Author: damazah@gmail.com

The vice-presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has confirmed that he and the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, have a written agreement that Obi will serve only one four-year term if elected president in 2027. Kwankwaso disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday while responding to questions about Obi’s repeated promise to spend only one term in office. According to him, he has no reason to doubt Obi’s commitment to the pledge. “I personally believe him, and I don’t think, based on what I now know about him, he will renege.…

Two scientists at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana, have been charged in connection with biological material they brought into the United States from abroad.Credit: PBH Images/AlamyTwo virologists at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) are facing charges related to the alleged smuggling of non-infectious monkeypox virus (MPXV) and other biological samples into the United States, in a case that has become a flashpoint for legal and political concerns around biosecurity.The charges centre on samples that NIH scientists Vincent Munster and Claude Kwe were carrying when they arrived in Detroit, Michigan, in January after doing research in the…

By Mary Agbabiaka American rapper Cardi B and Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye have once again fueled dating rumours after being seen together in Venice, Italy. Their repeated public appearances continue to draw attention from fans and media, with their latest outing sharing a relaxed dinner setting with close proximity and visible ease, reinforcing speculation about a possible romantic connection. The renewed buzz comes when the pair were spotted dining at Gio’s Restaurant inside the St. Regis Hotel in Venice, where they reportedly spent the evening with friends overlooking one of the city’s iconic canals. Cardi B turned heads in…

ZDF and ProSiebenSat.1 are the latest traditional European rivals to team on a streaming deal. The pact will see ZDF’s on-demand content integrated into ProSieben’s streaming service, Joyn, from the fourth quarter of this year. This will allow Joyn users to access ZDF news, docs, culture, factual and entertainment programs for free without adverts. ZDF’s on streaming portal will remain “the central digital home of its public broadcasting content.” European players are increasingly looking to pool resources to combat the threat of global tech players, with recent examples seeing Channel 4 in talks with the BBC in the UK. ZDF…

An early morning fire has destroyed 17 shops at Sabo Market in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State. The fire broke out at about 1:10 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA). Olawale Afolabi, the agency’s spokesperson, explained in a statement that preliminary investigations indicated that the fire started in one of the shops before spreading to adjoining stalls. He stated that the immediate cause was suspected to be an electrical surge, as the fire reportedly broke out while power supply was active. Emergency responders from LASEMA and the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service…

Key eventsThere is a lot of news to digest this morning. Andy Burnham made significant changes to the cabinet throughout the day and into the night in order to mark a shift in policy direction from his deeply unpopular predecessor. Helpfully, my colleagues Rowena Mason and Peter Walker have done a round up of whose in and whose out, with some insightful details on their careers and, for those who still have jobs, what challenges they will face in their briefs:ShareUpdated at 10.27 CESTKiran StaceyAndy Burnham promised to end rough sleeping in England in his first pledge as prime minister, allocating…

UK defence stocks rally as former defence secretary appointed chancellorThe UK’s blue chip FTSE 100 index has opened slightly lower this morning, down 0.3% – but some of its biggest defence stocks are rallying amid excitement that a former defence secretary now occupies No 11.Babcock International is up 4%, while BAE Systems is up 2.4%. Over in the FTSE 250, Qinetiq is up 3.5%.Investors are hoping that chancellor John Healey will use his new position to increase defence spending – possibly though issuing “defence bonds”, a form of borrowing allocated only for the military which he has previously advocated for…

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has resumed implementation and enforcement of its Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025, following a Federal High Court’s affirmation of its authority to regulate Nigeria’s digital lending sector. The commission announced the development in a statement on Monday, saying the decision followed a judgment delivered by Justice A.L. Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/760/2026, filed by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria Ltd/Gte (WASPAN). According to the FCCPC, the court dismissed the plaintiff’s originating summons in its entirety, rejected all the…

When de-extinction startup Colossal Biosciences revealed last year that it was attempting to “resurrect” the dire wolf from genetic material found in fossils, we argued that, despite the controversy surrounding the project, the company was building valuable technologies that justify its $10.2 billion valuation. Now, roughly 16 months later, the startup is in talks to raise new funding at a $20 billion to $30 billion valuation, Axios reported. It’s not clear who is leading the new round, or how much capital the five-year-old company is looking to raise. But we do know, according to the report, that Colossal has started…

Argentina were beaten 1-0 in the final by Spain in what has been rumoured to be Lionel Messi’s final World Cup game.Published On 21 Jul 202621 Jul 2026After what may have been his ‌final World Cup match, Lionel Messi was in tears on the field on Sunday ⁠in East Rutherford, ⁠New Jersey, ruing a missed chance to win a second consecutive title for Argentina.Messi, without hinting whether his World Cup career was officially through, congratulated Spain, who beat Argentina 1-0 in the final, ⁠and said the memories would last, in an Instagram post on Monday evening.Recommended Stories list of 4…