LAGOS APRIL 1ST (NEWSRANGERS)-Jacques Joaquim Yhombi-Opango, former president of the Republic of the Congo, has died after contracting coronavirus, his family said. Yhombi-Opango died in a Paris hospital on Monday. He was 81. Yhombi-Opango was ill before he contracted the virus, his son told AFP news agency. He led Congo-Brazzaville from 1977 until he was toppled in 1979,…
LAGOS APRIL 1ST (NEWSRANGERS)-The federal government has said that the lockdown of some states and theclosure of their borders by their respective governors is illegal. In reaction to reports of Nigerians being trapped in the border communities of some states because of the closure of the borders by the governor, the secretary to the government…
LAGOS APRIL 1ST (NEWSRANGERS)-World Health Organization officials Monday said they still recommend people not wear face masks unless they are sick with Covid-19 or caring for someone who is sick. “There is no specific evidence to suggest that the wearing of masks by the mass population has any potential benefit. In fact, there’s some evidence…
LAGOS APRIL 1ST (NEWSRANGERS)-South Africa, which has the highest numbers of confirmed coronavirus infections on the continent, will start mass door-to-door screening and testing for coronavirus, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Monday. The “unprecedented” exercise will be launched in the next few days, with at least 10,000 field workers deployed across the country of 57 million…
LAGOS APRIL 1ST (NEWRANGERS)-A senior Saudi official urged more than 1 million Muslims intending to perform the hajj to delay making plans this year in comments suggesting the pilgrimage could be cancelled due to the new coronavirus pandemic. In February, the kingdom took the extraordinary decision to close off the holy cities of Mecca and…
LAGOS APRIL 1ST (NEWSRANGERS)-The Nigerian currency depreciated to its weakest level since February 2017 in the unofficial black market after the country’s central bank cut supply to dealers. The local unit traded at 415 naira per dollar according to abokiFX.com, which collates rates from street-traders in Lagos. In the official spot market, naira traded 386.51…
LAGOS APRIL 1ST (NEWSRANGERS)-Former Marseille president Pape Diouf has died at age 68 due to complications from Covid-19. Diouf had been hospitalised in his native Senegal and was placed under respiratory assistance on Saturday after his illness became serious. The Senegal native’s relatives had hoped to transport him to France to receive further medical attention but…
LAGOS APRIL 1ST (NEWSRANGERS) ― Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has refused to issue a statewide “stay-at-home” order to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus because the disease has not hit many areas of the state, he said. At least 30 states have issued statewide stay-at-home orders so far. Florida, among eight states with the…
