evangelistic Church held packed church services, despite a state order limiting public gatherings to no more than ten people.
Unfortunately, Glenn, 66, died on Saturday night, according to Bryan Nevers, a church elder.
Reacting, Mr Nevers said, "The first thing I asked God is, ‘Why?’ ” Mr. Nevers said. “The bishop has touched our lives in so many ways.”
Mother Marcietia Glenn, 65, the bishop’s wife, also tested positive for the virus, Mar-Gerie Crawley, their daughter, said in an April 4 post on the church’s Facebook page. Ms. Crawley said at the time that her father was on a ventilator at the hospital.
“It becomes very real to you,” Ms. Crawley said on Facebook. “I just beg people to understand the severity and the seriousness of this, because people are saying it’s not just about us, it’s about everyone around us.”
The President of the Nigerian football body has said the Federation will help the country’s fight against Covid-19.
Amaju Pinnick disclosed the NFF has been doing a lot behind the scenes after the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development released an awareness video on Covid-19 that featured past football icons and Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa.
“Behind the scene, we do quite a lot. We are going to support some of these centres even if it is buying some tubers of yams. We have to do that. Covid-19 is something that nobody expected," he said while speaking on Channels TV.
Since the confirmation of its first case in February, Nigeria has recorded 323 cases of the coronavirus.
Tory Lanez has called out IK Ogbonna for trying to steal his show on his IG Live video.
The rapper who has become famous for his IG live videos made a special announcement where he gave the Nigerian actor a warning asking him to stop posting the Nigerian flag he was flooding his page with.
The Canadian rapper said; ''Special announcement, maybe the most special announcement all day, IK Ogbonna please stop posting the same f**king flag."
But IK won;t let Tory control him, and despite not being his page, he went ahead to post more!
An angry Tory then went on to call him out again, saying;
''IK Ogbonna you're still throwing up same flag. We know you're repping for your city, but please stop.''
Some people that wnet on to dig said the rapper has now blocked the Nollywood actor.
The first lady of Kaduna State, Hadiza El-Rufai has chastised her son, Bello, for allegedly, in his tweets, threatened to r*pe the mother of a twitter user.
Mrs El-Rufai, who was earlier attacked for taking side with her son on Sunday, apologised saying that having gone through her son’s tweets again, she had had a conversation with him.
She said she would never condone s*xual abuse in any shape or form.
What started as a political debate when Bello El-Rufai described US President Donald Trump as incompetent over his handling of COVID-19 pandemic later degenerated into personal attacks that included ethnic slurs between Bello and some tweeter handlers.
Consigliere had alleged that Trump was more competent than President Muhammadu Buhari and Bello’s father, the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai.
Bello fired back at Consigliere thus; “Tell your mother I’m passing her to my friends tonight. No Igbo sounds please! Tueh”.
Mrs El-Rufai, who was tagged in some of the tweets, stated that; “All you people talking about @B_ELRUFAI, Don’t @ me. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind. All is fair in love and war. My belief: Respect everyone, but take no … from anyone. I didn’t see any threats of rape. I would never condone that.”
The First Lady later tweeted;
“When I posted the tweet below, I assumed it was just the usual Twitter gbas-gbos. Having read the tweets chronologically, I have had conversations with Bello. Never ever should s*xual abuse be employed as ammunition in public/ private exchanges, no matter the provocation.
“I can see how my tweet may have come across, and I apologise to those who were offended by it. I say once again, that I’d never condone s*xual abuse in any shape or form.”
A Nigerian researcher, Professor Ayodele Israel Adeleye, has disclosed that he had found the Coronavirus cure and is ready to treat 5 people for free if the government would allow.
The former lecturer with the Department of Microbiology, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Zaria, said there was a three-day window for the coronavirus cure discovery, just as he assured that if adopted, the current lockdown world over due to the ravaging scourge would end.
The Guardian reports that the parasitologist said:
“If the government brings in five people with COVID-19, I will treat them for free, right in front of your cameras.”
Adeleye, who resigned from the ABU to pursue private research projects in medical sciences, assured Nigerians that “the COVID-19 cure is real and the next after God in terms effectiveness.”
He insisted that it takes between three and five days to cure the patient completely of the disease.
“If the world adopts my cure, the lockdown in the world will end,” the don added.
On the success of his clinical trial for the cure, he said: “The only luck we have is that someone who had COVID-19 was brought to us and cured.
“About five people, including my former students who knew me with research, have been calling and asking if I have something to cure COVID-19.
“One of the patients was having breathing problems already and he took the treatment. In 10 minutes he was already getting better.
“We told him that this is new, we cannot assure you how long it will give you immunity, so stay quarantined and keep social distancing.”
Senator Ben Murray Bruce shared new photos with his daughter looking cute and some guys on his page are telling him that she's 'Ripe' and they want to date her...lol.
Check out few of the funny reactions...
@Oputa
Sir, I appreciate the fact she’s pretty, I have a good future, I will like to date your daughter.
@Pwetysofty
She’s beautiful, I mean she has to be anyways.
‘Omo baba olowo’❤
@Nwoke
A father’s love for her daughter. Love, so great.
Can i be your in-law
@Emogho
Trouble dey sleep……. complete the statement.
@Prince44
Hmmm she is beautiful no doubt but did the beauty match her character n attitude that’s all.
At least 116 people cleared of the virus have tested positive again, raising among people and questions for authorities in South Korea.
The number of such relapse cases more than doubled from 51 reported last week, even as officials suggested they would soon look at easing strict recommendations aimed at preventing new outbreaks.
Officials are seriously investigating the cause of the relapse.
Some experts said faulty tests may be playing a role, or remnants of the virus may still be in patients' systems which could be very dangerous.
The Northern States Governors’ Forum on Monday met to discuss the impact of coronavirus in the region.
The meeting, which was conducted via teleconference and chaired by the forum’s Chairman, Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State, shared experiences on measures adopted by individual states to deal with the disease.
A statement by Lalong’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Dr Macham Makut, on Monday stated that after receiving reports from various states, the governors resolved to strengthen preventive measures against the pandemic through enhanced boundary controls and surveillance, as well as greater collaboration to ensure that there was a synergy among them in restriction of movement.
The statement said, “They (northern governors) agreed that at the moment, each state would adopt the measure suitable to its setting because total lockdown of the region will come at a very high cost since most of its citizens are farmers who need to go to farms since the rains have started."
Popular Nigerian athlete, Blessing Okagbare has filed for divorce from her husband, former Super Eagles player, Igho Otegheri due to alleged irreconcilable differences.
The couple who relocated to the United States after their marriage 6 years ago, have gone their seperate ways amid allegations of infidelity, laziness and other issues.
Sources disclosed that Blessing Okagbare initiated the divorce process which has led to rows of face-offs between members of their families. The professional athlete's family is reportedly yet to return the bride price to her estranged husband's family.
Recall that the couple got married in Sapele, Delta State in November 2014 in a wedding ceremony which was attended by family, friends and loved ones.
A 93-year-old woman got many laughing online after making a rather spirited appeal for alcohol.
As a pensioner and vulnerable to coronavirus, Olive Veronesi is staying in her Pennsylvania home around the clock.
But due to warnings that elderly people should not even go out for food, Olive ran out of beer and didn’t know what to do, reports Sky News.
She couldn’t head out to any shops to pick up supplies like others might because, at her age she’s more vulnerable to the disease than most.
So instead she had to get creative when thinking up how she could get her hands on more beer.
Olive ended up going viral on Facebook with the idea she came up with.
Standing at the window of her home, she held up a sign which said: ‘I NEED MORE BEER!!’
The grandma finally achieved her objective, with several people offering to go and get her the much needed Beer.
The Central Bank of Nigeria says interested stakeholders must meet its set criteria to access its N50bn intervention loans for small and medium scale enterprises.
The CBN introduced the N50bn Targeted Credit Facility as a stimulus package to support households and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and guidelines to access the funds.
To access, it stated that, “Eligible households or MSMEs shall submit applications directly to NIRSAL Microfinance Bank; and the application must, among others, contain BVN number, business registration (where applicable) and business plan with clear evidence of the opportunity or adverse impact as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.
“NMFB shall appraise and conduct due diligence applications; upon satisfactory appraisal of application, NMFB shall forward the applications to the CBN for final approval; and CBN reviews applications and gives final approval for disbursement to NMFB.”
The bank stated that eligible participants were households and existing enterprises with verifiable evidence of business activities adversely affected as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; and enterprises with bankable plans to take advantage of opportunities arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Activities covered under the guidelines include agricultural value chain activities, hospitality (accommodation and food services), health (pharmaceuticals and medical supplies), airline service providers, manufacturing/value addition, trading, and any other income generating activities as may be prescribed by the CBN.
It stated that the eligible participating financial institution for the scheme was NIRSAL Microfinance Bank.
The CBN said the loan amount would be determined based on the activity, cashflow and industry/segment size of beneficiary, subject to a maximum of N25m for SMEs; and households could access a maximum of N3m.
It stated that working capital would be a maximum of 25 per cent of the average of the previous three years’ annual turnover (where the enterprise was not up to three years in operation, 25 per cent of the previous year’s turnover would suffice).
It added that interest rate under the intervention would be five per cent per annum (all inclusive) up to 28th February 2021 and thereafter, the interest on the facility would revert to nine per cent (all inclusive) as from 1st March 2021.
The regulator stated that working capital would be for a maximum period of one year, with no option for rollover, while term loan would have a maximum tenor of not more than three years with, at least, one year moratorium.
It stated that the collateral to be pledged by beneficiaries under the programme must be acceptable by NIRSAL MFB, but may include any one or more of others which are moveable assets duly registered on the National Collateral Registry; simple deposit of title documents, in perfectible state; and deed of debenture (for stocks), in perfectible state.
The police in Bauchi State have announced the arrest of three suspects in connection with the abduction and killing of a 15-year-old boy.
The victim, Sadiq Suleiman, was a Senior Secondary School 2 pupil.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Kamal Abubakar, who confirmed the incident to Punch Metro in a telephone interview, said, “We received a report of the case of kidnapping from a complainant and our men swung into action.
"We were able to arrest three suspects in connection with the crime and they are undergoing investigation. We will charge them as soon as we conclude our investigation.”
It was gathered that the suspects are the victim’s neighbours and abducted and killed him after collecting N5.5m ransom from his parents.
The father of the deceased, Dr. Mohammed Suleiman, who spoke with journalists said, “On Thursday, April 2, 2020, the suspects called me on the telephone and asked if I was the father of Sadiq and I answered in the affirmative.
"They told me that they abducted him and asked for N10m and that if I didn’t bring the money, they would kill him.”
Mohammed said after ending the call, he called his wife and asked her where Sadiq was and she searched the house but could not find him.
He stated, “I am one of the medical doctors selected to be part of the task force fighting coronavirus in the state, so I drove back home. After two days, the abductors called me again and asked me to give them N7m.
“Then, they sent me three different account numbers and asked me to deposit the money in the accounts, which I did. So, they told me that after evening prayer around 7pm, I should go and take my son at Inkil village. Later, they called me and asked me to go to Kangere, near some churches, that I would see my son. I went there with my brothers and searched for the boy, but we didn’t see him.
"We came back and I received a call from the police that they had arrested three suspects in connection with the incident. They asked me to come and see them, because they confessed that they were responsible for kidnapping my son.
“When I went there, I found out that one of them bought a brand new Mercedes Benz car for N2.3m; the suspects also bought three phones, each costing N160,000.”
Mohammed said the police told him on Friday that the suspects had killed his son, adding that they took the security agents to the place where his remains were buried.
He added, “The police invited us to the scene, where the abductors buried my son, and the grave was dug and his body was found in it; we took it to the hospital, where a doctor certified him dead.
“The doctor said in his report that Sadiq was stabbed in the neck and the assailants also hit him with something in the head. We retrieved his body, which was buried according to Islamic rites.”
In their reaction, Doctors in the state say it is depressing that while they are putting their life on the line to save people, some will be out killing their children.
The Lagos State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Musiliu Akinsanya also known as MC Oluomo, has said members of the union caught engaging in crimes during the coronavirus lockdown would be dismissed and prosecuted.
MC Oluomo disclosed this on Monday in a statement via his verified Instagram page while imploring his men to endure the season.
Cases of robbery and banditry have increased in the last few days with Lagosians forming vigilante groups and making bonfires to survive each day.
The NURTW boss said members apprehended at crime scenes would be prosecuted and dismissed while urging them to assist to obey the stay-at-home order of the government.
The statement read in part, “The NURTW Chairman enjoined all members to endure for the time being otherwise any member caught either attached to robbery or caught at the scene of the act will be totally dismissed and prosecuted by law.
“MC Olumo advised members, including motorcycle and tricycle riders, popularly called Okada and Maruwa to adhere to the federal and state governments’ orders as regards the lockdown on movement.
“He also implored all members especially the branch chairmen to be vigilant and assist their various communities in combating the daylight robberies that are currently being reported in different areas.
“He pleaded with them to stay indoors because it is for the general good.”
Sources say many of the boys arrested have link with NURTW either as conductors, agberos or touts.
