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Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has dismissed claims that northern voters are turning against President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election, predicting that the President could secure between 70 and 80 per cent of votes cast in Kaduna State. Sani made the prediction during an interview on Channels Television, while speaking on the political realignment and growing competition ahead of the 2027 elections. The governor said the perception of a northern backlash against Tinubu was largely based on political narratives and activities on social media rather than the realities on the ground. He insisted that neither the North…

The federal government has urged the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to strengthen professional accountability and take a leading role in the fight against quackery in the health sector. The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, made the call on Wednesday in Abuja at the NMA’s First Ordinary National Executive Council meeting of the new National Executive Committee for 2026. The meeting, themed “Transforming Healthcare Practice in Nigeria: Building Trust, Accountability and Collaborative Excellence”, brought together medical practitioners, senior members of the profession, government officials and policymakers. Health sector reforms Mr Salako said the Nigeria Health Sector…

Wild swimming has been linked to a higher risk of stomach bugs and skin rashes, according to the largest ever controlled study of illnesses associated with bathing in rivers and lakes.The research found that swimmers at locations in Hungary were more than twice as likely to develop skin problems, while the risk of contracting a stomach bug rose significantly in water with higher concentrations of E coli and other bacteria linked to faecal pollution.The findings raise questions about the World Health Organization’s decision to drop E coli as a recommended indicator of pollution in freshwater bathing sites, amid growing public…

Mercedes have confirmed George Russell will take a grid penalty for exceeding his engine allocation, but are yet to decide which race to serve it at.Championship leader Kimi Antonelli will start at the back of the field at the next Formula 1 race in Italy next weekend, but Russell will also face the same repercussions at a race later this season. Despite having the best car for the majority of this year, both Mercedes drivers have suffered from engine unreliability and will need more than the four allotted power units for this season, thus incurring grid penalties. “We have not…

Brit director Scott Vickers has lined up the cast for upcoming Amsterdam-set gangland thriller “Nozem,” which starts shooting in the Dutch capital next week. Led by the film’s writer Buddy Boerkoel, the film will also star Daniel Fathers (“House of the Dragon“), Francesca van Neuren (“Coked”) and Ibrahim Naji (“Gedachten aan de regen”). “Nozem” (which means “Street Thug” in Dutch) is set in Amsterdam’s criminal underbelly and a |hidden empire of drugs, power and old-school gang codes.” The story follows Robbie, whose parents were murdered at the hands of notorious gangster Franz Müller in the 90s. Twenty-five years on and…

The African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed concerns about his age ahead of the 2027 presidential election, asking critics whether he looks like someone who is approaching 80. Atiku stated this in an interview with BBC Hausa published on Friday, while responding to concerns that his age could affect his ability to provide effective leadership if elected. The former vice president was responding to a question on whether his age could affect his ability to provide effective and healthy leadership for four years if elected. The interviewer noted that Atiku would be “almost or nearly 80 years…

Rescue operations resumed after pause due to overflowing lakeNepalese ⁠authorities have ⁠resumed ⁠rescue operations in ​the region ⁠hit by a ⁠devastating ​flood ‌this ‌week, an ‌army spokesperson said on Friday, after ‌a brief suspension due ​to water overflowing ⁠from ​a barrier ​lake.ShareKey eventsMore than ⁠90,000 people are estimated to ⁠be affected ⁠by ​the Himalayan landslide, the Red Cross ⁠said on Friday, as aid ⁠officials voiced fears ​of ‌further flooding.“We’re of ‌course very concerned ‌about the secondary flood,” said David Fisher, head of delegation for the ‌International Federation of Red Cross and Red ​Crescent Societies in Nepal.He said that its trucks…

Good morning, happy Friday and welcome to FirstFT. In today’s newsletter:US corporate profits hit record high as wage growth lagsEurope rebuked over ‘sea of red’ military gapsSaudi Arabia shakes up flagship real estate projectA pilgrimage to Spain for the world’s best steakYou can listen to today’s top news stories with the FT News Briefing podcast. US corporate profits have hit a record high while workers’ slice of the pie has sunk to historic lows, fuelling discontent among many Americans and a growing political backlash.Pre-tax earnings hit an annualised $4.8tn in the second quarter, or 18 per cent of national income,…

After adding support for longer videos just yesterday, open social network Bluesky on Thursday introduced a new algorithmic opt-out feature that allows users to stop their posts from appearing in the app’s main Discover feed. That algorithmic feed can currently surface any post on Bluesky’s network, as posts on the network are public by default. To be clear, this latest change isn’t a way to make posts private — Bluesky is still working on rolling out support for private data at the protocol level. Instead, the feature simply makes a user’s public posts less discoverable to people outside their existing…

By Luminous Jannamike, ABUJA Nigeria’s leading presidential contenders have begun laying out competing answers to the country’s economic and security crisis. But there is one question their promises have not yet fully answered: how much will all this cost, and who will pay? Read Also: 2027 Peace Accord not uhuru for credible electoral process – CSOs, lawyers From cheaper fuel and millions of jobs to free education, more electricity, stronger healthcare and safer communities, the offers are getting bigger. Yet, across the campaign speeches and policy documents released so far, detailed costings, funding mechanisms, implementation timelines and measurable delivery targets…