Author: straightnewsng.com

By Akanimo Sampson As part of Greece’s ongoing effort to decongest the overcrowded North-Eastern Aegean islands, another 700 vulnerable refugees and migrants have been safely transported from the Greek islands to the mainland. The group arrived in Piraeus, the largest port in Greece, where the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) then transported them to designated accommodation sites that have been set up on the Greek mainland. Majority are families with children from Afghanistan and came from the islands of Lesvos, Samos, Chios, Leros and Kos. The latest arrivals bring to 3,887, the number of people that IOM has transferred from…

By Akanimo Sampson To help keep waters clean, new international standards for sustainable diving have just been released by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), an independent, non-governmental international organisation with a membership of 164 national standards bodies. Through its members, ISO brings together experts to share knowledge and develop voluntary, consensus-based, market relevant international standards that support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges. However, recreational diving offers the opportunity to explore a whole new world rich in underwater treasures. It also has an impact on the environment. Diving is attractive for many reasons and it is no wonder that millions…

Henceforth, offenders of hate speeches, inciting comments and indecency in the country are to pay N5 million fine no longer N500,000. This follows the approval of review of the National Broadcasting Code and extant broadcasting laws by President Muhammadu Buhari. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed stated this on Thursday in Abuja while inaugurating the National Broadcasting Commission Reform Implementation Committee. Mohammed said stiffer penalties await violators of broadcasting regulations as the President has endorsed the implementation of reforms to end all forms of monopoly detrimental to the actualisation of the immense potential of the broadcast industry.…

By Akanimo Sampson The adoption of the Law N° 2015-36 which criminalises the smuggling of migrants in Niger, and the closing of several gold mines, once magnets drawing job seekers, have left many people living along northern Niger’s migration routes in search for alternative income-generating activities. Together with local authorities, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has been working hard in recent years on strengthening the socio-economic development of communities living in the migratory zone. Last week, IOM completed a fish farming project in Bilma, in the Kawar region in northern Niger, to the benefit of more than 6,500 people, through…

By Akanimo Sampson Women are currently battling to shake the table at the technology and e-commerce industry largely dominated by men. There is a surge in women demanding seats at the table, and effectively delivering goods online. Interestingly, a handful of women disruptors from developing countries are challenging the status quo to narrow the gender gap at home and further afield. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is working with some of these inspiring women to reshape how trade happens online. Seven women from across the developing world were announced as UNCTAD’s first “eTrade for Women Advocates”…

A 97-year-old John Goodenough has emerged the oldest Nobel Prize winner across all fields. Goodenough from the United States is one of three researchers who won the Nobel Chemistry Prize on Wednesday for the development of lithium-ion batteries, paving the way for smartphones and a fossil fuel-free society. He was born on 25 July 1922, less than two months before the birth of 2018 Physics Prize laureate Arthur Ashkin. Ashkin was born on 2 September 1922. Goodenough, Britain’s Stanley Whittingham, and Japan’s Akira Yoshino will share the nine million Swedish kronor (about $914,000 or 833,000 euros) prize equally, the Royal Swedish…

By Akanimo Sampson Liberia is still struggling to provide sufficient maternal and newborn care services. The country has one of the 10 highest maternal death rates in the world, and an extremely high infant mortality rate as well. A newborn has a 51 in 1,000 chance of dying in the first 28 days of life, according to 2017 data. For instance, out of nine pregnancies, Anna Bondo had suffered seven stillbirths, each one a crushing heartbreak. Every loss came as a result of premature labour, the 43-year-old told the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Last July, pregnant for the tenth time,…

By Akanimo Sampson The world’s first international standard for oxygen reduction systems has emerged. This is a seeming good news of sorts because one of the most effective ways of preventing fires in buildings is to reduce the level of oxygen in the air. Prevention is always better than cure, and there are few better examples than with fires. If fires can only survive when there is oxygen to fuel them, removing it from the air is an effective way to ensure that the environment remains fire-free. Oxygen reduction systems (ORS) do that by creating atmospheres where there is not…

Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom, Tuesday, presented N597 billion for the 2020 budget to the state House of Assembly for consideration and passage into law. The budget lower than the 2019 figure of N672 billion shows a difference of N75 billion. Christened Budget of Industrialisation for Poverty Alleviation Phase II, the budget is made up of N111 billion recurrent expenditure, N369 billion capital expenditure and N116 billion consolidated revenue. Mr Emmanuel said the budget guided by the International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS) in preparation was targeted at building more industries as well as attracting direct foreign investment to…

The Federal Government has presented N10.33 trillion ($33.8 billion) budget proposal for 2020 to the National Assembly for approval. The government said it is working to restore the Budget cycle from January-December format for proper planning and implementation. Presenting the budget to the joint session of the upper and lower chambers on Tuesday, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari presented a record said the 2020 budget is based on a new VAT rate. Nigeria raises VAT to 7.5% from 5% Recently, the government announced an increase in the country’s Value Added Tax (VAT) from 5% to 7.5% to generate more revenue and…