Author: straightnewsng.com

Rescue workers in Lebanon are searching for more than 100 people who are missing after a huge explosion devastated the port area of the capital Beirut on Tuesday. At least 100 people were killed and more than 4,000 injured, with bodies buried in the rubble, following a massive explosion rocked Beirut on Tuesday, flattening much of the city’s port, damaging buildings across the capital and sending a giant mushroom cloud into the sky, officials said. The blast struck with the force of a 3.5 magnitude earthquake, according to Germany’s geosciences center GFZ, and it was heard and felt as far…

Nigeria has recorded 304 more cases of COVID-19, bringing its total infections to 44,433. Announcing this Tuesday night via its Twitter, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said new cases were reported in Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory and 17 other states of the federation. While the FCT topped the list with 90 infections, Lagos reported 59 cases. Other states with new cases include Ondo – 39, Taraba – 18, Rivers – 17, Borno – 15, Adamawa – 12, Oyo – 11 and Delta – 9. On the other hand, states with fewer infections include Edo – 6, Bauchi, Kwara,…

All is now set for a battle royale between Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev, the British heavyweight champion on December 2, Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn confirmed. After winning back his WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles against Andy Ruiz Jr, Joshua was to face either Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder. But Pulev is the IBF’s mandatory challenger and Joshua must fight him first before looking at a potential blockbuster bout against Wilder or Fury. A fight against Pulev was originally pencilled for June 20 at the state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. However, the coronavirus pandemic led to the bout being cancelled.…

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has denied depriving the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST), of discharging its duties. A statement signed by FIRS spokesperson, Abdullahi Ahmad, on Tuesday said the FIRS is responsible for assessing, collecting and accounting for tax accruing to the Federal Government, had begun printing stamps. The chairman of the NIPOST, Maimuna Abubakar, in a series of tweets, accused the FIRS of stealing the mandate of NIPOST. Ms Abubakar called on Nigerians to ensure that NIPOST gets justice. Did you know that NIPOST had generated over 60b in NIPOST CBN account for the Federal Government? #justicefornipost —…

As the Federal Government tightens noose on broadcasting stations in the country, culprit ones that broadcast materials deemed to be hate speech will pay between N500,000 and N5 million fine. The Minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed stated this during the unveiling of the amended portion of the 6th edition of NBC code. Mohammed who in the company of the acting Director-General of NBC, Professor Armstrong Idachaba, also said stations that rebroadcast foreign news materials that endanger national security or national interest will be penalised. Other provisions of the new code include the prohibition of backlog of advertising…

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the timetable for the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination. The examination body announced that the West African Senior School Certificate Examination(WASSCE) will begin on August 17. This was as exit classes in the 104 unity schools and other secondary schools in the country resumed for classes on Tuesday, August 4. A statement issued, Tuesday, by Demianus Ojijeogu, spokesperson of WAEC, said different versions of the examination timetable have been in circulation and “enjoins the general public to disregard them as they did not emanate from it.” “The West African Examinations…

Indications are rife that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) would pay beneficiaries of its scholarship this week. This follows President Muhammadu Buhari’s order that the NDDC should pay beneficiaries of its scholarship studying abroad. The students, who got a scholarship from the commission, cried out online and accused the NDDC of abandoning them, forcing them to take on menial jobs to survive. A statement signed by the NDDC Director, Corporate Affairs, Charles Odili, said Buhari conveyed the directive to the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, following the students’ protest. Odili said the students would be paid by the…

Nigeria has recorded 288 more cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing its total infections to 44,129. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) disclosed this on Monday night via Twitter. According to the health agency, the new infections were recorded Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory and 13 other states of the federation. While Lagos topped the list with 88 new cases, the FCT reported 25 fresh infections. The other states with new cases include Kwara – 33, Osun – 27, Enugu – 25, Abia – 20, Kaduna – 17, Plateau and Rivers – 13, Delta – 10, Gombe – 8.…

The BBNaija Lockdown season officially has its first male head of house following Ozo’s win at the Monday night HOH games. Ozo’s win comes in the third week of the game and surprisingly with no ties unlike the past two which saw Nengi and Lucy emerge winners respectively. For his deputy, Ozo selected Dorathy in what seemed like a difficult choice for him. Before announcing his choice, the HOH tried to talk to both Nengi and Dorathy, probably to help create a soft landing. Although his selection barely comes as a surprise seeing as the pair has created a friendly…

In what appeared like a minor shake-up in the State Executive Council, Governor Udom Emmanuel has dropped three Commissioners, elevated three to higher positions and re-assigned two. The dropped Commissioners are Dr. Ekong Sampson who oversaw Environment and Petroleum Resources, Dr. Iniobong Essien who was in charge of Science and Technology and Professor Victor Inoka who ran Labour and Manpower Planning. Dr. Dominic I. Ukpong who was Commissioner for Health has been reduced to Honorary Special Adviser on Health Matters to be reporting to the Office of the Governor. Before now, Akparawa Ephraim Inyang-eyen, who was Commissioner for Works, had…