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Bolt Food officially launches in Kenya

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The ride-hailing company, Bolt has launched Bolt Food, its food delivery service in Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya is now the third country in Africa where Bolt food is currently available, after South Africa and Ghana. There are also plans in the works to launch Bolt Food in Nigeria, although no specific timeline has been disclosed.

The launch of Bolt Food in Kenya is not a big surprise given that the company spoke about its plan to focus on food delivery in emerging markets.

At present, Bolt offers food delivery services in 16 countries and 33 cities across the world but will grow that number this year after raising money in 2020 and 2021 for expansion purposes.

In Kenya, Bolt will compete with global rivals, Uber Eats and Jumia’s Jumia Food, two companies that are also expanding through the region. There’s also the Spanish delivery company, Glovo which also launched in Nigeria recently.

The competition is fierce and the timing of Bolt Food’s launch coincides with the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in Kenya. The third wave has seen the number of fatalities jump up to 2,092.

LOC: Edo Remains Host Of Sports Festival

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Edo State has dispelled the rumours that the hosting right for the 20th National Sports Festival (NSF), tagged ‘Edo 2020’, has been taken away from the state.

Musa Ebomhiana, the Project Manager, Media and Communication Sub-Committee for the games, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Benin City.

He stressed that not only would the state play host to the rest of the country from April 4 to April 14 but that the scheduled date remained sacrosanct.

NAN also reports that recently a letter signed by Peter Nelson, the Secretary of the Main Organising Committee for the Sports Festival, titled: “SCHEDULED DATE FOR THE 20TH NATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL” was sent to every association.

It read in part: “Arising from the above, I am directed to inform you that the 20th NSF is now scheduled for April 2-15, 2021.

It would be recalled that the festival had suffered several postponements in the past owing to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. (NAN)

Enyimba rebounds MFM setback to earn 1-0 win over Dakkada

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Coming out from a disappointing 0-1 loss to MFM, Enyimba coach Fatai Osho made three changes to the side that played in Lagos.

He replaced Gabriel Orok with Chukwudi Esobe (who was making his debut for Enyimba), Victor Mbaoma with Tosin Omoyele & Hassan Abubakar With Abiodun Adebayo.

Enyimba took total control of the game in the last 15 minutes but had their chances wasted with Gabriel Orok, Tosin Omoyele & Victor Mbaoma the major culprits. The referee blew the final whistle signalling the end of the game with the Enyimba taking maximum points courtesy of the early strike by Tosin Omoyele.

Afterwards, coach Danladi said it was a difficult match just as he expected but regretted the fact that his team didn’t start well which led to them conceding an early goal.

Group advises against converting Aba library to a motor park

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The Aba Book Club, on Tuesday, pleaded with Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to stop Aba South Local Government authorities from converting the Aba zonal library permanent site into a motor park.

The call was contained in a letter to the governor dated March 28, and signed by the club’s Curator, Nnanna Daniel, and Secretary, Dr Ugo Emeodi, respectively.

The group said the conversion of the state government-owned site to a dumping ground for impounded vehicles and small-holder shops, would stop the library’s development and discourage a reading culture in Aba.

It further said the move by the Aba South local council was “harmful to Ikpeazu’s rebranding and selling of the Aba Brand”.

Nigerian-Born Medical Doctor Receives America’s Best Physicians Award For Year 2020

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Nigerian-born medical doctor, Professor Iyalla Elvis Peterside has been awarded America’s Best Physicians for the year 2020 by the US National Consumer Advisory Board and Todaysbestphysician.com.

Dr Peterside is a Professor of Pediatrics and Neonatalogy at the University of Pennsylvania Medical school and a Consultant at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia considered one of the best Children’s Hospitals in the world where he has worked for over 20 years.

He was until recently the Medical Director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital and the President of the Philadelphia Perinatal society. Peterside is a recipient of many awards from his colleagues and professional associations in the US.

His area of expertise is in the care of complex surgical neonates, infants needing extracorporeal support and babies with Chronic lung disease.

He graduated from the University of Ibadan in 1985 and has practiced medicine in four continents of Africa, Europe , Asia and North America.

Nigerians are said to have also dominated the creative art sector in the US. Most recently President Biden has appointed more Nigerians to sensitive political offices than any other diaspora community.

Pastor Chris Alerts Christians Over COVID-19 Vaccines

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President and Founder, Loveworld Incorporated aka Christ Embassy Rev. Dr. Chris Oyakhilome D.Sc DD has spoken to Christians over the Covid-19 vaccine, reminding them of who they are in the Kingdom and the power of the word of God at work in them.

Ministering at the 5th edition of the online Global Day of Prayer gathering with a record 5.3 billion participants worldwide, the respected Man of God maintained that Christians are healers who should believe in the word of God.

In a viral video from the program, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome asked: “What happened to you? Where is the word of God in your mouth?” He further reminded them of the potency of God’s Word.

The man of God, Pastor Chris led the global audience to pray for nations of the world and their leaders, as he stretched out his hands to a large screen projecting the world map (nations of the world).

Pastor Chris also called out world leaders to have their researchers, doctors, and virologists quiz the Covid-19 vaccines that are being produced and sent to their countries since the safety of these vaccines is still being debated.

The “Global Day of Prayer” which was beamed live on all Loveworld Networks, several terrestrial TV stations, radio stations and various internet platforms had translations in over -3000 languages of the world.

The “Global day of Prayer”, has become a beacon of hope and light for the body of Christ, as the Church experiences a new level of unity never seen before now. The man of God, Pastor Chris, said at the final night of the prayers, how he had wished to see such a day, as he prayed for unity in the body of Christ and the sick when he was a teenager.

GameStop shakeup rolls on, hires Amazon executive as chief growth officer

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GameStop Corp said on Tuesday it named Amazon.com Inc executive Elliott Wilke as chief growth officer, the latest top level appointment after shareholder Ryan Cohen took charge of the video game retailer’s e-commerce pivot.

The company’s shares, which were at the heart of a Reddit-driven retail trading frenzy early this year, rose nearly 5% in pre-market trading.

GameStop is in the process of shifting its business away from the brick-and-mortar retailer model into an e-commerce business that can compete with large-scale retailers like Target Corp and Walmart Inc, as well as technology companies Microsoft Corp and Sony Corp.

Signaling a broader overhaul, at least two executives have recently departed – Chief Customer Officer Frank Hamlin and Chief Financial Officer Jim Bell.

Wilke, who has spent nearly seven years at Amazon and last led its Fresh Stores business, will oversee growth strategies and marketing at GameStop.

The company had hired another former Amazon executive, Jenna Owens, as Chief Operating Officer earlier this month. She had managed multi-channel fulfillment and distribution at Amazon.

This was preceded by the appointment of Matt Francis as its first ever Chief Technology Officer last month. He was also an Amazon head of the engineering team at Amazon Web Services.

The shakeup proliferated the company’s board as it announced the expected retirement of eight directors at its annual meeting this year.

Earlier this month, GameStop had announced the formation of a three-member committee chaired by Ryan Cohen, which is responsible for the moves leading to a re-jigging of the company’s leadership.

The company on Tuesday also named former Chewy.com executives Andrea Wolfe and Tom Peterson to lead brand development and merchandising, respectively.

Google Maps To Start Directing Drivers To ‘Eco-Friendly’ Routes

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Google’s Maps app will start directing drivers along routes estimated to generate the lowest carbon emissions based on traffic, slopes and other factors, the company announced on Tuesday.

Google, an Alphabet Inc unit, said the feature would launch later this year in the U.S. and eventually reach other countries as part of its commitment to help combat climate change through its services.

Unless users opt out, the default route will be the “eco-friendly” one if comparable options take about the same time, Google said. When alternatives are significantly faster, Google will offer choices and let users compare estimated emissions.

“What we are seeing is for around half of routes, we are able to find an option more eco-friendly with minimal or no time-cost tradeoff,” Russell Dicker, a director of product at Google, told reporters on Monday.

Google said it derives emissions relative estimates by testing across different types of vehicles and road types, drawing on insights from the U.S. government’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL). Road grade data comes from its Street View cars as well as aerial and satellite imagery.

The potential effect on emissions from the feature is unclear. But in a study of 20 people at California State University, Long Beach, university researchers last year found participants were more inclined to consider carbon emissions in route selection after testing an app that showed estimates.

Google’s announcement included additional climate-focused changes. From June, it will start warning drivers about to travel through low emissions zones where some vehicles are restricted in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain and the U.K.

In the coming months, Maps app users will be able to compare car, biking, public transit and other travel options in one place instead of toggling between different sections.

Tech Firm Aurora, Volvo Become Latest Partners On Self-Driving Heavy Trucks

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Global heavy truck manufacturers are lining up technology partners to help build out self-driving systems for long-haul freight that could see widespread commercial service well before self-driving robotaxis.

The latest alliance was announced Tuesday between Sweden’s Volvo Group and California-based Aurora Innovation, building on a working relationship that dates back several years, the partners said.

Analysts expect more such partnerships, as relatively young technology firms such as Aurora connect their autonomous vehicle systems knowledge with the deep manufacturing experience of legacy companies such as Volvo Trucks.

“You can’t go at it alone in autonomy,” said Grayson Brulte, president consultancy Brulte & Company. “The trucking industry is a completely different personality” than the passenger vehicle business, with different requirements.

Most of the larger truck manufacturers have turned to self-driving tech partners, driven in part by a chronic shortage of drivers and a boom in e-commerce, fueled by the global pandemic.

In January, Aurora announced a strategic partnership with U.S. truckmaker PACCAR, whose brands include Peterbilt and Kenworth.

Aurora’s founders include self-driving veterans from Tesla and Alphabet’s Waymo. Aurora last year said its first commercial product would be in trucking “where the market is largest (and) the unit economics are best.”

In Wake Of Rape Allegation, Actor Armie Hammer Dropped From Billion Dollar Spy Film

Armie Hammer has been dropped from the last remaining film in his schedule in the wake of a recent rape allegation.

According to Variety, he will no longer star opposite Mads Mikkelsen in Cold War drama The Billion Dollar Spy.

The Hollywood actor was accused of rape earlier this month, an allegation he denies.

Los Angeles police have said the Social Network and Call Me By Your Name star is a suspect in a sexual assault investigation that opened in February.

A 24-year-old woman known only as Effie made the allegation during a press conference earlier this month. She said the alleged rape happened in 2017.

His lawyer has described the allegation as “outrageous” and said all of Hammer’s relations with the woman were “completely consensual, discussed and agreed upon in advance, and mutually participatory”.

The actor has also recently left two other forthcoming film and TV productions.

Hammer was due to appear alongside Jennifer Lopez in the movie Shotgun Wedding, but pulled out in January after private messages he allegedly sent detailing disturbing sexual fantasies were circulated online. He has been replaced by Josh Dudamel.

And he was also scheduled to star in The Offer, a series about the making of The Godfather film.

In The Billion Dollar Spy, he was set to play a CIA operative in 1970s and 80s Moscow who receives military secrets from a Soviet engineer. The drama will be directed by British film-maker Amma Asante.

Representatives for Asante and film company Walden Media declined to comment further.

His departure means the only films Hammer has coming up are ones where filming had been completed before the allegations began to surface.

They are Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins, about the American Samoa football team, alongside Michael Fassbender and Elisabeth Moss; and Sir Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile.