Category: News

Elon Musk’s Space X launches 4 astronauts to Space on recycled rocket and capsule

Four astronauts from three countries bound for the International Space Station launched from the Florida coast early Friday morning as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission.

 

 

 

The Falcon 9 rocket blazed across a black sky just before sunrise and NASA confirmed shortly after liftoff Friday that the astronauts had safely reached orbit.

 

 

After about a 23-hour ride, the Crew Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to dock at the ISS around 5:10 a.m. ET on Saturday.

 

 

“Watching a launch from Kennedy Space Center never gets old for me. I’ve watched many launches and watching a pre-dawn launch is especially exciting and just visually stunning,” NASA’s acting administrator, Steve Jurczyk,​​ said at a post-launch news conference Friday morning. “I could not be more proud of the team.”

The crew is composed of NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur as well as Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet.

“What an incredible launch, hopefully you guys got to watch it this morning, right as the sun was rising we took off,” Kimbrough said from the Crew Dragon “Endeavor” capsule shortly after the astronauts reached orbit.

“We chased the sun pretty quickly and caught up just a few minutes after we took off. That was really special to see the sunlight coming in shortly after liftoff,” the mission’s commander added.

McArther said, “The ascent was incredible, the ride was really smooth. We couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

Friday’s launch marked only the third time that Elon Musk’s private space-faring firm has flown astronauts.

It also ushered in a new era of reusability in human space exploration, as the mission uses the same Falcon 9 rocket that sent four astronauts to the ISS last November and the same Crew Dragon spacecraft that sent and returned two astronauts during the first crewed SpaceX flight last May.

“I met with the crew last night, they are ready to go,” Jurczyk​​ said at a pre-launch news conference from the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday. “I asked them what they look forward to most in the mission, and they said launching and getting up on station and getting to work.”

This marks the “third launch in less than a year” for NASA’s Commercial Crew program, he said.

The launch was originally scheduled for early Thursday morning but was moved to Friday due to downrange inclement weather. Liftoff occurred at 5:49 a.m. ET on Friday from the historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Prior to liftoff, the U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron had forecast a 95% chance of favorable weather conditions in the area for a launch.

NASA’s live coverage of the launch kicked off at 1:30 a.m. ET on its website and social media accounts.

Jurczyk said Wednesday that NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory team received a call earlier this week from U.S. President Joe Biden, who congratulated the researchers on their success in conducting the first controlled flight on another planet.

“He told the team that his grandson asked him when was he going to travel to Mars,” Jurczyk said. “So that’s something really important that we do.”

“We enable commercial activities in space, we demonstrate leadership, and we inspire the next generation,” he said.

Yinka Odumakin to be buried April 24 – Family

The family of the late activist and Afenifere spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, on Monday, announced the order of his funeral rites.

 

 

 

A terse statement by his widow, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, on Monday said the rites would span three days – starting from Thursday, April 22 through Friday 23 and Saturday 24, 2021.

 

 

She said, “Thursday, April 22: Day of Tributes and Service of Songs at the Police College, Ikeja Lagos between 11 am and 4 pm while his body lies in state.

“Friday, April 23: Body departs Lagos for Moro, his country home, in Ife North LGA of Osun State.

“There will be a Christian wake keep by 5 pm at the Origbo Anglican Grammar School, Moro, to be followed by a candlelight procession on Friday.

“Saturday, April 24: Lying in State at Origbo Anglican Grammar School, Moro by 8 am, followed by a Funeral Service by 10 am, after which his remains will be committed to Mother Earth at a private interment.”

Primate Ayodele Congratulates New IGP, Urge Him To Put God First

The leader of INRI Evangelical spiritual church, Primate Elijah Ayodele has sent congratulatory message to the newly appointed acting Inspector general of police, Usman Baba Alkali.

 

 

 

The man of God, who just returned to Nigeria from his prayer mountain explained that the appointment of the new IGP is divine because he was chosen out of so many better options.

 

 

Primate Ayodele advised Usman Baba Alkali to always put God first in all his endeavors because without Him, whatever he plans to do will be futile.

He made it known that the state of insecurity in Nigeria is getting worsened as the day goes by, and there is no way He will be successful without calling on God for help.

He also warned him against tribalism, and partiality in his operations.

‘ I want to congratulate the new IGP, Usman Baba Alkali on his appointment, His mission is divine. Despite the fact that He has the policing strategy, He should put God first because none of this happened without His Endorsement.

There are better hands before He was selected, God has a good plan for him and that is why he is where he is today.

I urge him not to employ tribalism in his operations, he should also balance his actions towards religion so that He will be able to get results, God truly loves him.

God is ready to help him conquer banditry in the country during his tenure as IGP because there is a big task ahead of him. I wish him well.’’

Meet Abigail Johnson the Woman Who Manage over $5trillion Investments

It is no longer news that the world’s most powerful and richest individuals in finance are dominated by men that include Ray Dalio (net worth of $17 billion), the founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s biggest hedge fund; and Stephen Schwarzman (net worth of $24 billion), the man that leads Blackstone, the world’s most influential private equity firm.

However, Abigail Johnson, an American born billionaire is presently the world’s richest person in finance with a net valuation of $26.2 billion.

 

 

 

 

She leads Fidelity Investments, the world’s leading investment firm which was founded by her grandfather Edward C. Johnson II.

Fidelity Investments was established in 1946 and is one of the biggest and most influential asset managers in the world with $4.9 trillion in assets under management as of June 2020, and a combined total customer asset value of about $8.3 trillion.

Abigail Johnson, the Harvard and Cambridge-trained business executive at the time of writing this report presently owns about 24.5% of FMR, which handles about $5 trillion in assets under management.

Her father, brother Ned IV and sister Elizabeth own almost 50% of Fidelity’s parent company, FMR LLC, and have served as leaders of Fidelity Investment since 2014, pushing the company’s influence in key financial markets that include crypto.

Her family’s investments include Impresa Management, a top-notch hedge fund according to a March 2020 Form ADV filing. It holds about $9 billion in assets.

Recall that some days ago, Fidelity Investments revealed plans to launch its own Bitcoin exchange-traded fund as the $5 trillion asset management company strengthens its position in the world’s leading financial asset class.

FD Funds Management, a subsidiary of Fidelity, some days ago revealed it had come up with a strategy in creating an exchange-traded fund called the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust.

Abigail Johnson’s current net valuation of $26.2 billion would be about 15.2 million troy ounces of gold or 406 million barrels of crude oil.

That being said, Abigail Johnson is known for being intensely private, despite ranking among the world’s wealthiest.

Elon Musk’s SPACE X and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Battles for Supremacy

Is it a coincidence that the two wealthiest individuals on the planet are both nursing space transport dreams? Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are both front runners in the two foremost and advanced space programs on the planet at the moment.

 

 

 

Although their motive, which is to kickstart some sort of backup civilization for human beings, align, both billionaires disagree on how to go about it. Before we dive into the disparity in Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos’ space visions, let us quickly examine their space programs.

 

Space Exploration Technology Corps (SPACE X) 

Space X was founded by Elon Musk in 2002 and is headquartered at Hawthorn California. The goal of the company is to make Space travel affordable to ordinary people. It hopes to kickstart human colonization and inhabitation of planet Mars.

Space X manufactures two of its foremost space vessels the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles. It also manufactures other components that make space travel easy and affordable.

Space X is by far the more advanced of the two space programs. It has already put 700 Starlink satellites in space with over 120 being manufactured every month.

According to Business Insider, Space X is worth $33bn dollars

Blue Origin 

Blue origin was founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos and is headquartered in Kent, Washington DC. Blue Origin aims to make access to space cheaper and more reliable through reusable launch vehicles. It believes it can put 1 trillion people in space making use of hanging colonies on space. Blue Origin is the less successful of the two programs having failed to launch a single satellite into space.

Elon Musk’s Vision 

Elon Musk envisions a life outside the planet Earth. He strongly believes human beings can inhabit Mars in Mega Cities and it can serve as a backup to earth should World War 3 or any major global disaster occur.

According to Business Insider, Elon Musk hopes to create the first sustainable city in Mars by 2050. The Company hopes to commence launching cargoes with building equipment in 2024 and hopefully, a permanent city would begin to take shape by the 2030s.

Elon Musk’s space company is valued at $33bn with its initial funding coming from his big payout from selling PayPal. He funds his SpaceX by getting contracts and investors for it.

Jeff Bezos’ Vision 

Jeff Bezos’ vision for his space program is slightly different from that of Elon Musk. Jeff Bezos does not agree with the Mass Inhabitation of Mars by Elon Musk. He rather believes his Blue Origin company can come up with “floating cities” on space that can house 1 trillion people. Jeff Bezos funds his Blue Origin project by allocating a certain percentage of his Amazon shares for it. Last year he allocated a whopping $3.1bn to his Blue Origin project.

 

Billionaires at play 

Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are the two richest individuals on the planet. Little wonder they can afford to pursue these ambitions. Elon Musk is clearly leading the space race with a more Robust SpaceX and cutting-edge drive, while Jeff Bezos, the older and richer of the duo seems to be taking his time. Jeff Bezos puts in more funds into his blue Origin Project while Elon Musk struggles a bit with funding Space X, relying on contracts and investors to get by.

 

Elon Musk is the younger of the two billionaires and exudes a youthful aura which sort of gives him an edge over Jeff Bezos. He is seen as the exciting youthful tech billionaire who was once smoking pot on live TV.

Both Space X and Blue Origin enjoy subtle help from NASA, America’s authoritative Space Body.

 

Culled Nairametric

Road Concession: FG to launch Procurement Portal to Ensure Competitiveness and Transparency

The Presidency has disclosed that the Highway Development Management Initiative, which is a scheme by the Federal Government to concession roads will launch a procurement portal on March 29th, 2021 to ensure competitiveness and to guarantee transparency.

 

 

 

The Presidency disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, stating that the HDMI would be live on hdmi.worksandhousing.gov.ng   on March 29th.

 

 

HDMI is an effort of the FG to mobilize private capacity, resources, and entrepreneurship into the Nigerian highway sector; and convert roads from just social assets into assets of commercial opportunities.

 

 

“To ensure competitiveness and to guarantee transparency, a procurement portal has been developed to serve as the interface with the public and manage the HDMI from Procurement to Implementation

“All transactions will be done through this portal. No personal inquiry will be entertained by any official or staff of Federal Ministry of Works and Housing,” FG stated.

 

 

HDMI is made up of 2 categories namely the Value-added Concessions (VAC) and the Unbundled Assets Approvals (UAA), the UAA provides an opportunity for small businesses to take advantage of the commercial opportunities that are available along the Right-Of-Way. While under the VAC the road pavement and entire right of way is concessioned for development and management by the concessionaire.

The VAC will be rolled out in phases. The First Phase will involve twelve roads and cover the 6 geo-political zones. The Projected Capital Investment of N1,134,690,048,000.76 and employment potentials of over 50,000 direct jobs and 200,000 indirect jobs.

The FG also disclosed that 5.6% of the 35,000 km (1963.24 km) of the  Federal road network, would be offered for concession.

The roads are BENIN – ASABA (125KM); ABUJA – LOKOJA (193KM); KANO – KATSINA (150KM); ONITSHA – OWERRI – ABA (161KM); SHAGAMU – BENIN (258KM); ABUJA – KEFFI – AKWANGA (122KM); KANO – MAIDUGURI (lot 1 Kano-Shuari 100KM; lot 2 Potiskum-Damaturu 96.24KM) LOKOJA – BENIN (270KM); ENUGU – PORT HARCOURT (200KM); ILORIN – JEBBA (129KM); LAGOS – OTA – ABEOKUTA (80KM); and LAGOS – BADAGRY (79KM).

It was reported earlier this year that the FG received the Outline Business Case Certificate of Compliance for 12 pilot federal highways billed for concession.

Following the receipt of the Outline Business Case Certificate of Compliance, the FG stated that private individuals will be allowed to build, operate and maintain assets on some federal highways that are available for concession.

FG begins process for concession of 12 highways

The Federal Government on Tuesday issued a notice for the commencement of the procurement process for the 12 federal highways mapped for concession under the Highway Development Management Initiative.

 

 

 

Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, issued the notice in Abuja and unveiled the portal that was developed to ensure that the procurement process was seamless.

 

 

The 12 highways so far mapped out for concession by the Federal Government have a combined length of about 1,963km and represents less than 5.6 per cent of Nigeria’s 35,000km federal highway network.

 

 

The 12 routes for concession under the pilot phase include Benin-Asaba, Abuja-Lokoja, Kano-Katsina, Onitsha-Owerri, Shagamu-Benin and Abuja-Keffi-Akwanga.

Others include Kano-Shuari and Potiskum-Damaturu, Lokoja-Benin, Enugu-Port Harcourt, Ilorin-Jebba, Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta, and Lagos-Badagry-Seme border.

Fashola said, “These 12 roads were carefully chosen to ensure that each of the six geopolitical zones are covered.

“The initial capital investments that we foresee is something in the order of N1.13tn and the employment potentials are an estimated 50,000+ direct jobs and 200,000+ indirect jobs.”

On the procurement portal, the minister said it was developed to ensure competitiveness and guarantee transparency, adding that it would serve as the interface with the public and manage the HDMI from procurement to implementation.

He explained that the portal would give access to relevant documents, news updates, videos, ensure the management of the public private partnership procurement process and the process of approvals and permits, among others.

“Therefore, to those writing letters of inquiry, making offers of interest on the HDMI, offering to provide services like tolling, weigh bridge, rest houses, etc, we are sorry we cannot respond to those letters in order to maintain the integrity of this process and to keep the playing field level,” Fashola stated.

He further noted that currently, the government was executing over 700 different contracts for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of over 13,000km of roads and bridges across all the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory.

He said the HDMI was an effort by government to mobilise private capacity, resources and entrepreneurship into the Nigerian highway sector.

Traditionalists Warns Kwara Govt, House of Rep over Hijab

The global head of Ifa priests, otherwise called the Araba Agbaye, Chief Owolabi Aworeni, on Tuesday cautioned the Kwara State Governor, Abdualrahman Abdulrazaq, against actions that might incite violence in the state.

 

 

Also, Aworeni urged the House of Representatives to halt a bill which sought to institutionalise the use of hijab in the country.

 

 

The issue of hijab has spurred heated reactions in Kwara State with Christian mission schools shut down in resistance against the move by the state government to enforce the use of hijab by Muslim students in the schools.

 

 

However, the Araba, represented by his deputy, the Araba Oluisese of Ibadan, Ifalere Odegbola, in an interview with journalists in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday, said, “We are appealing to the Governor of Kwara State to caution against steps that are capable of turning Kwara State and the entire country into crises.

“Peace will reign supreme if religions generally are given pride of place. Let the Christian schools be, same for Muslim schools and schools for the traditional worshippers, without any religion lording it over the other.

“A traditional worshipper who decides to attend Christian school should imbibe the Christian practices and principles and ditto for a Christian child who chooses to attend a Muslim school. If he decides to attend the school, he has to abide by the practices.

“It is wrong for a child who belongs to another faith to want to force his way through. The governor should desist from acts that can incite violence or civil disorderliness. Academics should not continue to get interrupted as we have it at the moment.

“In the same vein, we are appealing to the National Assembly to drop the issue of use of hijab; we are warning that religious intolerance should not be allowed to polarise us as a people. Nigeria as a secular nation should be receptive to all religions and people should be free to practice their own faith without any interference.”

Heritage Bank joins in World Water Day with installation of borehole

Heritage Bank Plc has joined the rest of the globe to celebrate the World Water Day 2021 with plans to assist a community in dire need of clean water by installing a bore hole.

The theme for this year’s WWD 2021 is “Valuing Water,” which focuses on the importance of freshwater and presses for sustainable management of water resources. According to the United Nations, the day is aimed at raising awareness about 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water resources globally.

“The value of water is about much more than its price.” This day is celebrated keeping in line with Sustainable Development Goal number 6 which is aimed at achieving water and sanitation by all for 2030,” UN stated.

It further explained that global water demand is likely to rise by over 50 per cent by 2040.

To this effect, as part of efforts to implement the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) sustainable banking principle, Heritage Bank Plc has instituted a Corporate Social Responsibility’s (CSR) campaign project to assist a community in dire need of clean water by installing a bore hole.

This campaign project, according to the bank will be executed in two phases; the first involves nominations call for community that is in dire need of water will be put on its social platforms from 22nd March 2021, which will run for 30days.

The bank in a statement signed by the Divisional Head, Corporate Communications, Fela Ibidapo, disclosed that thorough research will be conducted on communities that put up for nominations and the most in need will be chosen.

In furtherance, the community leaders would be engaged, which will herald commencement of the project and handing over the borehole to the community.

Speaking on WWD 2021, the MD/CEO of the Bank, Ifie Sekibo said the adoption of the campaign project shows how Heritage Bank values water and making clean water accessible to the under-privilege, living in urban slums and rural areas.

According to him, to access safe water resources globally, higher value must be given to protecting the ecosystem in ensuring good quality water supply.

Sekibo, who further canvassed for the implementation of Sustainable Banking Principle, tasked stakeholders to continually promote the need for more productive value of water, which would bring about developmental impact to society, while protecting the communities and environment in which financial institutions and their clients operate.

Nigerian Made COVID-19 Vaccine Undergoing Clinical Trial – PT

The  Federal Government on Monday said Nigerian scientists have produced two local COVID – 19 vaccines and were awaiting clinical trials and certification.

The government also raised the alarm over reported racketeering of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines in some vaccination centres.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman Presidential Task Force on COVID – 19, Boss Mustapha and Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, said these during the press briefing Presidential Task Force on COVID – 19 in Abuja.

The SGF said, “The disclosure that Nigerian Scientists have produced at least two local COVID – 19 vaccines which are awaiting clinical trials and certification is significant. I call on all relevant agencies to provide the required support and an enabling environment for smooth conduct of the remaining protocols for the certification of these vaccines with a view to encouraging and motivating other researchers.”

The PTF chairman recalled that one year ago on March 21 2020, a total lockdown was declared by the government in some parts of the country due to coronavirus pandemic that hit the nation.

He said, “In the past one year, the socio-economic impact on us cannot be underestimated. Many people lost their livelihood and many people lost loved ones.”

The SGF also said that on Sunday, Nigeria recorded the lowest number of cases so far this year.

He said, “We have also seen a decline in cases in the high burden countries around the African region. This does not call for us to lower our guards as the virus is still potent and virulent. This is the right time to adhere to the full compliance of the NPIs and be vaccinated.”

The SGF said on Sunday, March 21 2021, the PTF received 300,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines from MTN Nigeria.

He commended the organisation and urged other partners to contribute towards the fight against COVID-19.

The PTF boss added that in the past few weeks there were discussions on the KLM and Emirates Airlines services in Nigeria.

He said, “Today, I will like to inform you that KLM has commenced full operations in and out of Nigeria since 15 March, 2021 while operations of the Emirates in and out of the country has been suspended with exemption of Cargo and Humanitarian flights.”

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