World

Maduro seeks to speed up digital payments as Venezuela runs out of cash

Ihesiulo Grace 15 March 2021 0

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is pressuring banks to introduce digital payment systems as hyperinflation causes persistent cash shortages in the bolivar currency. Maduro has targeted the public transit system – where roughly three-quarters of all circulating cash is spent – as

Religion World

Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex unions: Vatican

Ihesiulo Grace 15 March 2021 0

The Vatican said on Monday that priests and other Catholic Church ministers cannot bless same-sex unions. The Vatican’s doctrinal office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued the ruling in response to questions and moves in some parishes to impart such blessings as a sign of welcome to gay Catholics. The response from […]

World

Russia accuses U.S. of using IT to engage in unfair competition

Ihesiulo Grace 15 March 2021 0

Russia on Saturday accused the United States of using IT opportunities to engage in unfair competition and of social media platforms arbitrarily and indiscriminately censoring content. Russia this week said it was slowing down the speed of Twitter in retaliation for what it described as a failure to remove banned content. It threatened to block […]

World

China aims to improve family doctors’ services

Ihesiulo Grace 15 March 2021 0

China will increase services provided by contracted family doctors to issue long-term prescriptions to the elderly and people with disabilities, the National Health Commission (NHC) said. The NHC said that the primary-level medical organizations and family doctors should play their roles in preventing myopia among children. The commission has also vowed to help improve the

World

Thousands protest gender discrimination, violence across Australia

Ihesiulo Grace 15 March 2021 0

Thousands of women and allies took to the streets across Australia on Monday to protest gender discrimination and violence, state media reported. The series of rallies, under the banner March4Justice, kicked off in Perth and Cairns on Sunday and continued in Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, and Melbourne, among other cities on Monday. The organizers of the […]

Education World

UK launches own scholarship programme to replace EU’ education scheme

Ihesiulo Grace 12 March 2021 0

The UK government on Friday launched a new scholarship programme for schools, colleges, and universities to replace the European Union (EU’s) Erasmus+ scheme as part of post-Brexit arrangements following the UK’s departure from the bloc. Named after English mathematician Alan Turing, the 153 million dollars programme will fund 35,000 global exchanges from September,

World

‘We’re not racist’ – Prince William

Ihesiulo Grace 11 March 2021 0

Prince William denied on Thursday that Britain’s royals were racist after Meghan, wife of his younger brother Harry, said one unnamed member of the family had asked how dark their son Archie’s skin might be. Meghan, 39, made the allegation during an explosive tell-all interview that she and Harry, 36, gave to Oprah Winfrey and […]

World

Shock, uncertainty after death of Cote d’Ivoire PM, Bakayoko

Ihesiulo Grace 11 March 2021 0

Cote d’Ivoire is facing shock and uncertainty following the death of its Prime Minister, Hamed Bakayoko, the West African nation’s second premier to die in office in less than eight months. A close ally of President Alassane Ouattara, Bakayoko, who died of cancer a few days after his 56th birthday, was appointed prime minister in […]

World

Use Of AstraZeneca Vaccine suspended in Denmark, Iceland and Norway

Ihesiulo Grace 11 March 2021 0

Denmark, Iceland and Norway have suspended use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as a precaution amid reports of blood clotting in some people who have received it. The Danish health authority said that there was a reported death in the country but that “at present, it cannot be concluded whether there is a link between […]

Technology World

Russia slows Twitter’s speed over failure to remove banned content

Ihesiulo Grace 10 March 2021 0

The Russian state communications watchdog on Wednesday said it was restricting the use of Twitter by slowing down its speed, accusing the social media platform of repeatedly failing to remove banned content from its site. Roskomnadzor threatened to block the service completely, adding that there were more than 3,000 posts containing illegal content on it […]

Business World

Oman to cut income tax on SMEs, offer investors long-term residency

Ihesiulo Grace 9 March 2021 0

According to state television, Oman will reduce income taxes for small and medium enterprises in 2020 and 2021, as well as give long-term residency permits to foreign investors. The proposals, which were reported on state television, are part of Oman’s Vision 2040, which aims to diversify the economy away from oil, which accounts for the […]

World

Michelle Obama to be inducted into U.S. National Women’s Hall of Fame

Ihesiulo Grace 9 March 2021 0

Michelle Obama, the former first lady of the United States, will join eight other women in the National Women’s Hall of Fame, including former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, soccer legend Mia Hamm, and NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, who died last year. On Monday, the National Women’s Hall of Fame announced the members of its Class […]

World

Russia sues Google, Facebook, Twitter for not deleting protest content

Ihesiulo Grace 9 March 2021 0

Russian authorities are suing five social media platforms for allegedly failing to delete posts urging children to take part in illegal protests, the Interfax news agency cited a Moscow court as saying on Tuesday. Twitter, Google, Facebook each have three cases against them, with each violation punishable by a fine of up to 4 million […]

World

Syrian President, 1st lady test positive for COVID-19

Ihesiulo Grace 8 March 2021 0

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his wife, Asma al-Assad, were tested positive for COVID-19, state news agency SANA reported on Monday. After experiencing some symptoms, the president and his wife took the PCR test and the result came positive even though they are in good and stable health, SANA said. Assad and the first lady […]

World

U.S. House set to vote on bills to expand gun background checks

Ihesiulo Grace 8 March 2021 0

The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on Wednesday on a pair of bills to expand background checks before gun purchases, two years after a similar House effort failed to make it through the Senate. The House Rules Committee on Monday will take up the two bills that Democrats, who control the chamber, […]

World

Yemen’s Houthis attack Saudi oil field with drones, missiles

Ihesiulo Grace 8 March 2021 0

Yemen’s Houthi forces fired drones and missiles at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry on Sunday, including a Saudi Aramco facility at Ras Tanura vital to petroleum exports, in what Riyadh called a failed assault on global energy security. The Saudi energy ministry said there were no casualties or loss of property from the […]

Technology World

‘I will shoot whoever I see’: Myanmar soldiers use TikTok to threaten protesters

Ihesiulo Grace 4 March 2021 0

According to researchers, armed Myanmar soldiers and police are using TikTok to threaten protesters against last month’s coup, prompting the Chinese video-sharing app to announce it would remove content that incites violence. Myanmar ICT for Development (MIDO), a digital rights organization, said it had discovered over 800 pro-military videos that threatened

News World

Pope insists on going to Iraq

Ihesiulo Grace 3 March 2021 0

Pope Francis said on Wednesday he is going to Iraq, where his predecessor John Paul was not allowed to go in 2000, because “the people cannot be let down for a second time.” Speaking at the end of his general audience, Francis, who is due to start the risky trip in Baghdad on Friday, asked […]

World

Former French president Sarkozy convicted of corruption, handed jail sentence

Ihesiulo Grace 1 March 2021 0

On Monday, judges found former President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of attempting to bribe a judge and of influence peddling, and sentenced him to three years in prison, with two years suspended. Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, had denied any wrongdoing, alleging that he was the target of a witch hunt by financial […]

World

France’s Sarkozy awaits the verdict of corruption trial

Ihesiulo Grace 1 March 2021 0

On Monday, a French court will rule on former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s corruption trial, with prosecutors asking that he be sentenced to prison. Sarkozy is accused of seeking to bribe a judge and of influence-peddling in exchange for inside information on an inquiry into his presidential campaign finances. He was France’s president from 2007 to […]