Author: damazah@gmail.com

Business leaders, entrepreneurs and members of Nigeria’s literary community gathered in Lagos on Monday for the public presentation of The Challengers, a book by Nigerian author Eghosa Imasuen, which chronicles the journey of the founders of VFD Group. The event, held at the Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel, brought together executives, policymakers, media personalities and young professionals to discuss entrepreneurship, leadership and the lessons behind building an enduring organisation. The book tells the story of how five friends, Nonso Okpala, Adeniyi Adenubi, Mobolaji Adewumi, Gbenga Omolokun and Azubike Emodi, came together following the 2008 global financial crisis to build VFD Group.…

The ousted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, will go on trial on US drug trafficking charges starting on 1 June ⁠2027, a judge said ⁠on Wednesday.Maduro wore beige prison ​garb as he was led into a Manhattan courtroom by US marshals for a hearing before district judge Alvin Hellerstein in one of the most consequential criminal cases in recent history.Maduro returned to court with his lawyers and continued objecting to the US military action that snatched him from power and deposited him in New York to face drug-trafficking charges.Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, have been held…

Andy Jassy, chief executive officer of Amazon.com Inc., speaks during an unveiling event in New York, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. Jassy said Amazon is in the process of building over 100 generative artificial intelligence (AI) features. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAmazon is laying off some employees in its unit focused on artificial general intelligence, the company confirmed Wednesday, as it continues to cut jobs while pouring money into AI. The company declined to disclose how many staffers were affected, or which parts of the AGI organization were exposed to the cuts. The AGI unit is focused on…

OpenAI has revealed that an autonomous AI agent powered by its technology went rogue during a test, accessed the open web and hacked a prominent startup by itself in an “unprecedented incident”.The company behind ChatGPT said the startup Hugging Face had detected and contained the agent – an AI tool designed to carry out tasks without human assistance – which had entered its systems.“We consider this incident to be an unprecedented cyber-incident, involving state-of-the-art cyber capabilities,” OpenAI said.The company said it expected this type of incident to become more commonplace as models – the technology that underpins AI tools such…

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has rebuked some of his cabinet ministers after they were caught on camera sharing a joke about releasing prisoners.In the footage, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting can be heard telling Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood that new Justice Secretary Alex Norris “wants to let them all out”.Streeting apologised for the remarks, which were first published by Metro journalist Craig Munro, after critics suggested he had been joking about the government’s early prisoner release scheme.Asked whether it was appropriate for his ministers to be joking about early release, Burnham told reporters: “No it’s not, and certainly that’s been acknowledged…

Colorectal cancer has become the leading cause of cancer related death among people younger than 50. Although routine screening generally begins at age 45 for adults at average risk, warning signs can appear earlier and should be discussed with a health care provider at any age. To help people recognize possible symptoms and speak with their doctors sooner, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has introduced free public education resources and a checklist designed for use before primary care appointments. Colorectal Cancer Is Rising in Younger Adults “A lot of times when younger patients seek care for bowel symptoms, those…

All eyes were on UFC in June for the historic UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House. It was a perfect event, according to UFC president and CEO Dana White, except for one loud, ugly stain involving UFC heavyweight Josh Hokit.Hokit was handed a microphone after his second-round TKO win over Derrick Lewis. Hokit, wearing an American flag bandana, yelled into the mic, “Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?”White recently expressed disgust over how the former First Lady was treated, particularly as a wife and a mother.”It’s f—ing gross, right?” White told Ryan Clark’s “The Pivot” podcast.…

GLG Communications has honoured 50 outstanding public relations and strategic communications professionals at the fifth edition of the PR Power List Soirée and Awards, held in Lagos as part of activities marking World PR Day 2026. The invitation-only event took place on Friday at the Alliance Française, Mike Adenuga Centre, Ikoyi, under the theme, “The Golden Age of Strategic Public Relations.” The annual PR Power List is recognised as one of Africa’s leading platforms celebrating excellence in public relations and strategic communications. It recognises professionals whose work over the past year has delivered measurable impact by shaping organisations, influencing public…

Femi Otedola, the chair of First HoldCo Plc, procured 706.1 million new shares in the banking group on Wednesday, a market disclosure said, taking his interest in the corporation to 21.95 per cent. The tycoon purchased the shares through Calvados Global Services Limited, his special purpose vehicle, in various deals worth N77.6 billion. The latest share purchase puts him roughly one per cent away from catching up with RC Investment, the bridge holder currently holding the largest stake (22.94 per cent) in the company. RC Investment, last July, emerged as the trustee for the 10.4 billion shares simultaneously offloaded by…

The Congressional Progressive caucus (CPC) held a shadow hearing on Medicare for All on Wednesday, led by Pramila Jayapal and Debbie Dingell.The hearing comes as over half of the House Democratic caucus has co-sponsored Medicare for All legislation, and Senator Andy Kim introduced legislation on Tuesday that would enroll all children into Medicare until the age of 26, while Republicans passed drastic healthcare cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including nearly $1n in cuts to Medicaid and allowing Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire.“I’m going to get this over the finish line before I die, and I don’t…