Startech Safety And Security News Blog

He was said to have been on a life support machine for weeks at the hospital after slipping into a coma following Coronavirus complications. Former lawmaker representing Ogun-East Senatorial District and businessman, Buruji Kashamu, is dead. It was gathered that Kashamu died at the First Cardiology Hospital, Ikoyi, Lagos. He was said to have been on a life support machine for weeks at the hospital after slipping into a coma following Coronavirus complications. Buruji Kashamu “I have just lost my good friend of forever to ‪#COVID19‬. Until his death, Sen. Buruji Kashamu and I were inseparable. He died today at First Cardiology Consultants, in Lagos. May his gentle soul rest in peace. I pray his family and loved ones the fortitude to bear this heavy loss,” Ben Murray-Bruce, a former senator, posted on Twitter.  Kashamu has added to the growing list of high profile Nigerians, who died at First Cardiology Hospital. Recall that late Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kya...

                                        National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has alerted that 28 states and 102 local governments might be at risk of flooding due to impending heavy rainfall. Mr Olusegun Afolayan, Director, Operations of NEMA in charge of Ekiti, Ondo and Osun states gave the warning while speaking with newsmen after sensitising some residents on how flooding could be avoided on Friday in Akure. The alert is coming against the backdrop of warnings from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMeT) on the weather forecast. Afolayan said the programme, in collaboration with the Ondo State Management Emergency Agency (SEMA), was part of the agency’s pro-activeness to responding to warning alerts by different agencies dealing with weather. He said that the states under his jurisdiction were also part of the 28 states and the 102 local governments that were risk prone to fl...

                             No fewer than eight persons were killed after a five-storey building collapsed in the Egyptian Delta city of Mahala, state-run Ahram newspaper reported on Friday. Egypt Independent newspaper, however, put the death toll at four. It said three people have been rescued. Among the dead were a woman, Marwa Awad Aboul Enein, and her two children, Mohamed and Eyad. According to preliminary investigations, the collapse was caused by the machine digging of the ground, being done by a private company to instal sanitation pipes. Three houses nearby the collapsed also showed cracks at the front walls. Ahram said security and health teams are still searching for more victims under the debris. Three workers including the sub-contractor have been arrested on accusations of negligence and killing. Inhabitants of four other houses in the area were evacuated, amid concern of probable collapse. The Min...

                             The number of COVID-19 cases in Africa has exceeded one million, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said today. The Africa CDC, in its latest situation update said that COVID-19 cases rose to 1,007,366 as of Friday afternoon. Death toll related to COVID-19 rose from 21,617 on Thursday to 22,066 on Friday. Africa CDC also reported 690,436 COVID-19 patients have recovered across the continent so far.   South Africa, the worst-hit country on the continent, has registered 538,184 confirmed COVID-19 cases so far. It is followed by Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria and Morocco, the agency said. Africa CDC also said eight countries have reported higher COVID-19 fatality rates compared to the global average. The countries are Chad, Sudan, Niger, Liberia, Egypt, Mali, Burkina Faso and Angola. South Africa, Djibouti, Sao Tome and Principe, Cape Verde and Gabon are rep...

                                      At least 150,000 people have been uprooted from their homes due to heavy flooding in the eastern Jonglei state in South Sudan, local authorities said on Friday. Gabriel Deng Ajak, state director for Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, said thousands of people have been displaced in most parts of Jonglei region, which has also been experiencing inter-communal violence since July. “It is terrible. People have been displaced in Bor town, Twic East due to flooding. The population in the Jonglei region in the places of Bor, Twic East, Duk and Ayod is about 150,000 people,” Ajak told Xinhua by phone from Bor. He said the water level has risen by 1.5 meters following heavy rainfall since July. Inter-communal violence has affected 400,000 people in the region prior to flooding, Ajak said. “We urge the national government and the aid agencies to help our people f...

Canadian deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland Canada’s deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the first casualties of the 10 percent aluminium tariff reimposed by President Trump, will be American workers and consumers. “The United States has taken the absurd decision to harm its own people at a time when its economy is suffering the deepest crisis since the Great Depression,” Freeland said. “In fact the very washing machines manufactured at the Whirlpool plant where the president made his announcement yesterday will become more expensive for Americans and less competitive with machines produced elsewhere in the world.” According to a report by  Globalnews.ca , Freeland has vowed that Canada will “respond swiftly and strongly” to defend its workers. Let me be clear. Canadian aluminium is in no way a threat to U.S. national security which remains the ostensible reason for this, and that is a ludicrous notion,” Freeland said at a news conference on Friday. Trump announced th...

Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei, acting Managing Director, NDDC The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has said it would soon release another list of defaulting high profile contractors. It said the list in circulation was just that of 2018, saying that the list of 2019 had not been released yet and that when it is released, people would be shocked. Acting Executive Director, Projects, NDDC, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh Ojougboh stated that change had come to the NDDC and that “things will never remain the same again.” According to him, “President Muhammadu Buhari worked for the change in NDDC “and even when we leave here, other people coming in would be more careful. “As for the list of contractors we published, that was for 2018 alone. By the time we publish that of 2019, a lot of things will come out to the open. “Some persons claim they did not benefit from NDDC but we have documents linking them to those contracts. The forensic audit is unearthing a lot of things, 2016, 2017 and 2019 list...

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed   The Federal  Government says it increased the fine for hate speech from N500,000 to N5 million in the amended National Broadcasting Code to deter people who are willingly violating the provision to destabilise the country. The Minister of Information and  Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed gave the explanation on Friday when he featured on a TVC live Programme, “This Morning”. Lai had in 2019 announced the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari for the increase of the fine which was later stipulated in the amended Broadcasting Code. “What motivated the amendment was that when the fine was N500,000 we saw the provision being violated at will because the amount was very easy to pay,” he said. He explained that some desperate people, who know that their broadcast content contains hate speech, will insist that the broadcast stations should air it while they bear the cost of the fine. The minister noted that those attacking ...

Ghanaian students writing the WASSCE                            Some Ghanaian students taking the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) have rioted over the strict invigilation during the tests. According to news agency report, some agitated WASSCE candidates at the Tweneboa Kodua Senior High School (SHS) in south Ghana’s Ashanti Region vandalized schools on the basis that invigilators were being “too strict” during the exams on Monday. Similarly, students at the Bright SHS in the Eastern Region and Ndewura Jakpa Senior High Technical School in the Savannah Region on Thursday demonstrated against teachers over alleged “intimidation” by external invigilators during their social studies exam. As a result, the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) has called on for the provision of security for teachers serving as invigilators in the ongoing National President for CHASS Alhaji Ya...

                         The World Bank has approved $114.28 million financing to help Nigeria prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 with a specific focus on state-level responses. According to a statement from the bank on Friday, the amount includes $100 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA) and $14.28 million grant from the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility. It stated that the Federal Government would provide grants to thirty-six states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) through the COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Project (CoPREP). It added that the project would serve as immediate support to break the chain of COVID-19 local transmission and limit the spread of coronavirus through containment and mitigation strategies. Mr Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria said: “Nigeria has ramped up its efforts to contain the COVID -19 outbreak, bu...

                                    The All Progressives Congress (APC), in Edo state, has accused Governor Godwin Obaseki, of sponsoring seven armed men allegedly arrested at the premises at State House of Assembly in Benin City on Thursday. The suspects were identified as Festus Agbonrenren (25), Odion Osayande (23), Ogbeiwe Wilfred (52), Morgan Uwaigboe (47), Osayomore Salami (25), Ifeoluwa Oladele (36), and Iginobaro Collins (26). Their arrests have not been confirmed by the police. The men were allegedly arrested with five double-barrel long guns, two single barrel long guns, and 10 live cartridges within the premises of the Assembly complex. It was gathered that the suspects prevented the 17 members-elect who attempted to make their way to the House for plenary early on Thursday. The members-elect later relocated to an undisclosed location in Benin City where they elected Mr Victor Edoror as ...

                                     President Muhammadu Buhari will on Thursday next week commission the newly completed 17-storey headquarters building of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), located at Swali, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Buhari will perform the commissioning virtually after undertaking a virtual tour of the Nigerian Content edifice, together with other accompanying facilities-the 1000-Seater Capacity Auditorium, Four-Level Car Park and 10 megawatts gas-fired Independent Power Plant at Elebele. The power plant was constructed in partnership with the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and will provide uninterrupted electricity to the NCDMB structures, the Nigerian Oil and Gas Park being developed by the Board at Emeyal 1 Bayelsa State and select structures in the state. Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) building to be unveiled by Buh...

                           Former President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has warned politicians against politics of bitterness and violence and charged them to forge a common agenda that would promote peace and sustainable development in the nation. The former President further urged them to put the interest of the nation first, adding that politics was not about dividing the people and fighting enemies. He spoke on Friday during a virtual conference organized by the umbrella body of Ijaw cultural associations known as the Ijaw Nation Development Group(INDG). Speaking further, the former President said: “To the politicians amongst us, let us shun politics of bitterness and violence and pursue our common interest, regardless of party affiliations. Politics is not about creating and fighting enemies, it is not about dividing the people. Politics is about aspiring for a platform and the ability to utilise it to positivel...

                                A Beirut judge has ordered the detention of the director of Lebanese customs and a port director, after the massive blast which ripped through the capital city’s port. According to a report by the Lebanese National News agency,16 people were already detained in connection with the blast. Tuesday’s explosion killed 154 people and injured more than 4,000, according to the Health Ministry, with many still missing. Lebanese customs boss Badri Daher, his predecessor, Shafik Merhi, and port director Hassan Kuraitim will reportedly be kept in detention as long as investigations into the disaster continue. Rescue workers have struggled to remove large chunks of debris in the search for survivors and victims. “Due to the massive damage we are seeing, we have doubts there are survivors, but we still have hope,” one rescue worker told dpa. The Lebanese Red Cross believes there are still ...