The UN Refugee Agency, on Wednesday, said there was currently no suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 infections in any of the refugee camps in Tanzania’s western region of Kigoma. “However, preventive measures have been adopted in line with guidelines from Kigoma regional authorities,’’ the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Dar es Salaam told Xinhua in an email. According to UNHCR’s latest statistics, Kigoma region’s Mtendeli, Nyarugusu and Nduta refugee camps are sheltering over 200,000 refugees from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The UNHCR said in a statement that preparations were also underway…
Author: ACNN TV
The Federal Government on Wednesday set up a committee of industry stakeholders to advise it on the best way to mitigate the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic on the creative industry. Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made this known on Wednesday during a meeting with the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria, BON. Mohammed also announced the appointed members of the committee, noting that the industry needs a collective and government-supported approach in dealing with the immediate, short and long term solutions to mitigate the effect of the pandemic on the sector. He said that the Government has decided…
Morocco has rapidly expanded its fleet of drones as it battles the coronavirus pandemic, deploying them for aerial surveillance, public service announcements and sanitisation. “This is a real craze. In just weeks, demand has tripled in Morocco and other countries in the region,” said Yassine Qamous, chief of Droneway Maroc, African distributor for leading Chinese drone company DJI. Moroccan firms have been using drones for years and Qamous says it “is among the most advanced countries in Africa” for unmanned flight, with a dedicated industrial base, researchers and qualified pilots. But restrictive regulations have long limited civilian drones to specific…
Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel has criticised the reopening of markets while Churches remain closed in Nigeria. As part of measures to stop the spread of coronavirus virus, the Nigerian government banned religious gatherings till further notice. However, Oyedepo on Wednesday morning during the Covenant Hour of Prayer programme of the Church held at its headquarters in Otta, Ogun State, broadcast live to members, said the continuous closure of churches was suspicious. According to him, the Lord revealed to him that it was part of moves to stop the church of God from expanding. “I can smell a rat…
The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, has said that the number of coronavirus cases in Africa has risen to over 49,000 in the past 24 hours. The UN health agency gave an update on its official Twitter account on Wednesday morning. According to the tweet, COVID-19 has killed over 1,900 people on the continent, while more than 16, 000 patients have recovered. “Over 49,000 confirmed #COVID19 cases on the African continent – with more than 16,000 associated recoveries & 1,900 deaths,” it said. The WHO African Region COVID-19 dashboard showed that South Africa is…
Another set of Britons, no less than 304 of them were on Tuesday evacuated from Nigeria through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, by the United Kingdom (UK) government. The UK citizens, including 21 crew members were airlifted at about 4:45 pm local time by a British Airways Boeing B747, with registration mark BAW 9156, to Heathrow Airport, London. British High Commissioner, Mrs Catriona Laing, said the final batch of the airlift would take place on May 8. Since the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria, the UK has evacuated a total of about 1,699 citizens from Nigeria. The…
A petrol tanker has reportedly spilt its contents at the River Niger Bridge, Onitsha Anambra state. The truck was said to have hit the edge rail of the bridge while attempting to make a U-turn on the bridge. The State Sector Public Education Officer, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Pascal Anigbo, confirmed the incident, saying the Fire Service has already been contacted while the FRSC officials were at the scene controlling traffic. He said: “A petrol tanker has just hit the edge rail while attempting to make a U-turn on the River Niger bridge. “Fuel from the tanker is spilling…
The Emir of Daura, Alhaji Umar Farouk Umar, was on Tuesday night hospitalised at the Intensive Care Unit of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Kastina State. The Nation gathered from a reliable source he was rushed unconscious to the hospital after suffering from high blood pressure. His words: “It’s true the Emir of Daura was rushed to FMC for high blood pressure, he was unconscious when he was taken to the hospital yesterday night, and some people even thought whether he had passed on.” The Nation reports Governor Aminu Bello Masari two days ago sealed the Daura palace to…
Action star Tom Cruise is working on a movie shot in outer space, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has said. “NASA is excited to work with @TomCruise on a film aboard the @Space_Station!,” NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine wrote on Twitter. “We need popular media to inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists to make @NASA’s ambitious plans a reality,” Bridenstine added. He gave no details but the tweet followed a report in Hollywood trade outlet Deadline that Cruise was working with Tesla and SpaceX entrepreneur Elon Musk to make what would be the first feature film to be…
The Foreign Affairs Ministry has said 265 Nigerians will arrive in Lagos from Dubai on Wednesday amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement on Tuesday, ministry spokesperson, Ferdinand Nwonye, said the Emirates Airlines tasked with the transport is scheduled to arrive at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos. Over 4,000 Nigerians are waiting to be evacuated across the world back home, foreign affairs minister, Geoffrey Onyeama said on Monday. Discussions are also ongoing with British Airways to evacuate 300 Nigerians from London on Friday. Additionally, arrangements are being made with Ethiopian airlines to evacuate Nigerians from New York to Abuja next…