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The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says preliminary assessments have shown that the first aquifer in Bille Community, Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State, has been contaminated following the prolonged toxic gas leak that has affected the area for nearly a year. In a statement issued on Thursday, NUPRC said its Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this on Wednesday during a joint visit to the affected community by a Federal Government delegation led by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo. The delegation, which included officials of the Rivers State Government and oil and gas…

Michael VoepelCloseMichael VoepelESPN Senior WriterMichael Voepel is a senior writer who covers the WNBA, women’s college basketball and other college sports. Voepel began covering women’s basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996., , Kendra Andrews, Kareem CopelandMultiple AuthorsJul 1, 2026, 08:00 AM ETJuly is here, and in a few weeks, the best of the WNBA will visit Chicago for the 2026 All-Star Game on July 25 (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC) at the United Center.Which players will be named the 10 All-Star starters? Fans account for 50% of the vote, with all current players and a media panel accounting for 25%…

Actress and presenter Lisa Faulkner has revealed she is recovering after undergoing surgery for breast cancer two weeks ago.The Celebrity Masterchef winner told her Instagram followers, external that she had received her results following the operation, and “it’s all good, they’ve got everything out, so it’s all clear and I just need some radiotherapy in a few weeks”. Faulkner said she had been diagnosed in “the very early stages of breast cancer” and had had “quite a big op”, adding that she still had “quite a bit of healing to do. But I’m good, I’m well. And feeling so much…

Troops of Operation ENDURING PEACE have killed at least six suspected terrorists and recovered locally fabricated rifles in a series of operations across Plateau State, according to the military. The soldiers were also involved in foiling another attack on the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, on Thursday. The military spokesperson for Operation ENDURING PEACE, Chinonso Oteh, disclosed the development in a statement on Thursday. He said the operations were carried out between 26 June and 2 July in Jos South and Barkin Ladi local government areas, adding that the actions were based on intelligence reports on…

Starmer says forced adoption is ‘a stain on our history’Starmer said what happened to the mothers, and their children, should never have happened. He said: double quotation markWhat happened to them, and to tens of thousands of mothers, children, and families, should never have happened. It is a stain on our history. Mothers, many young, vulnerable, and without support were coerced, bullied, or misled into feeling that they had no choice but to have their children taken away from them. What a thing to do. These were not isolated or accidental acts, they were practices embedded within systems across local…

Residents of an Ethiopian town have been forced to kill hundreds of their own dogs after three children died from rabies.Powerful community groups in the central town of Hossana told residents they would be fined and arrested if their dogs were not killed, even if the animals had been vaccinated for rabies, residents told the BBC.The community groups issued the orders after three children died from dog bites and 80 other people were hospitalised, local mayor Samuel Shigute said.Eyewitnesses told the BBC that after the order was imposed, some reluctant owners hanged their dogs or beat them to death, while…

The US Treasury Department in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, April 16, 2026. Matt McClain | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesRead more CNBC personal finance coverageTrump Accounts, also known as 530A accounts, are open to any U.S. child under 18 with a Social Security number and include a one-time $1,000 pilot program contribution from the Treasury for babies born from 2025 through 2028.A growing number of companies, including State Street and BlackRock, have pledged to match the accounts’ $1,000 Treasury deposit for children of employees. After July 4, parents, guardians, grandparents and others can also contribute up to $5,000 a year. “Trump Accounts offer a…

The new CEO of Lucid Motors is continuing to restructure the company after announcing hundreds of job cuts last month: The EV maker on Thursday said its chief financial officer Taoufiq Boussaid will be leaving the company. Boussaid’s pending departure comes amid a flurry of new executive hires meant to bolster the company’s leadership as Lucid’s new CEO Silvio Napoli tries to “simplify the company.” Lucid on Thursday said it has hired a new chief financial officer, chief technology officer, chief customer officer, chief digital officer, and chief transformation officer. Napoli is also cutting the number of people who directly…

Convener of an influential political group in Ogun State, Yayi Progressives  Movement, ‘Tope Akintunde in this interview submits  that President Bola Tinubu’s economic reform policies remain best for Nigeria. He also posits that Senator Solomon Adeola and Prince Dapo Abiodun are most suitable candidates for Ogun State Governorship and Ogun East Senatorial positions respectively during January, 2027 poll. James Sowole brings excerpts. As a grassroot political mobiliser in Ogun State, what is your political journey like so far? I am Armstrong ‘Tope Akintunde, from the family of the late Fowodara of Araromi, Iperu-Remo in Ogun state. I attended the then…

Neil Shubin is an advocate for connecting scientists with the general public.Credit: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press/AlamyOn 1 July, Neil Shubin, a palaeontologist at the University of Chicago in Illinois, began his five-year term as president of the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS), a non-profit society of elected scholars. Shubin is best known for discovering a fossil (Tiktaalik roseae) that represents a ‘missing link’ between sea- and land-dwelling vertebrates, and has authored many popular-science books. He replaces geophysicist Marcia McNutt in the prominent role of academy president.Trust in scienceShubin will have to navigate upheaval at the NAS, which has faced…