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Wednesday, 27 May 2020 05:15

Lockdowns made NO difference to coronavirus but destroyed millions of livelihoods worldwide, JP Morgan finds

Lockdowns have not altered the course of the coronavirus pandemic but have devastated the global economy, a study by JP Morgan has claimed. A paper by Marko Kolanovic, a strategist at the investment bank, argued that governments were "spooked" into imposing lockdowns that were "late" or "inefficient". Countries around the world introduced lockdown measures as the number of coronavirus cases grew in the opening months of this year, and have seen infection rates fall significantly since. Kolanovic claimed that numbers had declined because the virus "likely has its own dynamics" that are "unrelated to often inconsistent lockdown measures". He cites…

Wednesday, 27 May 2020 05:14

Lockdowns cause more death than the virus itself - Nobel Laureate

Coronavirus lockdown could have caused more deaths than it saved, a Nobel Laureate scientist has claimed. Michael Levitt, a Stanford University professor, who correctly predicted the initial scale of the pandemic, suggested the decision to keep people indoors was motivated by ‘panic’ rather than the best science. Levitt also said the modeling that caused the United Kingdom government to bring in the lockdown – carried out by Mr Neil Ferguson – over-estimated the death toll by ’10 or 12 times.” ‘I think lockdown saved no lives. I think it may have cost lives. It will have saved a few road…

Tuesday, 26 May 2020 05:13

Nigeria’s GDP posts surprise 1.87% growth for Q1, 2020

Nigerian economic growth beat estimates in the first quarter as oil production rose to the highest in at least four years. Gross domestic product expanded 1.87% in the three months through March from a year earlier, compared with growth of 2.55% in the previous quarter, Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said on its website on Monday. The slowdown reflects “the earliest effects of the disruption, particularly on the non-oil economy,” the statistics office said. The median estimate of three economists in a Bloomberg survey was for 0.8% expansion. GDP contracted by 14.27% from the fourth quarter. While crude prices started…

Tuesday, 26 May 2020 05:10

Power supply sinks below 2,700MW as 10 generation plants lie idle

The number of the nation’s power plants sitting idle increased by three on Monday to 10, prompting generation to tumble below 2,700 megawatts. Total power generation in the country fell to 2,626.9MW as of 6am on Monday from 3,738MW the previous day, according to Nigerian Electricity System Operator. Twenty-two power plants generated 3862.8MW as of 6am on Saturday as five plants were idle. The data obtained from the system operator showed that Geregu II, Omotosho II and Ibom Power plants did not produce any megawatt of electricity as of 6am on Monday, joining Sapele II, Alaoji, Olorunsogo II, Ihovbor, Gbarain,…

Tuesday, 26 May 2020 05:09

CBN approves N10b for coronavirus drug research

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved N10 billion aggregate loan request by pharmaceuticals and other health care organizations from its earlier announced N100 billion facility to enable the entities produce items to fight the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. The apex bank Director, Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okorafor, confirmed that “on the loan component about N10bn worth of applications have already been approved and many more are being processed.” On the procedures for accessing the loan, he stated: “Grants are guided by procedures and not a free for all. They have to be applied for and processed. There are…

Tuesday, 26 May 2020 05:07

Enrol your child into Almajiri system and go to jail, El-Rufai threatens Kaduna parents

Governor Nasir El-Rufa’i of Kaduna State has warned that parents who enrol their children into the Almajiri education system stand the risk of prosecution and up to two years jail. Mr El-Rufa’i stated this in Kaduna on Monday when he visited some 200 Almajiri children repatriated from Nasarawa State and undergoing rehabilitation and optical screening at Government College, Kurmin Mashi, Kaduna. Almajiri are children enrolled to be taught Islamic knowledge under Islamic Clerics, but who loiter the streets with bowls begging for alms and food. The governor also said any Islamic cleric who enrols any child into the Almajiri system…

Tuesday, 26 May 2020 05:06

Pakistan plane crash survivor: 'All I could see was fire'

One of the survivors of Friday's plane crash in the Pakistani city of Karachi has described his ordeal, saying all he could see "was fire". Passenger Muhammad Zubair was one of at least two passengers who survived after the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Airbus A320 came down in a residential area. Health authorities in Sindh province said 97 deaths had been confirmed. The cause of the crash is not yet known. The pilot had reported a technical fault after one failed landing attempt, according to local media, then issued a mayday call as the plane came down. It came days…

Tuesday, 26 May 2020 05:05

Face masks too dangerous for children under 2 years - Medical doctors

Children under the age of two shouldn’t wear masks because they can make breathing difficult and increase the risk of choking, a Japan medical group said, launching an urgent appeal to parents as the country reopens from the Coronavirus crisis. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted a state of emergency for Tokyo and four remaining areas on Monday after the number of infections fell across Japan, but warned that it could be reimposed if the virus started spreading again. To prevent the virus spread, health experts worldwide are recommending people wear masks when it is difficult to maintain social distancing as…

Monday, 25 May 2020 05:29

Nigerians must produce all the food required because there’s no money for imports - Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday said the Coronavirus pandemic has brought Nigeria and other countries to their “knees”. He described the impact as “frightening” and urged Nigerians to continue to take precautions. Mr Buhari spoke with reporters after Eid prayers with his family at the State House, Abuja, to commemorate the Eid-el-Fitr celebration. He said the pandemic had adversely affected the economies of developed and developing nations, leaving Nigeria with no money to import food. Buhari however, urged Nigerians to obey all guidelines issued by Federal Ministry of Health and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). He said: “Nigerians can…

Monday, 25 May 2020 05:28

FG imposes fine on British aviation company for flight ban violation

Federal government has fined Flairjet Aviation Company N1 million for disobeying the Covid-19 commercial flights ban rule. In a statement on Sunday, Mr Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, said the fine was the maximum penalty provided for in the country’s civil aviation regulations. “Flairjet were found to violate our civil aviation regulations IS 1.3.3(a) table 2(IV)7(a) and IS 1.3.3 (a) table 2(VIII)(4),” the minister said. “The maximum penalty for each is N500,000. We caused them to pay and reported their callous misdemeanour to United Kingdom (UK) Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), MFA and the UK high commission.” Federal government had banned…

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Monday, 25 May 2020 05:27

Minister, Dabiri-Erewa fight dirty on social media over office space

Chief Executive Officer of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Pantami, on Sunday traded words on Twitter over the forced eviction of NIDCOM staff from their office at Abuja. While Dabiri-Erewa, in a series of tweets, accused Pantami of being disrespectful to women, the minister, who tweeted back, called the NIDCOM boss a liar. The scuffle between the duo started after the former House of Representatives member, in a video posted on NIDCOM Twitter page, accused Pantami of ordering armed men to chase away her workers from their office. She…

Monday, 25 May 2020 05:25

Southeast govs accuse IGP of reneging on community policing agreement

South East Governors Forum has expressed dismay that Inspector General of Police allegedly reneged on its agreements on practice and composition for establishment of community policing in the zone. Chairman of the forum and Ebonyi State Governor, Mr David Umahi made the disclosure at the end of its meeting in Enugu on Sunday. The Forum said that the recent communication from the IGP, Mr Mohammed Adamu, did not conform with the initial agreement reached with him during his visit to the Zone. “South East Governors request the IGP to revert to the initial agreement reached on Community Policing at Enugu.…

Monday, 25 May 2020 05:24

FG approves medical research funding by TETFund

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved funding for six medical simulation, research and training facilities in Colleges of Medicine, through Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund). TETFund’s Director of Public Affairs, Mrs Ngoba Briggs, in a statement in Abuja, yesterday, said the facilities would aid the setting up of molecular science laboratories with capacity for testing and diagnosing of Covid-19, Lassa fever and other related viral diseases. Briggs said Minister of Education, Mr Adamu Adamu, had directed Executive Secretary of the fund, Mr Suleiman Bogoro, to select a university in each of the six geo-political zones, where the projects would be executed.…

Monday, 25 May 2020 05:23

Thousands protest Chinese security law in Hong Kong

Hong Kong police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of people who rallied on Sunday to protest against Beijing’s plan to impose national security laws on the city. In a return of the unrest that roiled Hong Kong last year, crowds thronged the Causeway Bay shopping area in defiance of curbs imposed to contain the Coronavirus. Chants of “Hong Kong independence, the only way out,” echoed through the streets. To Communist Party leaders, calls for independence for the semi-autonmous city are anathema and the proposed new national security framework stresses Beijing’s intent “to prevent, stop and punish”…

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