Author: straightnewsng.com

By Akanimo Sampson An additional $61.5 million, not budgeted within the current Humanitarian Response Plan for South Sudan, is needed to support flood-displaced citizens most in need of assistance, and ensure protection of the most vulnerable and avert loss of life. Heavy rains have hit areas that were already facing high humanitarian needs. Across the 32 flooded counties, more than three million people were in need of assistance even before the rains. Sixty-three per cent of the flood-affected counties are classified as facing extreme levels of Acute Malnutrition Phase 4 (critical), mostly impacting children and new mothers. Critical needs include…

Of all the housemates in the just ended Big Brother Naija ‘Pepper Dem,’ two females were the most outstanding for their rivalry and popularity. The two ladies- Mercy and Tacha- have made history of their own. While Mercy turned out to be the first female winner of the show, Tacha, on the other hand, is the first female to be disqualified from the show. Both records created by the duo were at the expense of each other. Tacha got disqualified for her assault on Mercy and many will still argue that Mercy would have had a hard time clinching the…

China’s annual Singles Day online shopping bonanza has brought in a record $31 billion in sales for Alibaba. The country’s biggest e-commerce company topped last year’s record in 16 1/2 hours. The event regularly racks up bigger sales than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. During Singles Day pre-sales, which kicked off three weeks ago, Estée Lauder (EL) raked in a record 1 billion yuan ($143 million) in pre-orders, Alibaba said on Sunday. Alibaba users also pre-ordered 100 million yuan ($14 million) worth of Apple (AAPL) iPhone 11s, the company said. This year’s Singles Day comes as Alibaba’s growth is…

Following the passage of Professor Tamunoemi Sokari David-West, a former petroleum minister, into eternity, President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with the bereaved family. David-West, 83, was a consultant virologist of national and international standing is said to have died Monday. Buhari expressed deep sorrow at the passage of his ally and friend, a man he usually called “the indomitable Tam David-West.” David-West served as Commissioner of Education in the old Rivers State, Minister of Petroleum and Energy under the Muhammadu Buhari military regime, and Minister of Mines, Power and Steel under General Ibrahim Babangida regime. The President in a statement…

By Akanimo Sampson The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Chief of Mission for Costa Rica, Roeland De Wilde, says community stabilisation projects are strengthening the social fabric and are essential for socio-economic development of communities in Costa Rica. “The care of common spaces promotes co-existence between migrant residents and their neighbours,” he said. To this end, two parks abandoned to the sale and consumption of drugs and alcohol have been revitalised with colourful murals and a skatepark for children by a project that brought together the local community and migrant population. Located in Los Laureles and July 25 neigbourhoods in San Jose, the…

By Akanimo Sampson The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), a United Nations agency, has cried out concerning the plight of more than 113,000 vulnerable migrants who are stranded in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen. IOM says they are in need of immediate life-saving assistance. IOM’s Regional Director for the East and Horn of Africa, Mohammed Abdiker, said “migrants undertaking these journeys do so in search of a better life for themselves and their families. They are often young – in many cases children – unaware of the dangers on the route to Yemen, including extreme heat, conflict and violence, and human trafficking.” Last month…

Following the judgment of Appeal Court in Calabar ordering for re-run within 90 days in Akwa Ibom North West (Ikot Ekpene) Senatorial District, opinions are divided among legal and none experts on the purported resignation of Senator Godswill Akpabio as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs for the re-run. During the February 23 National Assembly Elections, Senator Godswill Akpabio, who is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, scored 76,917 votes against 114,973 garnered by his opponent, Senator Christopher Ekpenyong of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. As a sitting minister in the Federal Republic of Nigeria who won the Appeal Court’s…

By Akanimo Sampson A new report says the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) specification change will shift a large amount of bunker demand from high-Sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) to low-Sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) and gasoil across regions, especially in China. IMO is out to limit Sulphur content in ships’ fuel oil from 3.5 to 0.5 percent from this coming January 1, 2020. Already, the accumulated growth rate for US inbound containers has almost been cut in off half from 5.1% in 2018 to 2.6% in August of 2019. However, ESAI Energy’s newly published China’s Changing Bunker Market Special Report is expecting…

By Akanimo Sampson The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said that effective social dialogue is a key means to promote better wages and working conditions, pointing out that when it fails, work stoppages may ensue. ILO data show that this has happened at least 44 thousand times since 2010. Effective social dialogue is a means to promote better wages and working conditions. Therefore, it is one of the main pillars of decent work. Social dialogue includes negotiations, consultations and exchange of information between workers, employers and governments. It also covers collective bargaining and mechanisms of dispute prevention and resolution. However,…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Akwa Ibom State is said to be set for re-run in Akwa Ibom North West (Ikot Ekpene) Senatorial District. The district made up of 10 local government areas has Essien Udim, one of the local government areas, which is the hotbed for the re-run within 90 days as ordered by Appeal Court in Calabar. Senator Godswill Akpabio, who is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, hails from Essien Udim while his opponent, Senator Christopher Ekpenyong of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, comes from Obot Akara. INEC had after February 23 National Assembly Elections…