Oil prices fell on Tuesday, extending sharp losses overnight, as the rapid spread of a new strain of the novel coronavirus in the United Kingdom prompted several countries to close their borders to British travellers and freight. The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 30 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $47.67 a barrel at 0156 GMT while Brent crude futures fell 26 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $50.65 a barrel. Both benchmark contracts slid nearly three per cent on Monday, partly erasing recent strong gains on the back of the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, seen as key…
Author: Editor
China is expected to have imported more than 100 million tonnes of soybeans by end of 2020, a record high, said an executive with leading state-owned grains trader COFCO on Tuesday. This is as the rebuilding of the country’s huge hog herd boosts demand for the protein. The country is expected to crush 92.6 million tonnes of the beans this year, Zhou Jishuai, Deputy General Manager of the hedging and trading department of COFCO Oils and Oilseeds, a unit of COFCO Group, told a conference in Guangzhou. After being decimated by African swine fever, China’s agriculture ministry said the country’s…
The Nigeria Centre For Disease Control (NCDC), on Sunday reported six new deaths and 356 new infections of the coronavirus in the country. Since the beginning of the outbreak in February, more than 893,590 samples had been tested by NCDC, out of which 78,790 were returned positive. The public health agency said that the country sadly recorded six additional deaths in the last 24 hours, explaining that 180 patients were discharged from isolation centers across the country, after recovering from the infection. The NCDC said that the new infections were reported from 14 states and and the Federal Capital Territory, in…
The House of Representatives passed the N13.6 trillion 2021 budget on Monday in Abuja. The passage followed the adoption of a report by the House Committee on Appropriation, laid by its Chairman, Rep Aliyu Betara (APC-Borno) at the Committee of Supply. He said the Bill is to authorise the issue from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation the sum of N13,588,027,886,175 of which N496.5 billion is for statutory transfers He added that N3.3 billion is for debt servicing, while N5.6 trillion is for recurrent non-debt expenditure. Betara added that N4.1 trillion is for contribution to the Development Fund for…
The meeting of North Central Governors’ Forum has ended with unanimous resolution to collaborate in promoting regional development as well as surmounting the region’s security challenges. The governors will also take special action to surmount the region’s security challenges of kidnapping, cattle rustling and banditry. They, in a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting on Monday, agreed to join relevant stakeholders for the economic rejuvenation and promotion of regional development through increased agricultural production, Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and bridging the infrastructure deficit. Apparently irked by the level of insecurity in the country, the Forum called on the…
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has revoked operating licences of 42 microfinance banks. The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC disclosed this on Friday in an announcement on its website titled ‘Notice of closure of 42 microfinance banks’. “The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, the official liquidator of the banks whose licences were recently revoked, is in the process of closing the listed banks and pay their insured depositors. “We therefore request that all depositors of these banks should visit the closed banks’ addresses and meet NDIC officials for the verification of their claims, commencing from Monday, 21st December, 2020 till…
The Senate has passed the 2021 Appropriation Bill of N13.5 trillion. This followed the adoption of the report of Senate Committee on Appropriations at plenary on Monday. President Muhammadu Buhari had on Oct. 8, presented the 2021 budget of N13.08 trillion to the joint session of the National Assembly for approval.
The Kebbi state Chapter of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists Kebbi State Council, NAWOJ, has felicitates with members of the association as they celebrate Christmas and New Year. The chairperson, Mrs. Laiatu Bamaiyi in a goodwill message on Monday, also called on them to continue to observe COVID-19 protocols, especially during the Yuletide. “I urge all members to celebrate Christmas and New Year with consciousness and in conformity with the laid down rules, regulations and protocols to prevent spread of the dreaded COVID-19 virus. She also urged citizens of the state to be security conscious and be vigilant to…
The list of European Union (EU) countries stopping flights from Britain continued to grow on Sunday as alarmed officials reacted to a new, highly contagious variant of the Coronavirus that has sent London and south-eastern England into lockdown. The Netherlands was the first on Sunday to announce an immediate ban on flights, with similar advisories coming throughout the day from Belgium, Austria, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Sweden. Ireland will institute a 48-hour flight ban to Britain while ferries will be limited to freight travel. Outside of Europe, the Canadian government also announced it would…
Argentina, Chile, and Colombia joined a raft of other countries that took action on Sunday to stop flights from Britain due to concerns over a new, highly contagious variant of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Argentina will “suspend arrivals and departures to and from Britain as a precaution from tomorrow,” the interior ministry in Buenos Aires wrote in a statement Sunday evening. A single flight from Britain expected for Monday morning has been allowed to land at Buenos Aires International Airport. Passengers and crew will be kept in quarantine for seven days. The Colombian government also decided on Sunday to no…