BIGDREAM

Idris Elba has confirmed he has tested positive for coronavirus. The actor says he feels okay and currently has no symptoms, but has been isolated since he found out that he may have been exposed to the virus. In a tweet, Idris Elba said: “This morning I tested positive for COVID-19. I feel ok, I have no symptoms so far but have been isolated since I found out about my possible exposure to the virus. ALSO READ: First US coronavirus doctor thinks it’s been ‘circulating unchecked’ for weeks “Stay home people and be pragmatic. I will keep you updated on how I’m doing. No panic.” In an accompanying video, Idris Elba says he was tested after he discovered he had been in contact with someone else who had also tested positive for COVID-19. He also urged followers to think about social distancing and washing their hands, adding they should be vigilant to mitigate the spread of the virus. Idris Elba’s announcement comes as Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed that 53 people had now passed

The World Health Organisation (WHO)  Regional office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, says there are now 273 confirmed cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Africa in 26 countries and there have been six COVID-19-related deaths. e UN health agency disclosed this in its regional official twitter account @WHOAFRO. The agency said Government of Benin had on Monday confirmed the country’s first case of COVID-19. According to agency, the patient is a 49-year-old male of Burkinabe nationality, who entered Benin on March 12. “Over the weekend, Central African Republic, Eswatini, Rep of Congo, Rwanda, Seychelles announced first cases.” WHO, however, gave the breakdown of confirmed cases in the continent as follows: “Algeria 48, South Africa 51, Senegal 24, Cameroon 3, Nigeria 2, Burkina Faso 7, Togo 1, DRC 3, Cote d’Ivoire 5, Ghana 2, Gabon 1, “Kenya 3, Ethiopia 4, Guinea 1, Rwanda 5, Namibia 2, E Guinea 1, Seychelles 2, CAR 1, Congo 1, Mauritania 1, Eswatini 1, Liberia 1, Egypt 110, Morocco

•Toddler rescued from collapsed building; truck driver not dead •Lagos govt probes cause, sets-up N2bn relief fund •NNPC Right of Way intact —Kyari; no student died, says sch mgt •Catholic Church confirms death of Alokha •Afenifere, ERA/FoEN call for inquiry By Olasunkanmi Akoni, Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Sam Eyoboka, Bose Adelaja & Esther Onyegbula THE death toll in last Sunday’s explosion, at Ado Soba, in Abule-Ado Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, has risen to 20 from the earlier recorded 15, as five more bodies were recovered, yesterday, from the rubble at the scene. Lagos residents, yesterday, turned the site into a kind of tourist centre as they trooped out in their thousands, wailing and lamenting the level of devastation. The carcasses of collapsed buildings and wrecked vehicles littered the entire area as armed security personnel cordoned off the scene. Toddler rescued from collapse building But a toddler, simply identified as Favour, was rescued alive from

By Emmanuel Okogba The Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide, also known as Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo, has said the present government of Nigeria is the worst thing that has ever happened to the country and that the days of President Muhammadu Buhari are numbered. Speaking during the church’s second service at Faith Tabernacle, Ota, Ogun State, on Sunday, March 8th, Oyedepo also criticised the hate speech bill being sponsored by Senator Sabi Abdullahi. “The government in this country is making a draconian law – hate speech. They said if you speak hatefully, you have committed murder. Out of someone who says I will kill you and the one who kills, who has committed a crime? I don’t understand which kind of animal farm we live in. I said stop stepping on my toes and you said that is hate speech but somebody kills and he is walking free on the streets. This is the most stupid and nonsensical idea anybody can think of. READ ALSO: Volunteers to be paid £3,500 for g

Iran closed four key Shiite pilgrimage sites across the Islamic republic Monday in line with measures to stop the new coronavirus, state media said, sparking protests at one of them. State television said that “upon the orders of the anti-coronavirus headquarters and the health minister, the holy shrines of” Imam Reza in Mashhad, Fatima Masumeh in Qom and Shah Abdol-Azim in Tehran were shut until further notice. IRNA news agency said the closure of Fatima Masumeh triggered angry protests in Qom, the epicentre of the outbreak in Iran that has killed more than 850 people. Some of the demonstrators chanted “religious slogans” and damaged the entrance door, it added. ALSO READ: High-ranking Iranian cleric dies from coronavirus in Qom Qom’s Jamkaran mosque also said in a separate statement it would close its doors, according to IRNA. The mosque said the closure was aimed at “cutting the spread of this highly contagious disease” and done at the request of the anti-coronavirus headquart

•Coronavirus may incapacitate Nigeria from servicing debt, says DMO By Henry Umoru THE Senate yesterday raised alarm that with its approval of $22.7billion foreign loan request by President Muhammadu Buhari penultimate week, the total debt profile of Nigeria now stands at N33 trillion. Speaking at  the one day public lecture organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies ( NILDS), on Public Debt in Nigeria : Trend, Sustainability and Management in Abuja yesterday, the  Deputy Chairman of Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, Senator Muhammad Enagi   Bima Enagi, All Progressives Congress,   APC, Niger South, said borrowing had always served as veritable financial platforms for many countries of the world in running their economies. According to him, judicious utilization of such loans for intended projects and servicing the debts appropriately have also been problems for some countries, particularly the developing ones as Nigeria. This is even as

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, has arrested thirteen Nigerians, over alleged $30 million money laundering scheme in the United States. Disclosing this in a statement obtained by Thecable, the US department of justice said federal agents arrested 24 suspects for their involvement in the large-scale fraud which targeted citizens, corporations, and financial institutions throughout the country. READ ALSO: FBI raids Nigeria, US, UK, 7 other countries to arrest 281 internet fraudsters Those arrested and charged to a federal court in Atlanta include: Blessing Oluwatimilehin Ojo Afeez Olaide Adeniran Matthan Bolaji Ibidapo Obinna Nwosu Benjamin Ibukunoluwa Oye Christopher Akinwande Awonuga Ahamefule Aso Odus Paul Chinonso Anyanwu Chineda Obilom Nwakadu Chukwukadibia Ikechukwu Nnadozie Uchechi Chidimma Odus John Ifeoluwa Onimole Oluwafunmilade Onamuti Details later: