Author: straightnewsng.com

Straightnews Decrepit and overcrowded bus veered off the road and plunged into a deep gorge in northern India on Monday, November 4, k!lling at least 36 people and injuring several others, officials said.  The accident occurred in Almora district in the mountainous state of Uttarakhand. The bus was carrying around 60 people, and more than 20 have been injured, said Deepak Rawat, a senior state government official. Authorities said earlier they believed there were 42 passengers, which was how many people the bus could accommodate. Related news: Train crash: Tinubu condoles with India over death of 288 Teams of rescue…

Straightnews Akwa Ibom is among 20, out of Nigeria’s 36 states, that generated revenue from their local government councils in 2023, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says. In its latest report on internally generated revenue (IGR), the NBS said 16 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) did not report any revenue from local government sources throughout the year. The report said Katsina, Benue, Sokoto, and Adamawa did not also generate revenue from their local governments. The four states had failed to report no local government revenue in 2022, marking two consecutive years without contributions from this source. In recent months, advocacy for…

Straightnews In response to the outrage that trailed the arraignment and trial of minors over the #EndBadGovernance protests held in several parts of the country in August, President Bola Tinubu has directed the immediate release of all the detainees.   Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, told State House correspondents on Monday after the President swore in seven newly appointed ministers cleared by the Senate. The minister said the President ordered the immediate release of the minors without prejudice to the ongoing legal processes.   The President also directed the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction…

The Director General, National Financial Investigation Agency in Equatorial Guinea, Baltasar Engonga,  is being interrogated for allegedly recording over 400 video 3extapes of the wives of notable people in the country. The scandal emerged in the course of a fraud investigation against the 54-year-old Economist which resulted in the search of his house and office on impromptu notice by ANIF officials who came across several CDs that later revealed his sexcapades with different married women. The videos reportedly include encounters with high-profile individuals, such as his brother’s wife, his cousin, the sister of the President of Equatorial Guinea, the Director…

Twenty-nine children could be facing death penalty in Nigeria after they were arraigned on Friday over treasonable charge for participating in a protest against the country’s high cost of living. Four of them collapsed in court due to exhaustion before they could enter a plea. A total of 76 protesters were charged with 10 felony counts, including treason, destruction of property, public disturbance and mutiny, according to the chargesheet seen by The Associated Press. According to the chargesheet, the minors ranged in age from 14 to 17 years old. Frustration over the cost-of-living crisis has led to several protests in recent…

Ahead of November 5 election showdown, US Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump are smarting for presidency in the most ‘powerful’ country in the world. The two presidential candidates are lurking out a two-horse race in the swing states in what political analysts see as one of the closest contests in modern American history. And in the handful of critical states framing the 2024 race, there is little daylight between the rivals with barely a week before Election Day. Under the US Constitution, America’s founding fathers established that each of the 50 states would hold its own…

The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) have announced suspension of the ongoing nationwide indefinite strike over withheld salaries for one month. The unions in a joint statement on Sunday said the suspension of the indefinite strike will take effect on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. The statement was signed by Prince Peters Adeyemi, General Secretary of NASU and Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim, National President of SSANU. This was as the Federal Government released funds for payment of withheld salaries of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Federal Universities (NASU). Related…

Straightnews The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria has frowned at the Court, Nigerian Government arraigned for trial of children who participated in the #EndBadGovernance protests from various states. FIDA also picked holes over the detention of the minors in different correctional facilities for a period exceeding 90 days, saying their unkempt appearance in court in addition to viral news reports of fainting in court has cast serious doubts on the adequacy of the country’s legal system to handle juvenile cases. Straightnews had reported how protesters who were arrested during the August 1 to August 10 #EndBadGovernance demonstration were…

Russian Court has fined Google an eye-popping 20 undecillion rubles ($2.5 decillion) for removing Russian state-run and government YouTube channels in the wake of the country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In other words, Google faces a $2.5 trillion trillion trillion bill from the country. That figure is $2,500,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. Russian news agency TASS reported that Google owes Russia a 36-figure sum for violating the country’s administrative offenses code by banning YouTube channels. The report added that if Google fails to pay the fine within nine months, it will double every day thereafter, with no upper limit to the final figure.…

Straightnews Some prominent Nigerians have expressed shock and anger for the continued detention and trail of minors over the #Endbadgovernance protest by the Nigerian Government. Among them are Peter Obi, Rabiu Kwakwanso and Omoyele Sowore including Amnesty International and Arewa Connect, among others. Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party Presidential Candidate, wrote ‘‘I just watched the disturbing and condemnable scenes captured in a circulating video, showing 124 protesters—among them minors—appearing in court today as part of efforts to secure the enforcement of their fundamental rights. Obi commented that ‘‘The footage reveals minors, some so weak that they could barely stand,…