The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has taken on the President Muhammadu Buhari All Progressives Congres (APC) administration again, accused the Nigerian government under his watch of allegedly creating the insecurity situation in Ogoni deliberately to justify its intention to militarise the region in preparation for planned oil resumption in the area without the people’s consent. MOSOP’s factional President, Fegalo Nsuke, made this allegation at Ebubu, in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State. Nsuke said contrary to some reports, the situation in Ogoni is not out of control noting that it was the failure of…
Author: Akanimo Sampson
Vitamin D — which exists in two forms: D2 (ergocalciferol) and D3 (cholecalciferol) — helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. A Rael-Science post says Vitamin D toxicity is rare, but patients and clinicians must be aware of the risks of vitamin D use to limit complications related to hypercalcemia, according to a new case study. According to the post, a 54-year-old man, after returning from a trip to Southeast Asia where he spent much of his two-week holiday sunbathing (6-8 hours a day), showed increased levels of creatinine, suggesting kidney damage or malfunction,” said University of Toronto’s Dr.…
Two leading economists have put forward a seeming solution to the challenges they see facing the multilateral system of trade, investment and finance. The plan came during the annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) in the United States capital of Washington DC, which ran from April 12-14. The ‘Geneva Principles for a Global Green New Deal’ are outlined in a new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade And Development’s (UNCTAD) Richard Kozul-Wright and the University of Boston’s Kevin Gallagher. In ‘A New Multilateralism for Shared Prosperity: Geneva Principles for a Green…
While the streets of Beira, a busy port city are returning to life one month after the devastating Cyclone Idai, the search for survivors continues in the neighbouring Zimbabwe, and food security has emerged as an issue in Malawi. Freighters and other heavy sea vessels ply the lanes along Beira’s waterfront and debris from fallen trees and other windblown wreckage can be seen stacked neatly along downtown sidewalks. Beachfront bistros again are attracting enough business to cause traffic jams over the weekend. The challenge currently is shifting to the outlying countryside, especially the Buzi River districts southwest of Beira, which…
Ben Ayade, the ambitious governor of Cross River State is battling to make history. On Tuesday, his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration reaffirmed their commitment to the Water Supply Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme, and to also ensure that the state becomes the first in Nigeria to attain the Open Defecation Free status. Governor Ayade made the commitment when he received a delegation from UNICEF led by Dr. Ibrahim Khalil Conteh, Chief of UNICEF Field Office. He enumerated the benefits of portable water, sanitation and hygiene in Africa, pointing out, ‘’we gave a commitment on a global stage Mandela 100, where…
The world of science is becoming increasingly very amazing, and posts by Rael-Science is helping some of us to keep tap with the racing scientific developments. For the first time, doctors are preparing to test a brain-computer interface that can be implanted onto a human brain, no open surgery required. The Stentrode, a neural implant that can let paralysed people communicate, can be delivered to a patient’s brain through the jugular vein — and the company that developed it, Synchron, just got approval to begin human experimentation. By leaving the skull sealed shut, patients could receive their neural implants without running as great…
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), a United Nations agency, has continued to provide Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) assistance to migrants stranded in Libya and wishing to return home, despite the backdrop of continuing armed conflict in Tripoli and the challenging conditions on the ground. On the night of April 11, IOM in Libya organised a charter flight to Mali carrying 160 migrants, with an onward journey to Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. The 160 migrants on board included a mixture of nationalities including 99 Malians, 51 Ivorians and 10 Burkinabe. Among the returnees were 16 children and 20 women.…
Post-cyclone emergency response operations in Zimbabwe were last week boosted by $200,000 in contributions from the Government of Japan and the International Organisation for Migration’s (IOM) own internal funding mechanisms. The assistance is going towards Shelter and Non-Food Items (NFI), Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM), Health, Protection, Displacement Tracking, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) and Early Recovery. IOM will take the lead in the Shelter and NFI/CCCM cluster. Before now, IOM was asking international humanitarian donors for $3.15 million to help the people of Malawi impacted by Cyclone Idai last month. The appeal is to assist IOM teams…
If your answer to this poser is yes, a Rael-Science post has provided how you can. The post says neuroscientist Sara Lazar, of Mass General and Harvard Medical School, started studying meditation by accident. She sustained running injuries training for the Boston Marathon, and her physical therapist told her to stretch. So Lazar took up yoga. “The yoga teacher made all sorts of claims, that yoga would increase your compassion and open your heart,” said Lazar. “And I’d think, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m here to stretch.’ But I started noticing that I was calmer. I was better able to handle more difficult situations. I was…
Ongoing hostilities in the North-East axis of Nigeria which caused the displacement of 1.8 million women, men and children, has been hampering their access to vital resources including water. In addition to the displaced population, 1.56 million individuals have returned to their communities since August 2015, due to the expanded presence of security forces. However, the infrastructure in those areas is still severely damaged or destroyed and essential services have yet to be fully restored. People in Gwoza town, Borno State for example, have been spending several hours a day under the scorching sun searching for water, often in unsafe, hand-dug…
Top officials of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment are not at ease as the Legislative arm of the Federal Government is seeking explanations into some suspected spurious spending in the ministry’s 2018 budget and padding in this year’s estimates. The Green Chamber of Nigeria’s bicameral Legislature has already summoned the Minister in-charge of the ministry, Okey Enelamah, to appear in person before the House of Representatives, to explain the allegedly uncovered anomalies on their 2018 budget spending and 2019 estimates. The House of Representatives has summoned the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okey Enelamah, to appear…
The vice of rice smuggling appears to be an undying gold mine for those profiting it. But, for the commodity farmers and millers, the thriving vice is causing them severe economic pains. Apparently burdened by the unbearable pain, the Rice Processors Association of Nigeria (RIPAN) has cried out, alleging that over 20 million bags of foreign rice, equivalent of one million metric tons, were smuggled into the country in the last three months. RIPAN Chairman, Mohammed Abubakar Maifata, made this known in Abuja, the country’s capital, on the latest development in rice smuggling in Nigeria. Before now, the smuggling of rice…
ICPD stands for the International Conference on Population and Development, a 1994 meeting in Cairo where 179 governments adopted a revolutionary Programme of Action and called for women’s reproductive health and rights to take centre stage in national and global development efforts. The Programme of Action specifically called for all people to have access to comprehensive reproductive health care, including voluntary family planning, safe pregnancy and childbirth services, and the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections. It also recognised that reproductive health and women’s empowerment are intertwined, and that both are necessary for the advancement of society. “The full and equal participation of women…
More than 14 million girls under the age of 18, are at risk this 2019, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said. According to the UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Natalia Kanem, more than 10 million girls will be married under the age of 18, another four million girls will undergo Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). That is not all. This year, according to the UNFPA boss, ‘’60 per cent of young people in Africa will not access secondary school, more than 200 million women and adolescent girls are waiting for modern contraception.’’ These worrisome figures came as ministers and representatives…
Kenya and Denmark have joined the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to mobilise political support and galvanise partnerships in preparation for the conference, in a side event following the opening of the 52nd session of the Commission on Population and Development. The two countries are co-conveners of this year’s Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 with the theme, Accelerating the Promise. The Nairobi Summit, to be held on November 12-14, 2019, marks 25 years since the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo adopted its landmark Programme of Action, centred around the recognition that sexual and reproductive health, gender equality and women’s empowerment are essential to achieving sustainable development. Chaired by…
Researchers at the University of Central Florida, USA, have developed a way to control the speed of light. Not only can they speed up a pulse of light and slow it down, they can also make it travel backward. The results were published recently in the journal Nature Communications. This is coming as a research team that set out to examine the myth of the ‘sugar rush’: can sugar really put you in a better mood? Using data collected from 31 published studies involving almost 1300 adults, Dr Konstantinos Mantantzis at Humboldt University of Berlin, Dr Sandra Sünram-Lea at Lancaster University,…
The United Nations Conference on Trade And Development (UNCTAD) says they are ready to work with developing countries to enhance their preparedness to seize the opportunities of e-commerce should they choose to join proposed talks among World Trade Organisation (WTO) members. The organisation’s Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi, who made this known on Friday said, ‘’it is a fact that 76 WTO members have launched plurilateral negotiations on trade-related aspects of e-commerce. However, we must ensure that there is a balanced approach that adequately takes into account the needs and considerations of developing countries.’’ Kituyi was speaking to delegates at the fifth edition…
Around 38,000 Mozambicans have now received shelter aid – either tarpaulins to replace destroyed roofs, or full tents – in a concerted international response to devastation brought by Cyclone Idai, one of the worst natural disasters to strike this African country in decades. More than half of those beneficiaries – at least 20,450 people – have been directly assisted by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and its international partners, including Oxfam, Save the Children, Red Cross, Care, World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse. Since the start of the humanitarian response, IOM has received in kind contributions of shelter material and…
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), a United Nations agency, has said that she is following the UN position which indicates that Libya cannot yet be considered a safe port. The agency made the clarification with regard to their activities in the African country. IOM in Libya is present at the disembarkation points to deliver primary assistance to migrants that have been rescued at sea. However, following their disembarkation, migrants are transferred to detention centres under the responsibility of the Libyan Directorate for Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM) over which the Organisation has no authority or oversight. The detention of men,…
The problem of irregular migration from the East and Horn of Africa to southern Africa, is presenting countries along the route with a new challenge: how to manage the flows while ensuring that the human rights of migrants are respected and protected. The ‘Southern Route’ – as this migration route is known, is used by scores of irregular migrants journeying southward in the hope of reaching South Africa. To better manage these irregular migration flows, the Governments of Ethiopia, Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania have held several bilateral and trilateral technical meetings since 2014. The latest took place this week…
The Pacific region is currently facing an array of economic, security and environmental challenges, particularly with the depletion of natural resources and the stress on livelihoods that come with climate change. States in the region have therefore, recognised that visas and mobility offer critical pathways that can help the region to not only cope but also thrive in this environment. Already, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), through the ACP-EU Migration Action, is working to build national capacities in the field of visas, migration and mobility. The Action, launched in June 2014, provides tailored technical support on migration to Africa,…
Over 1600 parliamentarians, United Nations partners and experts from around the world will be meeting in Doha, Qatar, from this April 6-10, for the 140th IPU Assembly. Under the overarching theme of education for peace, the Assembly will also consider ways in which parliaments can boost gender equality – particularly in the region, take measures to counter terrorism, promote human rights and invest in renewable energy. IPU which stands for Inter-Parliamentary Union, is a global organisation of parliaments. It was founded 130 years ago as the first multilateral political organisation in the world, encouraging cooperation and dialogue between all nations. Today, the…
Pictures: Rivers People celebrating the victory of Governor Nyesom Wike on the streets of Port Harcourt, the state capital, on Wednesday.
The World Health Statistics 2019, disaggregated by sex for the first time has explained that women outlive men everywhere in the world – particularly in wealthy countries. According to WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, ‘’breaking down data by age, sex and income group is vital for understanding who is being left behind and why. ‘’Behind every number in the World Health Statistics is a person, a family, a community or a nation. Our task is to use these data to make evidence-based policy decisions that move us closer to a healthier, safer, fairer world for everyone.’’ The gap between men’s…
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has become a political nightmare to his kinsman, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. Wike has again shown that he is the master of the turbulent waters of Rivers politics. To therefore, deliver himself from the scourge, he will need to enroll for a master programme in the Wike school of political mastery. Following his earthquake victory on Wednesday, Wike did not only dedicate the victory to God, he led prominent Rivers people and other Nigerians to offer Thanksgiving to the Almighty at the Government House Port Harcourt Chapel of Everlasting Grace Prof. Teddy Adias, the State…
Pictures: L-R: Rivers Deputy Governor, Ipalibo Harry Banigo, Governor Nyesom Wike, His Wife, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Austin Opara and former Rivers Deputy Governor, Engr Tele Ikuru during the presentation of duplicate Governorship Result Sheet to the Governor at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Wednesday. Picture 2: L-R: Rivers Deputy Governor, Ipalibo Harry Banigo, Governor Nyesom Wike and his Wife, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike, during the presentation of duplicate Governorship Result Sheet to the Governor at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
Pictures: Governor Nyesom Wike celebrating his re-election with Policemen attached to Government House, Port Harcourt
An oral cholera vaccination campaign to protect survivors of Cyclone Idai began on Wednesday in Beira, Mozambique. It is funded by Gavi, and the Vaccine Alliance. The campaign is however, being carried out by the Mozambique Ministry of Health, with support from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other partners, including UNICEF, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Save the Children. There has already been one reported cholera death, and almost 1,500 reported cases following the cyclone, which caused severe flooding in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Madagascar after making…
Harvard Medical School researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have discovered that adult tissues retain a memory, inscribed on their DNA, of the embryonic cells from which they arose. This is the outcome of a research that casts cells as curators of their own history. The discovery, according to a Rael-Science post, led to one even more intriguing find—that the memory is fully retrievable information: under certain conditions, cells can play the story of their development in reverse to switch on genes that were active in the fetal state. The findings, published online in the journal Molecular Cell, overturn the prevailing scientific…
Total, a major French energy player which produces and markets fuels, natural gas and low-carbon electricity has started up production on Kaombo Sul, the second Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit of the Kaombo project, located on Block 32, 260 kilometers off the coast of Luanda, in water depths ranging from 1,400 to 2,000 meters. This oil and gas major which is also operating in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, boasts of 100,000 employees and is committed to better energy that is safer, more affordable, cleaner and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, their…
