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The disease can be transmitted through sneezing or coughing, which disperses droplets of body fluids such as saliva or mucus.According to scientists, coughs and sneezes can travel several feet and stay suspended in the air for up to 10 minutes.These droplets can come into direct contact with other people, or can infect those who pick them up by touching surfaces on which the infected droplets land, or touching a surface and then their face.It is not yet know how long the virus can survive on surfaces, but in other viruses, the range is between a few hours or months.Transmission is of particular concern on transport, where droplets containing the coronavirus could pass between passengers or via surfaces like plane seats and armrests.The incubation period of the coronavirus, the length of time before symptoms appear, is between one and 14 days.Though not yet confirmed, Chinese health authorities believe the virus can be transmitted before symptoms appear.This would have major implica...

Shuaibu Ibrahim, a brigadier general and the director-general of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), says the monthly allowance of corp members has been increased to N33,000.Ibrahim announced this during a working visit to the NYSC secretariat in Bauchi, according to a statement the body issued on Wednesday morning via Facebook.He said the increase is in line with the new minimum wage approved by the federal government.Ibrahim said provisions for the new allowance have been made in the 2020 budget and “payment would commence as soon as funds are released by the appropriate authorities”.In September, Ibrahim had hinted that the monthly allowance of corps members would be increased “immediately the federal government starts the payment of the new minimum wage”.“Your monthly allowance would be increased immediately the Federal Government starts the payment of the new minimum wage to all public servants nationwide,” he said in an address delivered at the NYSC orientation camp in Iyan...

Mr Mustapha Maihaja, its Director-General, told Newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja that it was important to bring key stakeholders in disaster management together to chart the way forward toward handling the predictions.“Preparations and planning are key to any successful activity or project. Knowing our role in disaster management, we started our planning since October through November, last year.“So, we have come out with a work plan that guides us on a step-by-step approach to possibilities.“And with the seasonal rainfall prediction released, we will now engage all stakeholders for technical meetings.“The report will be analysed vis a vis the possibilities as far as disaster management is concerned and at the end, we will come out with a disaster management implications and socioeconomic consequences should the flood occur,” he said.The director-general added that the organisation would be airing sensitisation campaigns through radio jingles and television programmes.He added that the ...

The Nigerian Army has deployed 185 officers and soldiers to Guinea Bissau on a peacekeeping mission.The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, announced this at an event on Friday in Kaduna State.Buratai was represented by Major General Kelvin Aligbe at the passing out ceremony of the troops from the Martin Luther Agwai Peacekeeping Centre in Jaji.This comes ahead of their departure to Bissau, the Guinea Bissau capital as they are expected to depart Nigeria immediately after their induction.Aligbe warned the troops that the Nigerian Army would not tolerate any act of cowardice or professional misconduct during the operation in the West African country.He advised the contingent to abide by the rules of engagement, exhibit braveness as professionals, and to also respect the cultural sensitivity of the people of Guinea Bissau.The army chief’s representative reminded the soldiers of the United Nations’ zero tolerance for drug trafficking and human rights abuse.He a...

Civil servants in Edo state will have every cause to smile on receiving the alert for January 2020 salaries which will reflect the new minimum wage of N30,000.The state governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki gave the confirmation after signing into law the new minimum wage structure for civil servants after a meeting with organized labour at the government house in Benin City, the Edo state capital.He added that an agreement on the new minimum wage structure was easily reached with the joint negotiating council based on transparency on both sides, with the government willing to provide a conducive atmosphere for workers to deliver their best.Gov Obaseki said the success recorded owes to the sincerity between government, labour and trade unions, noting “there should not be much difference between a state worker, federal government worker, and a local government worker because it is the same government.”“What we have done in Edo is to change the narrative by emphasizing on productivity. If y...

Over four hundred shops have been destroyed by fire at the Old Motor Spare Parts Market, popularly called Mgbuka Obosi, in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State.mammoth crowd gathered at the scene, lamenting the devastating incident, as well as questioning the competence of the market security guards.They noted that the guards should have taken proactive measures that would have cut down the extent of damage in the market.Although the cause of the fire has yet to be ascertained, the chairman of the market, Mr Samuel Ezeobodo, gave the report he got from the market security officials after 12 midnight.According to him, a leaking gas cylinder inside one of the affected shops may be the cause of the fire from where it spread to other shops.Ezeobodo disclosed the death of one of the market leaders, Mr Godwin Edozieuno, who died of shock upon hearing that his shop was one of those affected.The damage is massive and some of the affected traders bemoaned their fate, sayin...

A group of Iranian protesters has demanded Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei step down after Tehran said its military mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian plane, killing all 176 people on board."Commander-in-chief [Khamenei] resign, resign," videos posted on Twitter showed hundreds of people chanting in front of Tehran's Amir Kabir University on Saturday.Others on Twitter asked why the plane was allowed to take off when tensions in Iran were so high.Fars news agency reported that Iranian police dispersed students that were chanting "radical" slogans during the gathering in Tehran.The students chanted slogans denouncing "liars" and demanded the resignation and prosecution of those responsible for downing the plane and allegedly covering up the accidental action.Fars said the protesting students chanted "destructive" and "radical" slogans.Earlier on Saturday, Iran said its military had shot down the Ukrainian plane, ca...

Miss Bolufemi Princess Motunrayo a graduate of Banking and Finance from Kogi State University Now Prince Abubakar Audu University who was also a Batch C Youth Corps Member serving in Girls Secondary School, Ibagwa-Aka, Igbo-Eze South LGA, yesterday 10th of January, 2020 Committed suicide with two bottles of snippers. Says “life is not worth Living”.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has suspended the use of the National Identification Number for registration for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination UTME. The registrar of JAMB, Ishaq Oloyede, who stated this while briefing journalists in Abuja on Saturday, said the move was to provide more time for candidates to get their national identification numbers. He said the suspension was also to address the technical challenges experienced at some centres. He asked candidates to disregard the use of NIN for the 2020 registration and strictly comply with other procedures for the registration. He however said that JAMB will consider the use of NIMC for 2021 exams. The board last year said from 2020, candidates will register for its examinations with their national ID numbera to solve the challenges of multiple registration.

Government statement blames 'human error' for the incident that left 176 people killed many of them Iranian citizens.Iran has announced that its military "unintentionally" shot down a Ukrainian jetliner, killing all 176 on board.The statement on Saturday morning blames "human error" for the incident, adding that the military mistook Flight 752 for a "hostile target".Press TV also quoted Iran's General Staff of the Armed Forces as saying that the plane had flown close to a "sensitive military site".The military said it was at its “highest level of readiness" amid the heightened tensions with the United States."In such a condition, because of human error and in a unintentional way, the flight was hit,” the military said. It apologised and said it would upgrade its systems to prevent future tragedies.In a statement posted on social media, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wrote that the country "deeply regrets this disastr...

Senegalese striker and Liverpool star Sadio Mane has been crowned as the 2019 African Player of the Year.The 27-year old Senegalese striker claimed the top prize for the first time on Tuesday at the 2019 CAF Awards ceremony held in Egypt.Mane beat his Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah of Egypt who won the award the last two years, as well as Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City).

A Ukrainian airliner with 180 passengers and crew on board has reportedly crashed near Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport in Iran on Wednesday. According to the Iranian media, the Boeing 737-800 jet crashed near Parand, a suburb southwest of capital Tehran shortly after take-off.source:Aljazzera news

Iranian rockets hit two Iraqi bases hosting US troops amid escalating tensions following US killing of Iran's Soleimani.Iran has fired more than a dozen rockets at two Iraqi military bases hosting US troops, the Pentagon confirmed. The rockets fired at the Ain al-Asad base in Anbar province and a base in Erbil early on Wednesday come amid escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington. The attacks follow the US killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Iraq last week. Iran had vowed severe retailiation. Pompeo briefs Kurdistan PM Barzani on Iran missile attacksUS Secretary of State Mike Pompeo briefed Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Iran's missile attacks on two Iraqi military bases, including in Erbil, the State Department said in a statement. "The Secretary and Prime Minister Barzani agreed to stay in close touch as the situation develops," the statement said.IRGC commander says missile attacks 'first step...

Gunmen on Thursday killed no fewer than 19 in Tawari community in the Kogi Local Government Area of Kogi State, burning buildings, including the palace of the king of the community.The Public Relations Officer of the Kogi State Police Command, Mr Williams Anya, confirmed the development in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja on Friday.He said that a police assessment team had visited the community and that many buildings, including places of worship had been burnt.Tawari community is a few kilometres off Gegu town along the Lokoja-Abuja highway.A resident of Tawari community, Mrs Comfort Solomon, who survived the attack, told NAN that the gunmen, numbering about 100 invaded the community late on Thursday.She said the gunmen came in their numbers on motorcycles and descended on the village, killing and burning buildings until the early hours of Friday.Solomon said that many places of worship, including the palace of the Akuma of Tawari were burnt down by th...

Soleimani was born on 11 March 1957 in the village of Qanat-e Malek, Kerman Province,to an impoverished peasant family. In his youth, he moved to the city of Kerman and worked as a construction worker to help repay a debt his father owed. In 1975, he began working as a contractor for the Kerman Water OrganizationWhen not at work, he spent his time lifting weights in local gyms and attending the sermons of a traveling preacher, Hojjat Kamyab, a protege of Ayatollah Khomeini.Soleimani was a Persian from Kerman. His father was a farmer who died in 2017. His mother, Fatemeh, died in 2013.[ He came from a family of nine and had five sisters and one brother, Sohrab, who lived and worked with Soleimani in his youth.Sohrab Soleimani is a warden and former director general of the Tehran Prisons Organization. The United States imposed sanctions on Sohrab Soleimani in April 2017 "for his role in abuses in Iranian prisons".Soleimani had Dan in karate and was a fitness trainer in his yo...

Iran condemns US killing of Quds Force head Qassem Soleimani Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei said killing of Qassem Soleimani will double motivation of resistance against the US and Israel Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has condemned the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, as an "act of international terrorism.""The US bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism," Zairf said in a statement on Friday, warning that the move would strengthen resistance against the United States and Israel in the region and the world, Iranian state television reported."The brutality and stupidity of American terrorist forces in assassinating Commander Soleimani ... will undoubtedly make the tree of resistance in the region and the world more prosperous," said Zarif.Soleimani, considered the architect of Iran's regional security apparatus, was killed al...