Author: damazah@gmail.com

Michael Olugbode in Abuja India and Nigeria are deepening their strategic partnership across trade, investment, defence, energy, healthcare, agriculture and technology, with bilateral trade climbing to about $9 billion in the 2025–26 financial year, the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abhishek Singh, has disclosed. Singh made the disclosure during a media briefing in Abuja, where he outlined the expanding relationship between the two countries and identified new opportunities for stronger economic and strategic cooperation. The latest trade figure represents a substantial increase from the $7.13 billion recorded in 2024 and 2025, reinforcing the growing importance of economic relations between Africa’s…

The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Osun State, Bola Oyebamiji, arrived in Osogbo, the state capital, on Thursday, with heavy security convoys and party supporters, ahead of Saturday’s election. Mr Oyebamiji’s arrival witnessed by PREMIUM TIMES at the Aregbe area of Osogbo came as the APC prepared to hold its final campaign rally in the state on Thursday, in a last push for candidate’s support ahead of Saturday’s poll. The candidate was welcomed by supporters who gathered along the route to welcome him into the state capital. Mr Oyebamiji’s arrival came less than 48 hours before Osun residents…

Domestic airlines have begun restoring flight operations after aviation unions temporarily suspended their industrial action, hours after the action disrupted flights and left passengers stranded at airports in Lagos and Abuja. The temporary suspension has eased the immediate disruption to air travel, although the dispute between the unions and airline operators remains unresolved. Air Peace, United Nigeria Airlines resume operations as passengers face backlog Speaking with journalists on Tuesday, Osifo-Whiskey Efe, spokesperson for Air Peace, said the airline had resumed operations but was still working to accommodate passengers affected by the industrial action. Mr Efe said the airline operates about…

Reddit’s popular r/Bumble community – where half a million people share dating stories and discuss app features – has largely questioned the platform’s rule changes.In particular, users have asked how Bumble was now different from any other dating app.”If you women want men to message first, use a different app,” one person wrote, while another said they “really valued” women making the first move. “Women get swamped with messages, so any woman who messaged me showed real interest,” they said.Others argued the feature had already been diluted when Bumble introduced “Opening Moves” – a feature allowing women to set a…

Summer sun and sports fixtures helped the UK economy grow between April and June, according to official data, but some economists warned the outlook for the rest of the year was weaker.The economy expanded by 0.4%, in line with market expectations but below a 0.6% increase in the first three months of this year. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said growth had “remained relatively robust”, with the UK ahead of other G7 countries for growth this year so far.Experts questioned whether this resilience would be maintained, however, given growth was fuelled by some temporary factors and energy prices could…

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has become the second-largest on record, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The country has recorded 4,449 confirmed cases and 2,061 deaths across five provinces and 53 health zones. In a video posted on X on Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said the outbreak was spreading faster than any previous Ebola outbreak at the same stage and was on track to surpass the 2014–2016 West African outbreak. The West African outbreak, which affected Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, remains the world’s largest Ebola outbreak, with more than 28,000…

Crawling through a narrow passage in a cave beneath a boreal forest near Fort Smith in Canada’s Northwest Territories in May, two biologists spotted a lifeless bat on a limestone ledge, its body covered in a spindly white fungus.When they shone their headlamps to get a closer look, they saw another bat with the fungus on its forearms. “It hissed at us and crawled back into a crack,” Jesika Reimer says.For Reimer, an ecologist specialising in bat populations in northern Canada and Alaska, there was little doubt. For 20 years, white-nose syndrome, a lethal disease caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus…

The new Premier League season is upon us. Yeesh, it really feels like the World Cup only just ended yesterday, doesn’t it? Welcome to soccer. Off season? I think not. You can see why the guys on Wall Street are so keen. Truly, this is the sport that never sleeps.In the lead-up to the 35th season of what is indisputably the biggest domestic football league in the game, we’re going to be looking into seven of the biggest and most intriguing teams the Premier League has to offer. We shall see what you might need to familiarize yourself with if…

Earlier this week, organisers of the song contest updated their rules to state that if a country involved in an armed conflict wins the competition, it will be ineligible to host it the following year.The amendment was approved by the contest’s governing body, following feedback from participating broadcasters after Eurovision 2026 in Vienna.It stated that winning countries will also be disqualified from hosting if a “sensitive geopolitical situation” affects the “security, safety or stability of their state or immediate region”.The update has been interpreted as a reaction to Israel’s continued presence at the contest, amid criticism of its military actions…

The Super Falcons of Nigeria and Banyana Banyana of South Africa meet again on Thursday with their 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup hopes hanging by a thread, in a high-stakes CAF play-off that neither side expected to be playing. The two African heavyweights were supposed to be preparing for the already played Wednesday WAFCON semi-finals and automatic qualification for the World Cup in Brazil. Instead, both suffered quarter-final defeats and must now fight through another route to keep their global ambitions alive. Nigeria were beaten 1-0 by Cameroon, while South Africa lost 2-1 to hosts Morocco. The four quarter-final winners…