Author: damazah@gmail.com

By Udeme Akpan The planned Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery offers Nigerians a rare opportunity to move from being mere consumers of petroleum products to becoming shareholders in one of the country’s most strategic industrial assets. President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, who stated this in Lagos yesterday said the proposed listing represents more than a financial transaction, as it would enable Nigerians to participate directly in the value created by an enterprise that plays an increasingly important role in the economy. According to him, millions of Nigerians depend daily on refined…

Austin-based Tern has won a contract from the U.S. Army to deploy the startup’s low-cost GPS alternative tech. The $11.26 million contract will see the Army use Tern’s navigation tech in vehicles, though the startup was tight-lipped on the exact scale of the deployment of what it calls “Google Maps for the battlefield.” The Army is tapping Tern at a time when GPS disruptions are on the rise, especially in the Middle East and in the skies above Ukraine and Russia. The U.S. military itself has reportedly been experimenting with GPS jamming, which may have even contributed to the deadly…

The NHS faced the “busiest summer in its history” as the UK experienced a series of heatwaves, health officials have said, while the waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has risen to its highest level for nine months.The health secretary said “extreme demand” on the service was “no longer confined to winter” and NHS leaders warned that the service had “never gone into winter on the back of such a heavy summer”.Figures show A&E attendances in June, July and August reached nearly 7.3m, the highest ever over a summer period, according to NHS England. This is almost 1m…

For decades physicists have been puzzling over the enigma of dark matter. We think it makes up 85% of the matter in the universe, but the mysterious substance cannot be seen or detected, and we know about it mainly through observations of the gravitational effects it has on other things. But now scientists believe they may be a step closer to detecting it. Science editor Ian Sample explains to Madeleine Finlay why, if confirmed, the finding could completely transform our understanding of the universe. And Dr Samuel Erikson, senior research associate at the University of Bristol, and first author of…

Former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea should be stripped of their 2016-17 Premier League title for financial rule breaches and the honour awarded to the side he led to the runners-up spot. Chelsea were fined £10 million ($13.4 million) in July and given a suspended two-window transfer ban in relation to breaches of Premier League rules during the Roman Abramovich era. The club had admitted to 74 breaches of FA regulations covering agents, working with intermediaries and third-party investment in players. Owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital self-reported the breaches to football authorities in 2022, when they were in…

Oscar-winning Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor hit the Venice Film Festival on Thursday with bombshell late competition addition Naza. Based on interviews with 24 Israeli intelligence officers and soldiers, the documentary exposes the AI, phone surveillance and crude points-based systems deployed by the Israeli military in Gaza to decide targets, Hamas-related or otherwise, and then take them out in their homes regardless of whether children and other family members are likely to be killed in the strike as well. The title Naza is taken from the Israeli military’s Hebrew acronym to describe each individual that could die when…

Laura Jackson is a creative director and broadcaster who works across design, food and culture. She co-founded the homewares website Glassette in 2021 and later founded the skincare brand Rocco. Her broadcasting career spans television, radio and digital.Jackson launched a collection with British jewellery brand Astley Clarke in September 2026, featuring gemstones, celestial motifs and tarot symbolism.What’s the last treat you bought for yourself?A bunch of cosmos from the market on the way home. Completely worth it: I’ve put them in individual stem vases dotted around the house. You can’t beat a bunch of fresh flowers; they instantly lift your…

The Board of Governors of the United Nations nuclear watchdog has passed a resolution accusing Iran of failing to comply with its nuclear nonproliferation commitments and referring the matter to the UN Security Council (UNSC).The diplomatic move – backed by the United States and its key European allies – comes more than six months into the US-Israeli war against Iran, and as tensions flare in the Strait of Hormuz, where the US and Iran have traded attacks on vessels in recent days.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listHere’s what’s to know about the resolution by the International Atomic Energy…

Hospitality sector claims thousands at jobs at risk from Burnham’s plan to let mayors levy tourism taxGood morning. Last year Andy Burnham, who was then mayor of Greater Manchester, and his close friend and ally Steve Rotheram, mayor of the Liverpool city region, were urging the government to allow mayors in England to bring in what they called a visitor levy.Burnham and Rotheram were pushing at an open door. In May this year Keir Starmer included plans for an overnight visitor levy bill in the king’s speech.Scotland and Wales already have their own versions of this.Now Burnham’s government is about…

The so-called big four are in decent shape, but hardly world beaters