Coronavirus: California Governor Gavin Newsom issues statewide 'Stay At Home' order for 40 million people

California's governor, Gavin Newsom has issued a statewide 'stay at home order' directing the state's 40 million residents not to leave their homes in other to halt the spread of coronavirus.



Speaking at a news briefing from the state capital in Sacramento on Thursday, he said: 'We are confident the people of California will abide by it, they will meet this moment,' Newsom, a Democrat in his first term as governor of the nation's most populous state.



'They'll step up as they have over the last number of weeks to protect themselves, to protect their families and to protect the broader community in this great state and the world we reside in.'



Newsom, who didn't give an end date for the order said exceptions to the stay-at-home rule would be granted for residents to make necessary trips to grocery stores, pharmacies, doctors and in some cases work.



The governor said the order was essential because roughly 56 percent of the state's residents, or 25 million people, would contract the respiratory illness in the next eight weeks.



Of the 12,600 people tested for coronavirus in California, there are still 3,250 results undelivered, and with hospitalization rates for those infected with the flu-like disease about 20 percent, a requirement for additional hospital beds could quickly overwhelm hospitals, Newsom said.



California, the nation's most populous state is among the hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak, with 1000 confirmed cases as of Thursday and at least 19 deaths.



California is home to 40 million people, including an estimated 108,000 homeless.

EFCC arraigns Saraki's cousin over alleged N220m contract scam

The EFCC arraigned one of Bukola Saraki's cousins over an alleged 220 Million Naira contract scam.


The Ilorin Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, March 19, arraigned one Ope Saraki, a cousin of the immediate past President of the Nigerian Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki on two count charges bordering on contract scam to the tune of Two Hundred and Twenty Million Naira (N220, 000, 000), EFCC announced in an official statement.



Ope Saraki was arraigned before Justice Adenike Akinpelu of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin.



"The EFCC alleged that the defendant, while serving as Special Adviser to the Kwara State Government, knowingly acquired a contract of the supply of 13 Ambulances to General Hospitals into a company which he had interest," the statement from the Commission reads.

Coronavirus: California Governor Gavin Newsom issues statewide 'Stay At Home' order for 40 million people

California's governor, Gavin Newsom has issued a statewide 'stay at home order' directing the state's 40 million residents not to leave their homes in other to halt the spread of coronavirus.



Speaking at a news briefing from the state capital in Sacramento on Thursday, he said: 'We are confident the people of California will abide by it, they will meet this moment,' Newsom, a Democrat in his first term as governor of the nation's most populous state.



'They'll step up as they have over the last number of weeks to protect themselves, to protect their families and to protect the broader community in this great state and the world we reside in.'



Newsom, who didn't give an end date for the order said exceptions to the stay-at-home rule would be granted for residents to make necessary trips to grocery stores, pharmacies, doctors and in some cases work.



The governor said the order was essential because roughly 56 percent of the state's residents, or 25 million people, would contract the respiratory illness in the next eight weeks.



Of the 12,600 people tested for coronavirus in California, there are still 3,250 results undelivered, and with hospitalization rates for those infected with the flu-like disease about 20 percent, a requirement for additional hospital beds could quickly overwhelm hospitals, Newsom said.



California, the nation's most populous state is among the hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak, with 1000 confirmed cases as of Thursday and at least 19 deaths.



California is home to 40 million people, including an estimated 108,000 homeless.

Coronavirus: Osun bans public gatherings in Church, Mosque, club and others

Governor Gboyega Oyetola has issued a ban on public gatherings in churches, mosques, nightclubs, sports arenas, schools and other public places to avoid the spread of coronavirus.



In a statement issued by Oyetola's spokesman Ismail Omipidan on Thursday March 19, it was gathered that the ban takes effect from Friday March 20 till further notice.



The Osun state governor stated that the proactive measure became neccessary following the few cases reported in neighboring states.



The statement reads in parts;




“The ban will affect all Schools in Osun, Churches, Mosques, Night Clubs and Sports arenas among others.

“As at 18th March 2020, the total number of cases as announced by the Honorable Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, stands at eight (8), with one of the five (5) recent cases confirmed on Wednesday, in Ekiti State.

“Though we have not recorded any case of the deadly virus, as a responsible government, we must be prepared so that we are not taken by surprise. The coronavirus scourge is a complex public health emergency, the type the world had never seen.

“Therefore, to protect our dear state, our children, and our economy will require our collective response and sacrifice. Government at both state and local government levels will lead but we will all need to do our bit to get through this bad patch.

“As a responsible and responsive government that places premium on the well-being of its people, we will protect our citizens from potential and actual threats.

“We also urge our people to dedicatedly observe the precautionary protocols of thorough washing of hands with soap and clean water and the use of hand sanitiser; observing social distance and avoiding large gatherings, and alerting the authority of any suspected case.

“Our Technical Action Committee is working round the clock to beef up the State’s capacity for epidemiological control and management. We therefore call on citizens not to give in to undue panic."

India hangs four men over 2012 Delhi bus gang rape and murder

India has executed the four men who were convicted of the brutal gang rape and murder of a young woman on a bus in Delhi in 2012.



The men, Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta, and Mukesh Singh had been found guilty in a 2013 trial and sentenced to death by hanging, but their execution had been postponed multiple times due to appeals.



According to BBC UK, the four were hanged at dawn on Friday March 20th in the capital’s high-security Tihar prison with hundreds gathered outside the prison gates, shouting “death to rapists”.



“It took seven years but justice was delivered,” said Delhi chief minister Arwind Kejriwal.



It was the first time in five years that capital punishment has been carried out in India.



The victim, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student who the Indian press christened her Nirbhaya, meaning fearless was gang-raped on a moving bus and left for dead on a roadside in December 2012. She died in a hospital in Singapore two weeks after the attack.



At that time, six people were arrested for the attack. One of them, Ram Singh, was found dead in jail in March 2013, having apparently taken his own life.



Another, who was 17 at the time of the attack, was released in 2015 after serving three years in a reform facility, the maximum term possible for a juvenile in India.



Nirbhaya’s mother Asha Devi, who had campaigned for her daughter’s murderers to be hanged, said that “today is dedicated to daughters of the country”.



“As soon as I returned from Supreme Court, I hugged the picture of my daughter and said today you got justice,” said Devi.









“I thank the judiciary and government. Our wait for justice was painful and agonising,” added Nibhaya’s father.

Ben Murray-Bruce loses his wife, Evelyn to cancer

Ben Murray-Bruce, Chairman of Silverbird Group has lost his wife Evelyn Murray-Bruce to cancer. 

The heartbroken former Senator representing Bayelsa East Senatorial District, described Evelyn as his best friend for 43 years and wife for 41 years. 

Ben Murray-Bruce who shared photos which captured beautiful memories he created with his wife, stated that she will remain alive in his heart forever. 

He wrote; 

I’m broken. Just lost my beautiful wife to cancer. She was my best friend for 43 years and my wife for 41 years. Cancer is real, but it shouldn’t be a death sentence - awareness, and early detection and treatment are key to survival. I miss her so so much. I’m broken.

Our children are devastated, I am too. But I have to be strong for them. Please put our family in your prayers. Like the sun, my wife was a blessing and touched the lives of everyone she met. Though she’s gone, she’d remain alive in our hearts forever.

I miss you, my sweetheart, and my most beautiful girl, Evelyn Murray-Bruce. Forever yours. 

Ben Murray-Bruce loses his wife, Evelyn to cancer

Ben Murray-Bruce, Chairman of Silverbird Group has lost his wife Evelyn Murray-Bruce to cancer.



The heartbroken former Senator representing Bayelsa East Senatorial District, described Evelyn as his best friend for 43 years and wife for 41 years.



Ben Murray-Bruce who shared photos which captured beautiful memories he created with his wife, stated that she will remain alive in his heart forever.



He wrote;




I’m broken. Just lost my beautiful wife to cancer. She was my best friend for 43 years and my wife for 41 years. Cancer is real, but it shouldn’t be a death sentence - awareness, and early detection and treatment are key to survival. I miss her so so much. I’m broken.

Our children are devastated, I am too. But I have to be strong for them. Please put our family in your prayers. Like the sun, my wife was a blessing and touched the lives of everyone she met. Though she’s gone, she’d remain alive in our hearts forever.

I miss you, my sweetheart, and my most beautiful girl, Evelyn Murray-Bruce. Forever yours.