Author: straightnewsng.com

A total of 257 pipeline points belonging to Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) were vandalised, out of which one pipeline point failed to be welded while six pipeline points ruptured in December 2018. This was contained in the monthly financial and operations report of NNPC released on Sunday in Abuja. However, within the period, the corporation recorded a trading surplus of N12.13 billion. According to the report, the profit by NNPC was due to the positive swing to higher revenue numbers posted by the corporation’s upstream subsidiary, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company. The 41st edition of the NNPC monthly report…

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri says his side have reached their mental “limit” after a poor second-half performance saw their top-four hopes dented with defeat at Everton. The visitors dominated possession in the first half with Eden Hazard striking the post and Pedro wasting a chance from close range. But their profligacy was punished four minutes after the break as Richarlison headed in following a corner for his 13th goal of the season. And the visitors’ woes increased on 71 minutes when Richarlison was brought down in the area by Marcos Alonso, with Gylfi Sigurdsson scoring the rebound from his own…

Apple violated patents and is to pay $31 million in damages to mobile chip maker, Qualcomm, a jury ruled. The verdict Friday in a San Diego federal court follows a two-week trial pitting two former allies that have become bitter adversaries. The lawsuit stems from 2017, when Qualcomm alleged that Apple had used its technology without permission in some versions of its popular iPhone, according to Cnet. The technology helps iPhones quickly connect to the internet and extend their battery life. The trial is a fragment of a legal battle involving Apple and Qualcomm, who are sparing over who invented…

Without Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus fell to its first Serie A defeat of the season as it lost 2-0 at Genoa on Sunday. Substitute Stefano Sturaro, who was sold by Juventus in January after a lengthy injury spell, scored two minutes after coming off the bench for his Genoa debut and Goran Pandev sealed the result. It was Juve’s first league defeat since April but the Bianconeri still have a commanding advantage at the top of the table. They are 18 points ahead of second-placed Napoli, which hosts Udinese later. Genoa moved 10 points ahead of the relegation zone. Ronaldo wasn’t…

Akwa United, Sunday, March 17 extended their unbeaten run to six games after a 2-1 defeat of Heartland FC of Owerri in Group B of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL). In the match played at Okigwe Township Stadium, Ndifreke Effiong Udo scored for Akwa United in the 4th minute while Chidiebere Ajoku equalised for Heartland FC in the 57th minute. However, Mfon Udoh netted at 72nd for Akwa United to bring the tally to 2-1. Udoh, the Akwa Ibom-born son, has so far scored eight goals in the NPFL this season to remain one of the top scorers chasing…

Manchester United’s FA Cup quarter-final defeat by Wolves is a “big step backwards”, says interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Wolves dominated a lacklustre United in a convincing 2-1 victory at Molineux. It is the first time United have lost back-to-back games since Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho in December, having also been beaten by Arsenal in the Premier League last Sunday. “This was the poorest we’ve played,” Solskjaer told BBC Sport. “We started too slowly and played into their hands. Our possession wasn’t bright enough and quick enough, so it’s disappointing.” The visitors created little of note until Marcus Rashford’s 95th-minute…

Suspected killers of four police operatives in Afuze Divisional Police Headquarters, Edo State Police Command arrested by operatives of the command will be paraded on Monday. Recall that a gang of criminals attacked the Afuze Divisional Police Headquarters, Owan East local government area of Edo, and massacred four operatives: the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), a pregnant police sergeant and two other officers on duty. A statement issued on Sunday in Benin by Mr. Crusoe Osagie, the Special Adviser to the State Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, said their arrest followed an order to the State Police Command by Governor…

Nigeria’s inflation rate dropped from 11.37 percent recorded in January to 11.31 percent in February 2019, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported. The decline represents 0.06 percent points against the rate recorded in January, the second consecutive drop in 2019. In its “CPI and Inflation Report’’ for February 2019 released in Abuja on Friday, the Bureau said the figure was 0.74 percent points lower than the rate recorded in January 2019. Increases were recorded, according to NBS, in all consumption that yielded the headline index. “On a month-on-month basis, the Headline index increased by 0.73% in February 2019, this is…

The United Nations held a memorial ceremony honouring the lives of 21 UN staff members who died Sunday when an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed shortly after leaving Addis Ababa. The ceremonies were held at UN Headquarters in New York and Geneva, to remember the staff members who were among the 157 passengers and crew members on board the ill-fated Ethiopian airplane Flight 302. “We come together in sadness and solidarity to pay tribute to our fellow UN family members who perished,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said after laying a wreath in remembrance of the workers. “In doing so, we also…

Forty-nine people have been killed at two Christchurch mosques in what Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is calling “one of New Zealand’s darkest days.” Among the dead are Atta Elayyan, goalkeeper for the NZ Futsal team, retired engineer Ali Elmadani, and recent refugee from Syria, Khaled Mustafa. A 71-year-old Haji-Daoud Nabi died trying to shield another person from the gunman. Forty-eight patients, including children, are being treated in Christchurch Hospital for gunshot wounds ranging from minor to critical. Many others remain missing. Accused shooter Brenton Harrison Tarrant appeared in Christchurch District Court on Saturday. Tarrant in his 20s was charged with…