Foreign news
Xi Jinping urges ‘strict’ COVID-19 prevention measures for 2022 Olympics
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday urged strict COVID-19 prevention measures for the 2022 Winter Olympics, following his two-day inspection of the preparatory work for the Games in the two host cities, Beijing and Zhangjiakou.
He also called for replanning and readjusting all work in accordance with new circumstances while focusing on both epidemic prevention and control in the organization of the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and expressed confidence that the Games would be a great success in a meeting he presided over in Beijing.
‘Promote winter sports among 300 million people’
The development of winter sports should be promoted, said President Xi, hoping to better promote winter sports among 300 million people, and even more.
The foundation of building a sporting powerhouse lies in mass sports, he said during his visit to the alpine skiing competition venue in Yanqing District, Beijing on Monday.
With the Games approaching, the country is experiencing growing enthusiasm for skiing. In downtown Beijing, local residents could try skiing, the biathlon and floor curling at home thanks to a special event hosted last month.
At the Wednesday meeting, Xi also encouraged ideas for the future use of venues that could help construct a cultural and tourist belt that links Beijing with Zhangjiakou in north China’s Hebei Province.
According to the Olympic Park Management Committee, the Winter Olympic Village – with a total of 25 competition and non-competition venues – is expected to be completed by June.
Tech innovations in venues
During Xi’s Tuesday visit to the National Ski Jumping Center in Zhangjiakou, he learnt about the training equipment featuring high-tech innovations.
The coaching staff reported to the president that an intelligent decision support system is used in training to capture key indicators, including takeoff angle, postures, speed and jump distance. The staff also noted that the wind tunnel lab enables much greater efficiency in training.
Acknowledging their application of technology, Xi emphasized that winter sports can only be developed through technological innovations.
“I believe, through our efforts, we will be able to achieve fruitful results at the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games next year,” Xi said.
(Cover: Chinese President Xi Jinping talks with athletes and coaches while visiting the Capital Gymnasium in Haidian District, Beijing, capital of China, January 18, 2021. /Xinhua)
(With input from Xinhua)
Foreign news
NTAC Hails Tinubu; Volunteers Ready to Positively Impact Nigerians
Joel Ajayi
The Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC) has commended President Bola Tinubu for funding the Technical Aid Corps (TAC) Scheme.
The Director General (DG) of NTAC , Dr Yusuf Yakub, made the commendation during a ceremony to receive five returning TAC volunteers from Zanzibar, Tanzania on Tuesday in Abuja.
The returning volunteers also expressed readiness to impact knowledge gained from participating in the programme on Nigerians.
TAC is a mechanism for Nigeria’s foreign aid and technical assistance to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries through the use of Nigeria’s abundant trained manpower.
Yakub lauded Tinubu’s visionary leadership and steadfast support for the TAC Scheme.
Welcoming the volunteers who had discharged themselves as worthy ambassadors in Zanzibar, the D-G thanked them for their patriotism, dedication to service and for making Nigeria proud on the international arena.
The NTAC boss highlighted the importance of knowledge-sharing, while announcing that certificates of completion will be presented to the volunteers in line with the noble objectives of the service.
He also emphasised the volunteers’ crucial role in passing on the skills and experiences gained in Zanzibar.
He expressed optimism that their efforts would positively impact the lives of Nigerians across the country and shape the expectations and service-delivery of future prospective volunteers.
Earlier speaking, Amb. Zakari Usman, the Director of Programmes for NTAC, expressed gratitude to the D-G for his unwavering support and provision for the volunteers throughout their service period.
He said that the volunteers had so delivered on the mandate of the agency that citizens of Zanzibar did not want them to leave their country.
Popoola Adegoke, the Team Lead and a Mathematics Instructor for the batch of returning volunteers, was full of gratitude to the Federal Government for providing them the opportunity to participate in the scheme.
Adegoke said that Nigeria, was well blessed and had the abundance of both human and natural resources to contribute meaningfully to the development of many countries of the world.
He said that the need to continue the TAC Scheme was not negotiable, owing to its high impact and results.
Mohammed Salisu, a Physicist, said that the experience had broadened his horizon as his orientation during the last 24 months in Zanzibar, especially on the cultural exchange.
He lauded the government for the scheme, saying that Nigeria is seen and perceived to be higher in all ranking, especially in the standard of living and educational system.
He also appealed to the government to sustain the scheme to close the gaps both the educational and professional systems in the African, Caribbean and the Pacific Countries.
NAN
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