Author: straightnewsng.com

An Indian spacecraft has successfully landed on the moon on Wednesday in a mission seen as crucial to lunar exploration, making it the first country to do so. This was India’s second attempt to land a spacecraft on the moon and comes less than a week after Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the Moon after spinning out of control in its first moon mission in almost 50 years. India has become the fourth country in world to land on the moon after China, Russia, and USA had already landed on it. People across the country were glued to television screens and said…

The 10th National Assembly has pledged to revisit the Gender Equality Bill that has over the years suffered major setbacks on the floor of the Senate. The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio made the pledge at the International Conference on ‘‘Women In Governance’’ organised by the National Institute For Legislative And Democratic Studies in Abuja on Wednesday. Akpabio charged women both in appointive and elective positions in the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to get deeply involved in the lobby process towards the actualisation of the bill. Also read: Akpabio Seeks behavioural change on corruption, societal ills fight The Senate President advised…

Family members and friends of 22 of the military personnel who were killed in combat in Niger State wore mournful look at the National Military Cemetery, Abuja on Friday. No fewer than 36 officers were killed in battle, including an air mission, on August 14, according to the Defence Headquarters (DHQ).  The ceremony held  was attended by the Minister of Defence, Muhammed Badaru; Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle; Deputy Governor of Niger State, Yakubu Garba; Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Christopher Gwabin Musa; and other service chiefs. Straightnews learnt that some of the deceased officers had already been buried…

The five BRICS developing nations have ignored Nigeria but announced that they would admit Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates. This move is aimed at growing the strength of the bloc as it pushes to rebalance the world order dominated by the US and western countries. The expansion announced on Thursday, August 24, could also pave the way for other countries to seek admission. BRICS – whose acronym was originally coined by an economist at Goldman Sachs, currently comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. BRICS has pledged to address the grievances of member…

Wagner Group mercenaries have vowed to revenge in event of confirmation their leaders Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin were ‘assassinated’ in a plane crash near Moscow. Consequently, they said they are gearing up for ‘full mobilisation’ amid news their leaders, though their deaths have not officially been confirmed. Prigozhin died in a plane crash on Wednesday that also killed 9 other people. The cause of the crash is still under investigation. Prigozhin was a controversial figure who had close ties to Putin. He was known for his work in the catering industry and his support for Russian military operations abroad.…

Defending champion Tobi Amusan lost her world women’s 100m hurdles crown to Jamaica’s Danielle Williams on on Thursday in a shock win in Budapest. Williams, the 30-year-old, who previously won in Beijing in 2015, timed 12.43 seconds to edge out Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico (12.44sec) with Kendra Harrison of the United States taking bronze (12.46). Also read: Amusan, Uko make World Athletics list in Budapest Amusan and 2019 winner Nia Ali were never in the hunt, finishing sixth and last respectively. The Nigerian hurdler won the 100m hurdles event at the Stockholm Diamond League in July this year.…

The total sum of N966.110 billion has been disbursed by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) as July 2023 Federation Account Revenue to the Federal Government, States and Local Government Councils. This was announced at the end of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting for August 2023, chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun. Director of Press and Public Relations under the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, said the N966.110 billion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N397.419 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of…

An Akwa Ibom man has allegedly killed and burnt his son’s corpse over allegation of harvesting cassava from his farm without permission. Straightnews gathered that Mr Innocent Uko, an indigene of Ebe Ikpe village in Essien Udim Local Government Area of the state angry that his son, Boniface harvested cassava from his farm killed him with a machete. The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Odiko MacDon, told our correspondent on Tuesday in Uyo that after killing his son, Innocent burnt the corpse and dumped the carcass in an abandoned pit toilet in his compound to conceal the act. When arrested…

British police said on Tuesday they had charged the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, with bribery offences, saying they suspected she had accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million-pounds oil and gas contracts, Reuters reported. Alison-Madueke, 63, was a key figure in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, serving as petroleum resources minister from 2010 to 2015. She also served as president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). “We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts. “These charges are a milestone in what has been…

Five persons died while trying to mount a billboard in the Obiri-Ikwerre area of Rumuosi in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State on Monday. Also, four others who received life-threatening burns are currently battling for their lives at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital where they were rushed for treatment. It was learnt that as the people wanted to mount the billboard, a major outdoor advertisement with a metal frame, it reportedly touched a high-tension cable, thereby causing a spark. Also read; Clergyman at Abia police net over suspected death of evangelist The nine men were said…