Bed occupancy level in Lagos COVID-19 care centres reduces to 46% (Guardian)
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, says the bed occupancy level in the state’s public and private COVID-19 care centres has reduced to 46 per cent.
Abayomi made this known through his verified Twitter account @ProfAkinAbayomi, on Friday while giving the state’s COVID-19 update for Feb. 10.
According to him, from December 2020, there was an increase in bed occupancy at the state’s COVID-19 public and private isolation and treatment centres.
He, however, said from the beginning of February there had been a decline in bed occupancy rate at both private and public COVID-19 Lagos Care Centres. Read more
Sanwo-Olu, Fashola canvass investment in abattoir business (Nation)
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, Senator Gbenga Ashafa on Friday commissioned the new semi-mechanised abattoir for cow and goat under the Public-Private Partnership in Bariga.
Sanwo-Olu in his address expressed excitement over the completion of the project which was facilitated by Alhaji Olayiwola Niniola.
He said, “This is a clear example of ‘can-do’ spirit and I must commend Alhaji Niniola for transforming this place. Looking at the state of how this abattoir was years ago, it was such an unpleasant sight but now it is now looking good.”
While calling on more private investors to contribute to the red meat value chain especially in Lagos state, he promised to do another additional improvement in terms of development of Bariga environs. Read more
Lekki tollgate: Youth rep, Rinu, pulls out of Lagos #EndSARS panel (Punch)
Rinu Oduala, a youth representative on the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry probing alleged killing of #EndSARS protesters by soldiers at the Lekki toll gate last October has stepped down from the panel.
She made the disclosure on Friday in a piece, ‘Let’s stay the course of justice, partial wins are not enough’.
The activist, who faulted the planned reopening of the Lekki toll gate, maintained that justice has not been served to victims of the Lekki shootings of October 20, 2020.
The PUNCH had reported that the panel, last Saturday, decided to hand over the tollgate back to its operators, Lekki Concession Company, after forensic experts submitted their report on the October 20, 2020 incident. Read more
247 Suspects Arrested In Ebonyi In 2020 – NDLEA (Independent)
The Enonyi Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has said that it arrested 247 suspects in the state in 2020.
Mr Umar Adoro, State Commander of the agency made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday at its state office in Ntezi, Ishiellu Local Area of the state.
Adoro said the figure was still recorded in spite of the restriction on social and economic activities due to COVID 19 nationwide lockdown. Read more
NBA sues Buhari over IGP Adamu tenure extension (DailyTrust)
The Nigerian Bar Association has started legal action against President Muhammadu Buhari over his extension of the Mohammed Adamu’s tenure as inspector-general of police.
Buhari, Adamu and the Police Service Commission are named as respondents in the suit FHC/L/CS/214/2021 filed by NBA’s public interest litigation committee before the Federal High Court in Lagos.
NBA wants the court to determine the constitutionality of Buhari’s extension of Adamu’s tenure as IGP for three months after Adamu on February 1 attained the mandatory 35 years in service.
It said it is guided by an urgent need and sacred duty to reassert the supremacy of the rule of law in the face of growing impunity and the seeming reluctance of Law Officers in Government to give proper counsel. Read more
Pastor Adeboye dedicates Kidney Dialysis Centre to mark 40th ordination anniversary (Vanguard)
The Redeemed Christian Church Of God (RCCG), through its Christian Social Responsibility (CSR) arm – His Love Foundation (HLF) – has dedicated a Kidney Dialysis Center at the Pastor Enoch And Folu Adeboye Intensive Care Unit at the Health Center, RCCG Camp, Mowe, Ogun State as part of its Christian Social Responsibilities and also part of programmes to celebrate Pastor Adeboye’s 40th year ordination as the General Overseer of RCCG.
The Dialysis Center, which was built and equipped to bring critical healthcare solution closer to the people for the benefit of humanity in general, and the host community in particular, is also driven by the mantra of RCCG to touch people’s lives, with emphasis on improving standards of living by providing good education and health through infrastructural development.
Pastor Adeboye became the G.O of the RCCG ministry on January 21, 1981, and still holds the position till present. Speaking at the dedication of the Kidney Dialysis Center, Pastor Adeboye, who was represented by Pastor Joseph Obayemi, Continental Overseer Africa 1 and National Overseer Nigeria, said he has a lot to be grateful for after so many years of leading this ministry. Read more
Nigeria mobile court hands out fines for mask violations (Guardian)
Authorities in Nigeria’s capital Abuja have established an outdoor mobile court in an effort to prosecute individuals and institutions violating rules imposed to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
Africa’s most populous country is currently facing a second wave of infections, with 143,516 cases and 1,710 deaths reported — but these figures are believed to fall short of the real toll since the number of tests is low.
Face masks are compulsory in public spaces and social distancing is advised across the country, but these rules are rarely observed. Read more
HIV/AIDs-positive mothers can now breastfeed, says naval medical officer(Independent)
The Acting Base Medical Officer, Nigerian Navy, NNS Jubilee, Ikot Abasi LGA, Akwa Ibom State, Lieutenant Mamuda Saidu has assured that HIV/AIDs positive mothers, currently enrolled in the facility have been assisted to breastfeed.
Operating in collaboration with USAID in community healthcare service delivery, the Base Healthcare facility is currently ensuring regular supply of drugs for over 130 persons living with HIV/AIDs.
Conducting members of the Correspondents’ Chapel round the facility, Lieutenant Mamuda Saidu assured that people living with HIV/AIDs who made themselves available for regular medication and proper monitoring have been able to breastfeed without threat to their babies. Read more
One feared dead as traders clash in Ibadan market (Punch)
There was pandemonium at the Shasha area of Ibadan as some traders engaged in a violent clash on Friday morning.
The PUNCH correspondent, who visited Shasha, saw police patrol vans and Operation Burst’s going inside the market where the fight was said to have taken place.
Residents also said many security agents had moved to the epicentre of the violence to restore normalcy.
Some of them regretted that some kiosks and a house were razed. Read more
Shell in Nigeria: Polluted communities ‘can sue in English courts’ (BBC)
The UK Supreme Court has ruled that polluted Nigerian communities can sue oil giant Shell in English courts.
The decision is a victory for the communities after a five-year battle and overturns a Court of Appeal ruling.
The Niger Delta communities of more than 40,000 people say decades of pollution have severely impacted their lives, health and local environment.
Shell had argued it was only a holding company for a firm that should be judged under Nigerian law. Read more
Elon Musk says he wants new Tesla Roadster to hover (NYPost)
Elon Musk wants Tesla’s new sports car to make 007 proud.
The billionaire electric-car tycoon said he’s working on tricking out the forthcoming Tesla Roadster with rocket technology so it can hover above the ground.
“I’m trying to figure out how to make this thing hover without, you know, killing people,” Musk said on an episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast released Thursday.
“I thought like maybe we could make it hover but, like, not too high, so like maybe it can hover like a meter above the ground or something like that,” he added. “If you plummet, you blow out the suspension but you’re not gonna die.” Read more
Iraqi women struggle to escape abuse as domestic violence rises (AlJazeera)
Dhoha Sabah had been married for eighteen years when her husband first laid a hand on her. Crowded into a modest, single-room home in Baghdad’s Sadr City neighbourhood, the couple had always struggled to put food on the table for their four children.
But then the coronavirus pandemic struck, sending Iraq’s oil-dependent economy into a downward spiral and putting many out of work.
“We don’t have an income. The kids need to go to school, and I cannot afford it. Whenever I talk to him about this issue, he beats me and the kids,” Sabah told Al Jazeera. On at least one occasion, Sabah had to seek medical care because of her husband’s physical abuse.
Police say domestic violence has increased in Iraq by about 20 percent since the onset of the pandemic, which has pushed millions of Iraqis below the poverty line. Poor neighbourhoods like Sadr City have been most affected by mounting economic and psychological pressures. Read more
Germany’s beer industry fizzles as COVID-19 limits consumption to home (France24)
In Germany, ongoing COVID-19 restrictions are having a big impact on the beer industry. Bars and restaurants are still closed and football stadiums are empty, all of which spells crisis for the quintessential German brew. Sales have plummeted across the sector with some small breweries taking a huge financial hit.
The average brewery in Germany has seen a 23 percent loss, but the smaller ones have been hit with losses as large as 80 percent.
Compared to 2019 sales, the drop is represents a half-billion litres – or enough to fill 200 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
FRANCE 24 met with one brewer looking to recoup some of his losses from the pandemic-hobbled dining sector with online bottle sales, and a beer retailer who contends that those shopping for beer from home during the Covid-19 pandemic are still discerning customers on the lookout for new products. Read more
India fireworks factory explosions kill several, wound dozens (AlJazeera)
Several explosions at a private fireworks factory in southern India killed at least 11 workers and injured 34 others on Friday, police have said.
Those injured in the blasts at the factory in Tamil Nadu state’s Virudhunagar district were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, police officer Raj Narayanan said.
Ten fire engines were called to fight the fire, which destroyed four sheds in the factory.
The explosions occurred while chemicals were being mixed by the workers to make fireworks, the Press Trust of India news agency said. Read more
Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd is a billionaire after dating app’s IPO (NYPost)
Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd joined the tech industry’s growing billionaire class after her dating app’s explosive initial public offering.
Bumble’s stock price surged 63 percent to $70.31 on the firm’s market debut Thursday, making it the latest tech darling to soar on its first day of trading.
Wolfe Herd, who founded Bumble in 2014, owns about 21.5 million shares in the company that were worth more than $1.5 billion at Thursday’s closing price.
The value of her roughly 12 percent stake made Wolfe Herd, 31, the world’s youngest self-made woman billionaire, according to Forbes. Her fortune could grow further on Friday — Bumble shares rose about 4.7 percent to $73.60 in premarket trading as of 8:56 a.m. Read more
France recommends single vaccine shot for people who have had COVID-19 (France24)
France on Friday recommended that people who have already recovered from Covid-19 receive a single vaccine dose, becoming the first country to issue such advice.
All three Covid-19 vaccines approved for use in the European Union are administered in the form of two doses, delivered several weeks apart.
This is because clinical trials showed that immunity against the disease was significantly higher after individuals received two shots.
France’s public health authority said Friday, however, that people who had already been infected with Covid-19 develop an immune response similar to that bestowed by a vaccine dose, and that a single dose after infection would likely suffice. Read more
Australian Open: Dominic Thiem beats Nick Kyrgios, Diego Schwartzman stunned (BBC)
Dominic Thiem fought off Nick Kyrgios and a rowdy crowd to overturn a two-set deficit in a thrilling match and reach the Australian Open fourth round.
Austrian third seed Thiem weathered everything home favourite Kyrgios threw at him to prevail 4-6 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4.
Kyrgios had his opportunities but his shot selection – and occasionally his temper – let him down.
The match finished 50 minutes before Melbourne Park closes its doors to fans as Victoria begins a five-day lockdown. Read more
Bayern’s Gnabry injured in Club World Cup final (Punch)
Bayern Munich said on Friday that winger Serge Gnabry tore a thigh muscle during Thursday’s Club World Cup triumph.
The German side said the 25-year-old was undergoing scans but gave no information on how long he will be sidelined.
The European champions won their sixth title in 12 months after Benjamin Pavard’s second-half winner secured a 1-0 victory over Mexico’s Tigres in Qatar.
Hansi Flick’s side are only the second side in history to win all six available titles within a year, after Barcelona in 2009 — but the record came at a price as Gnabry was withdrawn in the 64th minute. Read more
Mourinho says Bale social media post ‘totally wrong’ as tensions grow (Guardian)
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho said on Friday that Gareth Bale’s upbeat midweek Instagram post was a “contradiction” with reality, insisting that the Wales international had reported fitness concerns.
Bale, on loan from Real Madrid, missed Wednesday’s 5-4 FA Cup defeat at Everton after he was absent from training on Monday and asked for a scan following some discomfort.
The 31-year-old, who has struggled to make an impact since his return to Spurs, was an unused substitute in Sunday’s 2-0 win over West Brom. Read more
UAE royal’s investment in Israeli football club put on hold (AlJazeera)
The acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in Israel’s Beitar Jerusalem Football Club by a United Arab Emirates royal has been frozen due to questions over the sheikh’s finances.
The club, which has gained notoriety for the racism of its fans and their “deaths to Arabs” chants, said on Thursday the Rights Transfer Committee of Israel’s football federation, which must approve the sale, requested more documents to continue with the purchase.
The team had said Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, has pledged to invest 300 million shekels ($92m) in the club over the next 10 years.
But in recent weeks, questions have reportedly arisen about the sheikh’s true wealth. Read more
Australian Open: Novak Djokovic beats Taylor Fritz despite struggling with injury (BBC)
Defending champion Novak Djokovic is unsure if he will be able to play in the fourth round of the Australian Open after he survived an injury scare to battle past American Taylor Fritz.
World number one Djokovic was hampered by a side injury that restricted his movement, although he still recorded a 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-2 victory.
Djokovic is set to meet 14th seed Milos Raonic in the next round, but said: “I know it’s a tear and I don’t know if I will recover from that in two days. I don’t know if I will step on court.”
The Serb, who is chasing a record-extending ninth men’s singles title in Melbourne and a third in a row, added: “This is one of the most special wins in my life.
“It doesn’t matter who I was up against or at what round, to pull this through is something I will remember for ever. Read more
Australian Open bars fans after snap COVID lockdown (AlJazeera)
The Australian Open tennis organisers have announced a ban on fans and said players would be cocooned in biosecure “bubbles” as Victoria state authorities ordered six million people into lockdown on Friday to control a new coronavirus outbreak.
The five-day, state-wide lockdown starting at midnight local time (13:00 GMT) to combat an outbreak of the highly infectious UK strain at an airport hotel, is just the latest setback for the troubled tournament.
The year’s first Grand Slam, which started three weeks late to allow international players to quarantine, has already welcomed tens of thousands of socially distanced fans in the biggest crowds seen in tennis since the pandemic.Under the new measures, some five million people in Australia’s second-biggest city will have to remain at home for five days from midnight, except for a limited number of permitted essential activities. Read more