Author: straightnewsng.com

Sofia Kenin has come from one-set down to claim her first major at the 2020 Australian Open. The fourteenth seed defeated Garbine Muguruza, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 in a pulsating match that both women appeared to have on their racquet. The 21-year-old even fought off tears in the third set as the enormity of the situation got the better of her. But just like she has done all tournament, Kenin steadied to become the last woman standing at Melbourne Park. Muguruza sought assistance from a trainer in between the second and third sets, as fatigue appeared to set in. But in…

By Akanimo Sampson Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), a United Nations agency, has appealed for an urgent $76 million funding to tackle a Desert Locust outbreak in the Horn of Africa in order to protect livelihoods and food security. The locust outbreak is the worst to strike Ethiopia and Somalia for 25 years and the worst infestation that Kenya had experienced in 70 years. Djibouti and Eritrea are now being affected. Already, QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General, has said that the Desert Locust upsurge in the Horn of Africa is threatening to provoke a humanitarian crisis. Out of the $76 million…

By Akanimo Sampson US President Donald Trump has finally unleashed a missile attack on Nigeria by slapping immigration restrictions its citizens including six other countries, in addition to the list of nations already targeted by his controversial travel ban. The US embassy in Nigeria had announced that it was no longer accepting visa renewal applications via international courier service DHL. In a statement posted on Twitter, the embassy said Nigerians seeking to get US non-immigrant visas must apply online. They “will be required to appear in-person at the US Embassy in Abuja or US Consulate General in Lagos to submit…

By Akakan Umoh I was scheduled to travel the next day to my place of assignment. So, I went to a salon in Uyo Akwa Ibom capital to get a new hairdo. While in this salon, a mallam, (we call them Aboki in my place) carrying wristwatches and other female accessories stopped by the salon to advertise his wares. Nobody paid him attention. Yeah, they did glance at his wares, but they were not interested. The salon owner told him to go and come back next time. The man did something that shocked everyone there. He spoke our native language.…

Against renewed insecurity in the country, governors of the South-East states have concluded plans to establish a security outfit similar to ‘Operation Amotekun’ recently launched by their counterparts in the South West. Chairman of the South-East Governors Forum and Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, announced this when he hosted the General Officer Commanding 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Lasisi Adegboye, in Abakaliki, the State Capital. Although the name of the security outfit is yet to be made public, Channels Television gathered that the governors have written to the Federal Government, and also met with military authorities on their plan.…

By Akanimo Sampson Apparently piqued by recurring cases of extra-judicial killings in Nigeria in the guise of accidental discharges by policemen and operatives of other security agencies, federal lawmakers in the House of Representatives have summoned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, to appear before it on the matter to explain why police officers take delight in killing citizens. The resolution of the Green Chambers of the bicameral legislature, Thursday, followed a Motion of Urgent Public Importance sponsored by its Deputy Whip, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha (APC Abia), Ozuruigbo Ugonna (PDP Imo) and Princess Miriam Onuoha (APC Imo). Before its ruling…

By Akanimo Sampson In 2018, about two billion people experienced food insecurity, and more than 820 million others, which is equivalent to more than 10% of the world’s population, were hungry. This challenge exists in the context of a global population that is projected to grow from the current 7.7 billion to 8.5 billion in 2030, just a decade away, and rise to 9.7 billion in 2050. The majority of those facing hunger and food insecurity live in developing countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Thailand, and Turkey. These countries including many Least Developed Countries (LDCs) like Angola, Benin, Burkina…

The Senate, Thursday, swore in Senator Christopher Ekpenyong of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) representing Akwa-Ibom North-West Senatorial District in the National Assembly. Ekpenyong of the PDP polled 134, 717 votes, while Senator Godswill Akpabio of the All Progressives Congress (APC), scored 83, 820 votes in the January 25, 2020 re-run election for Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District in Essien Udim local government area. He took the oath administered by the Deputy Clerk of the Senate, Musa Abdullahi administered the oath of office and the oath of allegiance on Ekpenyong at about 10:40 a.m. on the floor of the Senate.…

By Akanimo Sampson A fresh worrisome threat to food security and livelihoods is currently emerging in the Horn of Africa. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has already warned that rising numbers of Desert Locusts present an “extremely alarming and unprecedented threat’’ to food security and livelihoods in the region. The Horn of Africa is, however, a peninsula in Africa that extends hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. The area is the easternmost projection of the African continent. Referred to in ancient and medieval times as…

By: Israel Umoh Many people outside the academic community would not have heard or known about him. But as soon as Ben Ayade, the microbiologist sauntered into the political turf, his popularity soared. In 2011, he became a Senator under the platform of PDP. In 2015, he ascended as the Cross River governor. Incidentally, his political profile has risen above his professorial title. Being in the bedroom of power, Ayade could exercise the political power at will. As a governor, he could demand the head of his enemy and it is taken to him in a saucer. Yes, King Herod…